By Suzanne Révy
Good news! The Danforth Art Museum will be re-opening to the public this weekend with limited hours by appointment. If you missed it earlier this year, now is your chance to visit Family Circle, a multi-media exhibition which includes three local photographers: Lee Kilpatrick, Kristen Joy Emack, and Claudia Ruiz Gustafson. They are presented in conversation with several painters and sculptors who have all explored the nature of family, kinship and friendship. Family Circle has been extended, and will be on view now through August 30th, 2020.
Lee Kilpatrick, “Porchfest Cookout” from the series Together, courtesy of the artist and the Danforth.
Lee Kilpatrick from the series Together. (Installation photographed by Suzanne Révy)
Kristen Joy Emack “Swords” from the series Cousins, courtesy of the artist and the Danforth Museum of Art.
Kristen Joy Emack from the series Cousins. (Installation photographed by Suzanne Révy)
Family Circle connects stories embedded in the work of seven artists including three photographers. Danforth Interim Director and Curator Jessica Roscio writes, “Family is complicated, and family history is a dense web of people, places and things.” Lee Kilpatrick invites viewers right into a web of community through the profound distortion of elongated framing in the panoramic sweeps of his series “Together.” He presents dazzling dramas revealed through overt gestures and verbal interactions of friends and family in a variety of social settings. In contrast, Kristen Emack’s subtle ode to her daughter and nieces in the black and white series Cousins reveals the profound emotional connections children form through play as they grow. It is rare to see young girls of color documented through the loving and positive gaze of a mother, and Emack notes that as the girls have grown, they understand the significance these pictures can play in rectifying this void. And finally, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson employs family photographs in collages that are layered with textures, fabrics and self-portraits. The work speaks to loss and longing for her childhood in Peru in a masterful salon presentation of “Historias Fragmentadas.”
Claudia Ruiz Gustafson from the series Historias Fragmentas courtesy of the artist and the Danforth Museum of Art.
Claudia Ruiz Gustason Historias Fragmentas on view at the Danforth Museum of Art. ( Installation photographed by Suzanne Révy)
The expert installations give the photography on view the space to form intricate dialogs with the large expressive paintings of Jasmine Chen, the buoyant sculptures by Lisa Barthelson, the wide narrative paintings by Jenny Carpenter alongside playful ceramic heirlooms by Mary Marozzi-Henderson. The mess and material of domestic life and the dynamic kinships are brought into a meaningful exchanges in this satisfying group show.
For more information and to make a reservation go to:
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