Holding Pattern: New Works at the Spencer Museum
Exhibition Overview
Kris Ercums, curator
Cassandra Mesick Braun, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
Like a plane waiting to land, this exhibition anticipates major change. As the Spencer Museum prepares for a large renovation project, Holding Pattern presents recent acquisitions in a series of thematic installations spanning two galleries. Both the specific artworks and broader themes explored in Holding Pattern reflect the diverse reasons our curators seek and acquire new works.
Gallery 318 features installations that deepen the Spencer’s commitment to supporting contemporary artists, such as Korean-American artist Ke-Sook Lee, who created the site-specific installation Ode To Sprout II at the Spencer in September 2014. In Gallery 316, the selection of World War I materials demonstrates how we augment existing collection strengths and respond to individual curatorial interests. The paintings, photographs, and works on paper that comprise the “Surreal Landscapes” section of Holding Pattern illustrate the breadth of the Spencer’s collecting interests—from contemporary Chinese art, to local printmaking, to international forms of modernism and beyond.
Works of art gifted by the Spencer’s many donors and patrons appear in each section of Holding Pattern. Their generosity and dedication allow us to expand the Spencer’s collections and cultivate curiosity, wonder, and excitement in our audiences.
