The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

“Getting” Contemporary Art: Layo Bright, Elizabeth Englander, and Loie Hollowell

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July 9: Layo Bright: Glass Reflections on the African Diaspora

This class will focus on the glass sculptures of the Nigerian-born, New York-based artist Layo Bright. Beginning in the Studio, we will use a guided looking activity to investigate the Yoruba symbols present in Bright’s work. Uniting varied motifs drawn from her culture and homeland, including Gele traditional head ties, “Ghana Must Go” bags, and white orchids, Bright creates powerful works addressing racial injustice, anti-immigrant policies, and women’s rights. A gallery tour will focus on how Bright’s connection to the natural world informs her investigation of these themes.

July 16: Of shaktis, yoginis, and jinas: Elizabeth Englander and Eminem Buddhism

In this class, we will commune with the yoginis, jinas, saints, and other spiritual figures that have taken up residency in The Aldrich’s galleries at the hand of Elizabeth Englander. A practitioner of Zen Buddhism with a deep knowledge of Asian religious practices, Englander employs found materials layered with their own meaning to create a new pantheon of gods and goddesses. After a gallery walk, we will move to The Studio to examine the Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, and Christian sources for Englander’s inventive works. A guided reflection activity will allow us to consider meanings encoded on Englander’s materials and on our own personal tchotchkes.

July 23: Loie Hollowell’s Bold Abstractions of Motherhood

Beginning with an independent reflection in the gallery, this class will explore Loie Hollowell’s luminous abstractions of the human form, focusing on her conceptualization of motherhood. In The Studio, we will use a guided activity to consider the ways Hollowell challenges classical, Renaissance, and modern depictions of women in art history, replacing the female muse with “interior self-portraits” that liberate the female form. We will also explore the influence of ground-breaking artists like Judy Chicago, Hilma af Klint, and Georgia O’Keeffe on Hollowell’s work.