Liza Lou, Closet, 1997 - 1998, glass beads, wood, and New York couple's empty bottles and unwanted household objects, Gift of Sherry and Joel Mallin, Courtesy the artist, Photo credit: Tom Powel Imaging, 2022.187.1

Ongoing

Room-Like: Contemporary Art from the Collection

Details

  • Dates

    Ongoing

  • Locations

    East Building, Upper Level — Gallery 404

  • Ticketing Information

    Admission is always free and passes are not required

Immerse yourself in works that reimagine room-like spaces. This installation brings us to familiar places—a bathtub, a kitchen, a laundromat—and surprises us with unexpected viewpoints. 
 

Liza Lou’s beaded closet transforms everyday household items into art. Mel Chin turns a museum gallery into a microcosm of the globe. Abelardo Morell and Carrie Mae Weems create intimate moments in their photographs that invite close looking.

In the final gallery, find yourself surrounded by works that include the color yellow, a favorite among artists. A storefront by Christo, wallpaper by Lee Hager, a light fixture by Olafur Eliasson—these works and more allow us to explore the effect of yellow on our vision.

  • Twelve lines of black text in all capital letters are printed on a square, beige-colored sheet of paper. The lines are centered down the page and divided into four groups set in progressively smaller type sizes. Near the top, the largest text reads, “THE KITCHEN TABLE SERIES.” In smaller text below, “CARRIE MAE WEEMS.” Immediately below that, again in smaller text, “A PORTFOLIO OF TWENTY PLATINUM PRINTS, FOURTEEN TEXT SHEETS, EDITION OF TEN, TWO ARTIST’S PROOFS, WINTER 2003.” The remaining text is printed in five lines at the bottom center of the sheet: “DESIGNED WITH PAMELA VANDERZWAN, PHOTOGRAPHS PRINTED BY JOHN MARCY OF NORTHAMPTON PHOTOGRAPHIC, TEXT PRINTED BY PETER KRUTY EDITIONS, FUNDED WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT, BY PETER NORTON.” Between the text at the center of the sheet and the five lines along the bottom, the artist signed the sheet in graphite: “Carrie M. Weems 9/10.”
  • The image is filled with splatters of vibrant colors and lots of visual texture. There is a splatter of deep blue on the upper left corner. The orange and yellow hues which take up most of the image are interrupted by splashes of pink, green, and red. Towards the lower right, there is a patch of bright green.

Banner detail: Liza Lou, Closet, 1997 - 1998, glass beads, wood, and New York couple's empty bottles and unwanted household objects, Gift of Sherry and Joel Mallin, 2022.187.1

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