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January 26 to February 4, 2026 |
Public Programs
“Getting” Contemporary Art: Winter 2026 Series
Monday, January 26 - 5:30 to 6:30 pm | Wednesday, January 28 - 5:30 to 6:30 pm | Monday, February 2 - 11 am at The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Wednesday, February 4 - 5:30 to 6:30 pm
$55; $49 Member for a single on-site class (January 26, 28, and/or February 4) $120; $108 Member for the full three-class series
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We are excited to bring back our “Getting” Contemporary Art series this January and February with a three-class format, with an optional free group visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This winter’s theme explores relationships, resonance, and materiality across art history and The Aldrich’s current exhibitions.
“Getting” Contemporary Art is led by Kristen Erickson, art history teacher and Director of the Luchsinger Gallery at Greenwich Academy.
Classes:
Class 1: Power Couples in Art History
Monday, January 26 | 5:30 to 6:30 pm at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
This class will explore couples in art history, focusing on key works from Egypt, Greece, West Africa, and Europe in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. We will explore marriage as a social and economic construct, consider traditional gender roles as expressed in painting and sculpture, and discuss a few women who broke the mold.
Class 2: “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”
Wednesday, January 28 | 5:30 to 6:30 pm at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
The title of this class derives from a seminal 1971 essay by art historian Linda Nochlin that generated a feminist reconsideration of traditional art history. Focusing on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, we will examine formerly overlooked women artists, analyze women’s access to artistic training, and reconsider art forms traditionally denigrated as “women’s work.”
Optional Field Trip: Group Visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Monday, February 2 | 11 am - Special group visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (free visit for participants registered for any on-site class)
*Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Meet at 11 am in front of the Fifth Avenue entrance.
We’ll explore select works related to themes we discussed in the prior two classes of this series, covering couples and gender roles as well as a closer look at female artists represented in the collection.
Class 3: Contemporary Ceramics, Material Play, and Relational Making
Wednesday, February 4 | 5:30 to 6:30 pm at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Featuring the exhibitions Jennie Jieun Lee: Luteal Elements and Grooves and Chenlu Hou and Chiara No: What the Hands Remember to Hear, this final session, will delve into how the artists engage materiality, form, and personal narratives.
Instructor Bio
Kristen Erickson has been teaching art history and curating exhibitions for the past three decades. She spent eight years working in the curatorial field at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Smith College Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art before turning to teaching. Kristen currently teaches art history at Greenwich Academy, where she also runs the campus art gallery. She holds degrees in French and art history from Vassar College and Oxford University. A resident of Ridgefield, Kristen loves making contemporary art come alive for new audiences.
Related Exhibitions
January 25, 2026 to May 25, 2026
In the Galleries
Chenlu Hou and Chiara No: What the Hands Remember to Hear
Top image: Left: Chenlu Hou, Birds don't eat cicadas that are shedding, 2023. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Charles Benton; Center: Jennie Jieun Lee, Rocket Kiln, April 2025, New York, Various glazed ceramics. Courtesy of the artist; Right: Chiara No, Votive of Frimoth, 2024, Courtesy of the artist.