Exhibition Designs

 

 

 

While in Dallas as designed fifty (50) exhibitions. Basically, I research and get to know the art and/ or artist- once I've determined the content and context I hope to convey by the design, its a matter of designing the space, lighting, placement, graphics and didactic information into a coherent whole that educates and communicates the pertinent concepts to the viewer. Then comes the interactive docent training materials and interactions with the public.

All Exhibitions at SMU Meadows Museum unless otherwise noted

A Tribute to Robert Rauschenberg:Works from Dallas Collections
November 2-26, 1989
I hit the ground running with my first exhibition for SMU-it was exciting to get to meet and work with Rauschenberg, who was awarded the Meadows award that year- he was at SMU to oversee the design and installation and lecture.

Deborah Hunter- Raw Materials: Portraits of Persons Under the Age of One
November 2-26, 1989
Deborah was easy to work with and a connsumate professional - she has become known for here portraits of infants, and this was an early foray into that content.

Jorge Castillo Dec. 7, 1989- January 28, 1990 (with Marlboro Gallery, NYC)
Castillo was on hand for the opening and was very pleased with the installation design. The museum purchased one of his works for the permanent collection as well.

Images of Reality, Images of Arcadia- 17^th Century Netherlandish Paintings from Swiss Collections April 19- May 27, 1990

I never did figure out why we had this show- it was a reach to try to tie it to the Spanish still lifes in the collection in my way of thnking- but I got to see inside some of Dallas's elite homes where most of these were hanging as we brought them together.

Private Views: Flemish and Dutch Paintings from Dallas Collections
April 19- May 27, 1990
this exhibition made a bit more sense as Flemish influuence is evident in several of the Meadows collection Baroque works. It was difficult toi design with such diminuitive works in the final analysis.

Contemporary Greek Painting May 1990 Trammell Crowe Center, Dallas, Texas
this installation design was in unfamiliar territory- the Trammell Crowe Center was not created with exhibitions in mind- lots of glass and light invades the space which had to be considered in the exhibition design. the Greek artists were a hoot to work with however. They liked my Kentucky accent.

Andres Nagel June 3- July 15^th 1990 (With Marlrboro Gallery, NYC)
Nagel sent a letter of congratulations and appreciation for my sensitivity to his work and my homework I did before we met to discuss the design. Another delightful artist to work with.

Texas Printmakers 1940-1965  (With Valley House Gallery, Dallas) Aug. 23-Sept 30, 1990

Mainly drawn from the University collection, this proved to be a popular exhibition - many of the artists were still alive and present at the opening.

Edward G. Eisenlohr –Paintings  Aug. 23-Sept 30, 1990

Beautiful brushwork and eye for color. I liked his work so much I found and purchased a poster of hsi work.

Gilles Larrain November 8, 1990- Jan 6, 1991
this exhibition was of large scale photos of ballet dancers which may have been of interest to the dance community, but it had little to do with the mission of the museum.

Eighteenth Century Scenic and Architectural Design- Drawings by the Galli Bibiena Family
Jan. 17- Feb. 24, 1991

The museum owned a portfolio of these architectural drawings which were important art historically.

Inge Morath- Photographs Feb 17- March 24, 1991

Arthur Miller and Inge Morath were present for the opening so I got to meet them.This is a photo of Saul Bellow.

Mexican Retablo Painting: The Art of Private Devotion (with Intercultura) March 7- April 21, 1991
Lots of work went into preparing the works for exhibition- they were typically not well cared for and from homes the curator had collected them from. Lots of conflicting instructions on how to handle them from the curator and the director made it a most unpleasant experience, but the exhibition turned them into jewel like wonders. A very popular exhiition.

Master of Fine Arts Qualifying Exhibition  April 28- May 19,1991
this Biennial event featured the works of graduating students in the MFA program- I note that some of them were harder to work with than established artists I was used to working with.

Texas Realism Tour

The Tour of the exhibition was under the auspices of the John Judkyn Memorial, Freshford Manor, Bath, England.

The American Museum in Britain, Bath, England March 29-June 30, 1991
Rhyl Museum and Art Center - Rhyl, Wales July 13-August 10, 1991
Scottish National Galleru of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland Dec 5- Feb 2, 1992
Imiversity of Warwich Arts Centre Warwick England, Feb 17- Mar 18, 1992
The Cornerhouse, Manchester, England March 21- May 3, 1992

Ignacio Zuloaga-1870-1945
May 30-July 28, 1991

A genuine Spanish artist from Sepulveda, large and intermediat size canvases made for aninteresting show in our lower galleries.

Aspects of Contemporary Mexican Painting (With The Americas Society)  Sept 12- Oct. 27, 1991

My first introduction to some of the artists who were in my opinion, exciting and groundbreaking in their vision and scope. I fell in love with Colunga's imagery and use of christian symbolism in his startling paintings. a very underrated artist I think.

Ceremony of Memory  Nov. 13- Jan 8, 1992

I love the kind of conceptual curating this show afforded- it makes it easy to thematically portray mood and atmosphere to form a context for the work at large.

Lynne Curtis / Cynthia Lin  Paintings Jan 17- March 1, 1992

Two profs who were new to SMU at the time.

Juan Gonzalez (with Nancy Hoffman Gallery, NYC)  Mar 12-May 3, 1992

This artist is a craftsman/draftsman whose symbolic forms are sometimes a bit overbearing. Hyperrealism never made much of an impression on me.

Garry Winogrand -Portfolio Series March 12- April 12, 1992
A master photographer shows that art is in the eye, not the hand. excellect selection of Winogrand's best work and a pleasure to design.

Spanish Art/Spanish Prints of the Eighties- May 15- June 2,1992

Cutting edge work from some of Europe's best Printmakers.

Despujols,  A New Beginning- The Gallery, Hughes Trigg Center, SMU Dallas -June 1992

A show from the OTHER Meadows Museum in Louisiana, this show featured documentary work from French Indochina and was designed for the galleries in the Hughes Trigg student Center.

Antoni Tapies in Print (With the Museum of Modern Art, NYC) July 1, August 30, 1992

Had a chance to work one on one with Deborah Wye, the curator from MOMA- a down to earth, intelligent and sensitive person to work with, Our temperaments clicked and the show benefitted from that rapport.

Spain: A Heritage Rediscovered (with Ariadne Gallery, NYC) 3000 BC-711 AD Sept 11-Nov 8, 1992

these treasures comprised some of the most beautiful antiquities I have ever handled. designed and built new casework and fittings to complement their nature. I had hoped the museum would purchase the collection as it comprised examples from Spain's prehistory up to the time where the Meadows collection begins. Commendation from Ariadne for my work on this one.

Manuel Boix- Tirant Lo Blanc October 1992

One of the several books in the collection a masterful illustrator was literally showcased in this small exhibition.

Open Spain- Nov. 20, 1992- January 10, 1993

Spanish documentary photography.

Convivencia (With the Jewish Museum, NYC) Jan 29- April 11, 1003

One of my favorite shows, i got to work with some of the most beautiful artifacts and print materials ever assembled. A nice challenge to create safe environments while showing off the fine quality of the works- I was able to work intimately with the folks at the Jewish Museum and the scholars that came to oversee the installation.

SMU Master of Fine Arts Qualifying Exhibition April 25- May 23, 1993

Pablo Picasso- Twenty Sonnets of Gongora- June 11- Aug. 8, 1993

The Musum had quite a number of Picasso prints and paintings in its collection so I had the priviledge of designing the mounts and conservation quality framing in addition to the design for the exhibition.

Drawings of Federico Garcia Lorca- June 11- Aug. 8, 1993
An Andalusian Dog was running in the student center in concurrence with this exhibition, I learned a lot about the poet's graphic abilities in researching this one.

SMU Faculty Show Sept 10- Oct 31, 1993
(image by Larry Scholder)

Flor Garduno- Witnesses of Time Nov 12, 1993- Jan 9, 1994
One of the great photographers of the twentieth century IMHO. These images remain seared in my memory to this day.

Spanish Polychrome Sculpture in US Collections 1500- 1800
Jan 28- Mar 28, 1994

I am amazed when I look back at the diversity and beauty of the object I had the privilege to work with as the raw material for my designs. This design was an act of devotion on my part and the power and passion of the artists were everywhere evident in these phenomenal sculptures.

Pedro Cano- Drawings April 1-June 6, 1994

This design was all about lighting and bringing out the subtleties of the draughtsman's hand. The architectural motifs were reflected in the area I chose for the installation as well.

Luis Gordillo (with Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderne) Jun 10- Aug 7, 1994

Gordillo remarked to our director that I worked faster and more accurately in installing the pieces than 4 Spaniards. I don't know what that meant but he was obviously thrilled with the installation design and the flow of the show.

Goya -Disparates and Caprichos Sept 23- Oct 30, 1994

In preparation I wrote my own volume of commentary on the images. I really got to know tha passions of the artist before the design phase began.

Genesis Symposium Acacia Arts Group, Dallas Visual Arts Center Oct-Nov 1994

One of my own pieces from this major show of contemporary Christian fine artists in the Dallas area. Very well received and I must say I was surprised at the quality of the work.

Dallas Creation Celebration

2 day event bringing together all the arts in a worship experience and exhibition open to the public. Designed not only the installation but redesigned the entire space it was placed in as well. An example of creative programming on a shoestring budget that I was very extremely proud of.

October 1994

Image and Memory (With ICI, NYC) Nov 15- Dec 30, 1994

Powerful Provocative images demanded a variety of treatments as the show was so diverse it was difficult to establish themes.

SMU Meadows School Faculty Exhibition- Mary Vernon Jan 27- Mar 12, 1995

Mary was chair of the Art department so Ihad a working rlationship with her that enabled the design to take the pieces into a coherent context that pleased the artist.

Bolivian Masterpieces  Jan 20- Mar 12, 1995

Amazing and fantastical angleic beings, , adept painting next to mediocre works - a strangely conceived but effective exhibition.

Josep Renau- Fata Morgana USA  Jan 20- Mar 12, 1995

Disturbing collage work that gave me a new sense of how the world sees America- often in critical and challenging ways.

Images of Penance, Images of Mercy (With Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center) Mar 31- May 28, 1995

this is one of the most challenging and interesting designs I had to come up with while at the meadows- I had to transform the facility into cloister like sets to place the objects in meaningful contexts.

Wendy Ewald June 9- Aug 6, 1995

Give a child a camera anfd literacy happens. Very interesting work.

From the Ends of the Earth- Judaic Treasures from the Library of Congress (with Lof C) Sept 15- Nov 12, 1995

Another chance to work intimately with a world class institution. the curators were accessible and helppful but let me have free reign with the objects once they knew of my regard for the Jewish milieu. Got another commendation from the Library of Congress for this one.

On and Off Broadway- Theater Designs of William and Jean Eckart  Dec 3, 1995- Feb 7, 1996

Wow- I got to meet and work extensively witha genius on this one- I will always remeber being a part of going through his voluminous collections of original drawings for the designs of some of America's finest set designs and models for the theater. Jean Eckart was already gone by this time and Bill died in 2000 so I was glad to be a part of showcasing this singular American talent who had more influence on the American visual arts than I think anyone gives credit for. .

Jay Sullivan, Sculptor Feb 28- April 12, 1996

this installation created an atmosphere of a living space with images of almost recognizable personalities. The artist was my next door neighbor in the Meadows School so I knew his work intimately.

The Meadows Collection: 30 Years of Spanish  Masterpieces for Texas May 7- July 10, 1996

A major redesign of the entire permanen collection galleries won accolades and was fittingly one of my last designs while at the museum. It was during this time that I spent dozens of hours scoping out designs for the projected new building which was eventually built down the street from the Meadows School- a fitting new home for a superior art collection. The old galleries and shoestring budgets never failed to offer design challenges, so I hope the new environment is beneficial to the collection.

Mingei: Japanese Folk Art Aug 7- Oct 7, 1996

Woked with the Cincinnati Art Museum on this one. Humongous number of objects that demanded the refitting of the galleries to form a fitting environment that both highlighted and protected the works.