Calendar of Events

Listen to an informal musical performance by members of the Hartford-area Azul String Quartet, cellist Pablo Issa and violist Eugenio Figueroa, while you explore the works on view in Morgan Great Hall. Free with museum admission.

Discover how MATRIX artist Matt Paweski’s works mixes elements of architecture, furniture, and interior design. Assemble a unique keepsake box with inspiration from the tabletop sculptures on view in the exhibition, and join our friends from ConnLUG and contribute to life-size furniture made entirely from LEGO pieces! Admission is free noon–2pm. 

In the early sixteenth century, artists in the Low Countries carved intricate miniatures from boxwood as symbols of religious devotion for their wealthy Christian patrons. Today, these carvings produce an uncanny effect on museum visitors—they stop people in their tracks and demand to be remembered.

Why do these tiny treasures from half a millennium ago have such an outsized impact today? Barbara Drake Boehm, The Paul and Jill Ruddock Senior Curator of the Met Cloisters, Emerita, explores the world of these small wonders and ponders their mesmerizing effect. Free with required reservation. 

Presented in partnership with the Design and Decorative Arts Council with additional support provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation Fund at the Wadsworth Atheneum.

Image: Attributed to Adam Dircksz and workshop, Miniature coffin, c. 1500–1530. Boxwood, metal (possibly silver), ink or paint. Gift of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and The Evelyn Bonar Storrs Trust Fund

Robert Wiesenberger, curator of contemporary projects at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., responds to Matt Paweski / MATRIX 191, drawing on his own critical and curatorial interest in the intersection of modern and contemporary art, design, and architecture. Wiesenberger discusses how Paweski’s sculptural work both aligns and breaks with tradition, and makes connections with the Wadsworth’s collection, buildings, and histories. Free with museum admission. Meet in front of the Museum Shop.

Artists in New England have fashioned hooked rugs since the early nineteenth century in a tradition that continues to thrive and develop. Drop in and visit with Michele Micarelli, an internationally recognized rug-hooking artist based in New Haven, Conn., as she demonstrates the process of transforming hand-dyed wool and fabric scraps into elaborate hooked rugs. Free with admission.

Presented in conjunction with Alexander Calder: Collaborative Creations.

Entwyned Early Music Ensemble returns to the Wadsworth for an informal program of seventeenth-century music from the Dutch Republic. Enjoy the works on view in Chasing Rembrandt and the nearby Dutch art galleries while listening to the sounds of Rembrandt’s time. Free with admission.

Presented with support from The Saunders Foundation Music Endowment at the Wadsworth Atheneum.