Tarot-inspired art heads to the Aldrich
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum will host a new tarot-inspired exhibit from Sept. 8 to Jan. 2 in Ridgefield.
“Adrienne Elise Tarver: The Sun, the Moon, and the Truth” is the first museum exhibit by Brooklyn-based artist Adrienne Elise Tarver. It’s the second series in the Aldrich’s newly established Aldrich Projects, a single-artist series that was launched in 2021 to spotlight a singular work or a focused body of work by an artist every four months on the Museum’s campus.
“The Sun, the Moon, and the Truth” is Tarver’s interpretation of the major arcana of the tarot, focusing on a tropical environment and reclaiming the symbols imparted on Black and Brown women by Western civilization, such as the faraway temptress and the Black Voodoo priestess, according to a news release.
“I just find the idea of tarot cards and the history of tarot really interesting, or how people use tarot and this idea of foretelling the future to be really interesting. And I think in a period of uncertainty, like the pandemic, it was really comforting to think about the future and to project into the future,” Tarver said. “So (the exhibit) really came out of this like desire to see the future and to see positivity in the future.”
Caitlin Monachino is the exhibit’s curator. She described Tarver’s work as having a “luminous sheen,” and said that Tarver’s use of colors and layers give her work a life-like quality, which is why she invited Tarver to display her works at the Aldrich.
“I think (this exhibit is) very timely,” Monachino said. “It’s very relatable to a younger generation right now because there’s definitely a trend with many people —
mostly millennials, but also Gen X and Gen Z — that are definitely turning toward spirituality.”
The exhibit will include an audio guide by Tarver that will inform guests about the inspiration behind the paintings.
“Adrienne Elise Tarver: The Sun, the Moon, and the Truth” will run Sept.8Jan.2 at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main St., Ridgefield. For more information, visit thealdrich.org.