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Calendar of Events
5pm gallery viewing & reception
6:30pm conversation
The American artist Tony Smith occupies an important place in the history of twentieth-century art and design. Best known for his large-scale sculptures—inventive polygonal forms made of steel, most painted black—Smith left behind a body of work that continues to defy easy classification and whose fertile breadth is yet to be fully explored.
The Wadsworth Atheneum’s decisive role in the development of Tony Smith’s artistic career serves as the historical context for a conversation between the art historian and curator James Voorhies and artists Tom Burr and Torkwase Dyson who, in separate bodies of work, have referenced Smith’s art and the modernist ideologies out of which it evolved. Matrix: On the Art of Tom Burr, Torkwase Dyson, and Tony Smith will inaugurate a new series of nomadic programs called “In Dialogue,” presented by the Tony Smith Foundation, which is committed to placing the legacy of the artist in context and in conversation with the contemporary arts.
Join us in the galleries before the event to view a selection of works by Tony Smith and the collection of abstract expressionist paintings donated to the Wadsworth by the artist in 1967. Free and open to the public with required registration. Learn more about our theater vaccination requirements.
Presented in partnership with the Tony Smith Foundation.
The works of Nevine Mahmoud (MATRIX 188) and Pipilotti Rist (MATRIX 136) converge in their feminist approaches to examining gender, sexuality, and the body through the lens of contemporary media culture. Drop in on Mahmoud and Rist as they discuss their respective practices, gravitation towards rigorous mediums, and blending of humor and intimacy in their work.
Due to unforeseen circumstances this lecture has been canceled.
Learn how artists use the elements of art to catch your attention. Create alongside illustrator Bonnie Rose Sullivan to design a superhero cape with an eye-catching focal point. Enjoy a performance by violinist Dongbin Shin. Be sure to grab a free copy of Susan Mangiero’s book The Big Squeeze: Hugs & Inspirations for Every Grown-Up Who Loves Teddy Bears. While supplies last. Admission is free all day on Second Saturdays.
5-6pm Gallery Viewing
6pm Artist Talk – In museum
Sculpture, installation, and performance intersect with sound in the works of artist Naama Tsabar. Listen in as Tsabar explores her approach to creating interactive sound sculptures and learn about her process for building site-specific performances with local communities of women and gender non-conforming performers. Free with required registration.
The Wadsworth is excited to join the Connecticut Department of Community and Economic Development to offer FREE admission from noon-4pm in celebration of Connecticut Open House Day.
The Wadsworth is pleased to host the season finale performance of the Arazzo Music Festival, a new initiative building community through musical performances here in Connecticut. Join Connecticut cellist and festival director Samuel DeCaprio as he performs an evening of string music in Morgan Great Hall with musicians from across the region. The program centers around Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s String Sextet in D minor “Souvenir de Florence”, Op. 70 (1890). Free with required registration.
Pop in on Saturday for free family fun! Explore the exhibition Hamilton: The Art of Remaking History and learn how fashions from the American Revolution have inspired the costumes for one of today’s most popular Broadway musicals. Try your hand at creating an accessory inspired by the works on view. Listen to storyteller Tammy Denease as she illustrates how access and circumstance impacted a person’s clothing during the American Revolution. Family-friendly tours take place at 12:15 & 1:30pm. Find the Ice Cream for a Dream truck, parked outside the museum from noon–2pm, for free ice cream while supplies last. Free admission from noon-2pm.
Naama Tsabar (MATRIX 189) and Laurie Anderson (MATRIX 46) engage performance and sound as pivotal components in their creative practices. Listen in as Tsabar and Anderson discuss how they use sound as a medium for artmaking, challenge the stereotypes of musical genres through experimentation, and reveal the feminist dialogues at play in their work. Free virtual program.
Catalan painter Francisco Ribalta vividly captured religious images at the turn of the seventeenth century, positioning himself as one of the major figures of the early Baroque. Paintings conservator Allen Kosanovich examines an in-process treatment of Ribalta’s The Ecstasy of Saint Francis: The Vision of the Musical Angel (c. 1620–1625), discussing how these efforts address the results of four hundred years of aging and numerous restoration attempts. Free with museum admission. Meet in front of the Museum Shop.