To Be Alone Together
Leo Kenney, A Breath of Light, 1968, Gouache on Chinese paper, 19.125" x 16.125"
1998.068.001, MoNA, gift of Stephen Joseph Estate
Exhibition Date: October 4, 2014 - January 4, 2015
Reception Date: Saturday, October 4, 2014 - 2:00pm
Curator(s): Shelly Leavens & Emma Jane Levitt
To Be Alone Together is an exhibition co-curated by artist Emma Jane Levitt and curator Shelly Leavens, through the Dana and Toni Ann Rust Curatorial Fellowship at MoNA. The exhibition pairs eleven contemporary Northwest artists with eleven works from the MoNA's permanent collection. The contemporary artists will be asked to respond to a chosen piece in the collection and to create new work based on that response. The primary goal of To Be Alone Together is to connect contemporary artists across disciplines with MoNA’s permanent collection in a way that creates a dialog with the past and leaves room for the unknown. The exhibition will look closely at the ways in which both the ephemeral and the tangible experiences of living in a particular place have and continue to influence communities of artists. The exhibit will explore the creative capacity of this legacy and its future by providing the opportunity for a multi-modal dialogue on our shared light, landscape, character and community.
Mark Tobey, Etudes d'Apres Nature, c. 1933-34, Ink on wet paper, 10.5" x 8.25" (Reproduced lithographs from original Japan series)
1996.009.045, MoNA, gift of John Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg
Artworks chosen for To Be Alone Together from the MoNA collection were selected on the basis of three ideas: light, solitude and community, which the curators find to be prevailing themes in the philosophy and process of historical and contemporary Northwest artists. As opposing as the latter two themes are semantically, artists in the Northwest seek both in equal amounts. To Be Alone Together uses a cross-disciplinary approach to pairing the collection works and the contemporary artists because it allows for artists to experiment with a new approach if they so choose, and it develops the artist’s understanding of a disparate process.
Doris Chase, Ad Lib Moon, 1966, Wood (oak) (five parts), 5.675" x 8" x 4"
2001.071.002, MoNA, gift of Deloris Tarzan Ament
Like the vast tide flats and fields of the Skagit Valley and the meandering sloughs that run through them, there is an open willfulness to the Northwest artist community and a continuity in the iconic light of sky and water that seeps its way into artists’ work. To Be Alone Together will visually mimic this concept as well as provide a vehicle for contemporary artists willing to engage with the past. The project will be a path for artists to engage with community, yet take time in the studio or landscape to create new work and take risks.
Wesley Wehr, Clallam, 1971, Mixed media: paint and crayon, 2.5" x 2.5" (image)
1981.002.010, MoNA, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Fritzsche Ulrich
Clayton James, Yellow Night, 1961, Acrylic on canvas, 38.25" x 67.375"
2001.108.005, MoNA, gift of Phyllis D. Massar
Michael Spafford, Three Swimmers No. 1, 1977, Woodblock print 11" x 15"
2006.159.074, MoNA, gift of Ronald D. Childers and Richard M. Proctor
Mark Tobey, Etudes d'Apres Nature, c. 1933-34, Ink on wet paper, 10.25" x 8.25" (Reproduced lithographs from original Japan series)
1996.009.047, MoNA, gift of John Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg
Mary Randlett, Self Portrait, September 1988, Black and white photograph, 17” x 13”
2011.282.082, MoNA, gift of Steve Lindstrom and Sue Ponsteen, Gallery Cygnus, and Mary Randlett
Paul Horiuchi, The Eye Beholds Autumn, 1962, Color collage, 52.25" x 41.5"
1999.059.003, MoNA, bequest of James Odlin
Mark Tobey, Etudes d'Apres Nature, c. 1933-34, Ink on wet paper, 10.25" x 8.25" (Reproduced lithographs from original Japan series)
1996.009.042, MoNA, gift of John Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg
Jeremy Lepisto, Drawn Conclusion, 2004, Kilnformed glass, 35" x 4" x 1"
2004.143.001, MoNA, gift of the artist and William Traver Gallery, Tacoma
Norie Sato, Edged Out, 1982, Lithograph, 26" x 36" (9/40 edition from a set printed by Dwight Coburn)
2006.160.025, MoNA, Joan Raphael Greathouse, Sandar Raphael Warshal and Roberta Lee McMahan
Mark Tobey, Etudes d'Apres Nature, c. 1933-34, Ink on wet paper, 10.25" x 8.25" (Reproduced lithographs from original Japan series)
1996.009.046, MoNA, gift of John Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg
Artists: Nathan Braunfeld, Paul Horiuchi; Emily Gherard, Mark Tobey; Aaron Haba, Clayton James; Allyson Klutenkamper, Mary Randlett; Paul Komada, Doris Chase; Emma Jane Levitt, Jeremy Lepisto; Tomo Nakayama, Leo Kenney; Wendy Orville, Norie Sato; Michelle Peñaloza, Barbara Straker James; Clyde Petersen, Wesley Wehr; Joe Freeman, Michael Spafford