Intersections: Arlene Shechet
From Here On Now
New York-based sculptor Arlene Shechet is known for glazed ceramic sculptures that are off-kilter yet hang in a balance between stable and unstable, teetering between the restraint of intellect and the insistence of instinct. Her sculptures encourage circumambulation, often drawing upon Buddhist iconography for inspiration. From Here On Now at the Phillips is both a poetic beckoning and a description of the literal. The exhibition’s title also tweaks the familiar phrase “from here on out” to bring attention to the present and as a reminder that the future is an abstraction.
For this installation, Shechet’s sculptures in ceramic, porcelain, and paper are exhibited across five galleries on two different floors of the museum, extending from the original house to the annex. It includes six recently conserved paintings by Forrest Bess, received as a gift from Miriam Schapiro Grosof in 2014, and on view at the Phillips for the first time. (Please note that part of the installation closes in February. The installation in the house remains on view through May 7, 2017.)
Intersections artist Arlene Shechet: From Here On Now, Part 1
Intersections artist Arlene Shechet: From Here On Now, Part 2
Arlene Shechet, Best Behavior (2014), with Piet Mondrian, Painting No. 9 (between 1939 and 1942) and Joan Mitchell, August, Rue Daguerre (1957)
Arlene Shechet, The Possibility of Ghosts (2013/2016)
Arlene Shechet (b. 1951, New York City) has often described herself as an “installation artist who makes objects.” Her sculptures, art historical installations, and museum interventions have been widely shown, including in a critically acclaimed 20-year survey, All at Once, at the ICA Boston in 2015. Her work is featured in Porcelain, No Simple Matter, on view at The Frick Collection, New York, until April 2017. Shechet’s work is also in many distinguished public and private collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the National Gallery, Washington, DC; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Shechet holds a BA from New York University and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the 2016 CAA Artist Award for Distinguished Body of Work, a Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant. She was featured in PBS’s Art 21 in 2014 and The Met Artist Project in 2016. Shechet splits her time between New York City and the Hudson Valley.
Intersections Contemporary Art Projects
Intersections is a series of contemporary art projects that explores—as the title suggests—the intriguing intersections between old and new traditions, modern and contemporary art practices, and museum spaces and artistic interventions. Whether engaging with the permanent collection or diverse spaces in the museum, the projects suggest new relationships with their own surprises.
Many of the projects also riff on the nontraditional nature of the museum’s galleries, sometimes activating spaces that are not typical exhibition areas with art produced specifically for those locations.
Intersections is presented by
Additional support is provided by Phillips Collectors Forum members.