Each Month We Ask Leading Museum Curators About What’s Going On In Their World.
What event (gallery show, museum exhibit, etc.) in the next few months are you looking forward to, and why?
Phoenix Airport Museum presents exhibitions in more than 40 display areas around the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport system, so there is always something new on the horizon. A show titled Series: Works Together, Artworks by Janet Towbin will present 10 different themed series in varying media. Towbin creates meticulously patterned artworks that are wonderful viewed as a series or as an individual artwork. The exhibition will help the public understand why an artist often works in series.
What are you reading?
The Moth Presents All These Wonders: True Stories About Facing the Unknown. I can relate to the theme of loss and change, and I find the stories inspiring and poignant. Often told with humor, one gets a real sense of the person. The diverse collection allows the reader to experience different people’s lives. The art of storytelling had deep roots and these stories were originally told live at venues around the country.
Interesting exhibit, gallery opening or work of art you’ve seen recently.
A new sculpture by Mitch Fry in the Phoenix Airport Museum’s collection. Titled Inclusion, it’s an 8-foot wooden sphere created with thousands of pieces of pine, spruce, fir and hemlock. Superbly crafted, the sculpture is elegant and simple and adds a sense of warmth to Terminal 3. Because of its size, it had to be brought in by section and assembled on site taking 15 hours.
What are you researching at the moment?
Artworks for an exhibition about cartography in contemporary art. I am researching how artists use maps and map imagery in artwork.
Some artists use discarded maps as an art material to draw or paint on while others may be making statements about travel, outdated technology or the beauty of topography. The exhibition will include a variety of media including glass, fiber and book arts.
What is your dream exhibit to curate? Or see someone else curate?
I always like the idea of an exhibition that incorporates a variety of arts. I could see an exhibition that includes visual arts with literary arts along with performing arts.
I’m not sure how it could be presented at
Sky Harbor Airport, but I think it could be engaging. With an interest in art education, I believe everyone responds to art differently. By presenting a themed exhibition in a variety of art forms, there would be something for everyone.