The Aldrich Decennial: I am what is around me

June 7, 2026 to January 10, 2027 In the Galleries and the Sculpture Garden

The Aldrich Decennial: I am what is around me, the debut of a recurring survey taking place every ten years, features artists who live and work in Connecticut. As the state's only institution exclusively dedicated to contemporary art, this series will spotlight current artists and practices emerging from Connecticut. None of the featured artists will have had a solo museum exhibition in the state, and all works will have been created within the last decade.

Connecticut has been the home to many goliaths of art history, including Anni and Josef Albers, Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Jasper Johns, Barkley Hendricks, and Sol LeWitt. Spanning the full footprint of the Museum's 8,000-square-foot galleries and recently renovated three-acre campus and Sculpture Garden, this survey will explore the varied artistic expressions of generations of artists who have chosen to live and work outside major art centers. The Aldrich has a long history of supporting Connecticut artists through solo, group, and invitational exhibitions since its inception. In alignment with the Museum's mission to support artists at pivotal points in their careers, this exhibition will feature an intergenerational roster of artists emphasizing breakout debuts and rediscoveries.

Modeled after other major museum series, this exhibition will showcase the breadth of artists' practices and present an opportunity for artists at varying stages of their careers within the state. The dynamism of Connecticut's landscape has long provided a respite for artists who have chosen to work outside the pressure and expense of major metropolitan art centers like New York or Boston. As rents continue to increase, this trend has accelerated. Diana Bowes Chief Curator Amy Smith-Stewart and Curatorial and Publications Manager Caitlin Monachino conducted over 100 studio visits to understand the tenor of creation across the state.

The exhibition's title, I am what is around me, is excerpted from the American poet Wallace Stevens's poem "Theory," 1917. Stevens lived in Hartford, Connecticut, for 40 years, and many of his poems were inspired by the city.

The typeface for the exhibition design is DROIT, designed by the artists Christopher Sleboda and Kathleen Sleboda, based in Guilford, Connecticut.

Inaugurated by the Museum’s Diana Bowes Chief Curator Amy Smith-Stewart, the first edition of the series will be curated by Smith-Stewart and Curatorial and Publications Manager Caitlin Monachino.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a significant publication featuring an essay, plates, installation views, and artist biographies.

Participating Artists

Faustin Adeniran (b. 1988)
Ellen Altfest (b. 1970)
Scott Carrillo Azevedo (b. 1983)
Jen Bervin (b. 1972)
Carlos Bautista Biernnay (b. 1969)
Lula Mae Blocton (b. 1947)
Gary Burnley (b. 1950)
Dominic Chambers (b. 1993)
Carl D’Alvia (b. 1965)
Chris Domenick (b. 1982)
Anindita Dutta (b. 1973)
Azza El Siddique (b. 1984)
Anoka Faruqee (b. 1972) & David Driscoll (b. 1964)
Enrique Figueredo (b. 1980)
Lizzie Gill (b. 1989)
Renee Gladman (b. 1971)
Dan Gunn (b. 1980)
Edward Henderson (b. 1951)
Huê Thi Hoffmaster (b. 1982)
Kristy Hughes (b. 1987)
Jilaine Jones (b. 1959)
Arghavan Khosravi (b. 1984)
Sonja Langford (b. 1994)
Emily Larned (b. 1977)
Jihyun Lee (b. 1979)
Beck Lowry (b. 1980)
Danica Lundy (b. 1991)
Tammy Nguyen (b. 1984)
Grace O’Connor (b. 1974)
Em Rooney (b. 1983)
Lucy Sallick (b. 1937)
Kern Samuel (b. 1990)
Aki Sasamoto (b. 1980)
John Shen (b. 1990)
Remy Sosa (b. 1995)
Philip Taaffe (b. 1955)
Felandus Thames (b. 1974)
Amanda Russhell Wallace (b. 1986)
Julia Wachtel (b. 1956)

Press Release

Press

“Drawing upon the state's history as a home to artists including Alexander Calder and Sol LeWitt, the show will focus on works created within the prior decade by artists who have never had a solo museum exhibition in the state. New Haven-based painter Dominic Chambers, Iranian-born multi-media artist Arghavan Khosravi, and novelist and poet Renee Gladman are among the inaugural cohort. The title is derived from the 1917 poem “Theory" by Wallace Stevens, who was a longtime resident of Hartford, Connecticut. The poem evokes identity as formed by one's context.”
—Hyperallergic

“Running June 7, 2026, to January 10, 2027, the first iteration of the decennial will take the title “I am what is around me” and is organized by chief curator Amy Smith-Stewart and publications manager Caitlin Monachino, who conducted over 100 studio visits as part of their research. The curators have pared that down to an international group of 40 artists, including some high-profile names like Dominic Chambers, Tammy Nguyen, Em Rooney, Aki Sasamoto, and Julia Wachtel. The oldest artist in the exhibition is Lucy Sallick, who was born in 1937, while the show’s youngest is Remy Sosa, who is nearly six decades younger than Sallick, having been born in 1995.”
—ARTnews

Funders

Major support for The Aldrich Decennial: I am what is around me is provided by The Aldrich Council. Generous support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts and Wagner Foundation. Significant support is provided by Ellen and Andrew Celli. Additional support is provided by an anonymous donor and Helen Kauder and Barry Nalebuff. The catalogue is supported by the Eric Diefenbach and James Keith Brown Publications Fund. Production support is provided by the Diana Bowes and Jim Torrey Commissions Fund. Digital projects support is provided by Rodney Reid. Preferred Art Logistics Provider: Crozier

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The Aldrich Decennial: I Am What Is Around Me in black font against a white background

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