The RISD Museum of Art
224 Benefit Street (enter through the Chace Center at 20 N. Main Street)
Tues-Sun 10-5pm • New: Open Every Thursday of the Month until 9pm
401 454-6500
www.risdmuseum.org/

May 17, 5-9pm
All galleries open until 9pm! Free admission!

Hands-On Art
6-8pm | Museum Galleries
Create your own art in the museum galleries with the guidance of Museum Educator Paul Carpentier. Each session is inspired by works on view. All materials provided, no experience necessary.

Screening: Objectified
6:30–7:45 pm | Museum Galleries
The second part of a three-film “design trilogy” by director Gary Hustwit (Helvetica and Urbanized), this documentary looks at industrial design—the manufactured objects (cars, phones, chairs) that surround us and the designers who create them. (2009/75 min./Not rated) Co-sponsored by Cable Car Cinema.

Art Shots
7-7:30pm | Meet at the Babylonian Lion, Ancient Galleries
Explore art and design through gallery talks spanning centuries and cultures from the perspective of student artists and art historians.

new! Late Thursdays
The RISD Museum and risd|works are now open until 9 pm every Thursday! Check out our special evening events, including Music Thursdays (formerly Music Fridays) every first Thursday -now free for members; Gallery Night every third Thursday, -free for everyone; and special programs and events every Thursday.
Info: risdmuseum.org or 401 454-6500.

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

Painting Air: Spencer Finch
Through July 29, 2012
Internationally acclaimed artist Spencer Finch “tests the limits of visual perception” (New York Times) and is known for his investigations of light and color. Combining science with poetic observation, he brings new awareness to the natural and built worlds in which we live.

In this major two-part show, Finch creates an expansive, site-specific new installation-also titled Painting Air-that recalls his recent visit to Monet’s water garden in Giverny, France. Finch’s profound connection to Monet runs deeply through both sections of the show, and the Museum’s Basin at Argenteuil, 1874, is an aesthetic touchstone that ties the two parts together. As a RISD graduate student, Finch copied the light-filled composition-and his studies of Monet continue to inform his creative process to this day. Delving further into the Museum’s collection, Finch curates a selection of more than 60 pieces-ancient objects to late-20th-century art-creating thematic groupings that reveal links and contrasts between artists.

Designing Traditions Biennial: Student Explorations
in the Asian Textile Collection
Through November 11, 2012
This popular biennial exhibition reveals the working design process of contemporary student textile designers inspired by objects in the Museum’s collection. In a collaboration between the Museum and the School, intricately crafted objects ranging from Hawaiian bark cloth to a Chinese feather fan and Persian rug fragment have been selected by curators and faculty to excite the newest generation of designers. In this third biennial show, innovative textiles, as well as hand-drawn and computer-generated designs, show the breadth of contemporary creativity sparked by even the smallest details of traditional craftsmanship.

Distant Climes: 18th-Century British Views of Italy
Through June 3, 2012
British artists began traveling to Italy in the mid-1700s, drawing inspiration from its ancient sites and idyllic countryside. This exhibition assembles Italian views by some of these early travelers, including Richard Wilson, Richard Cooper II, and John “Warwick” Smith.

Sitings 2012:  Museum in Motion
Through June 3, 2012
Sitings 2012: Museum in Motion presents the winning installations from the Museum’s annual competition for RISD degree candidates to create site-specific installations in The RISD Museum. The installations offer a comment on/response to the Museum spaces and/or its collection. Begun in 1995, Sitings fosters direct interaction between the Museum, students, and the public. The aim of this juried event is to encourage students to explore and celebrate the eccentricities of the Museum’s buildings and to provide them the experience of working in a museum environment. This year’s winners are Anther Kiley (RISD MFA Graphic Design ’13) and Anya Ventura (Brown MFA Public Humanities ’12) for FRAGMENTS and Rachel Grobstein (RISD MFA Painting ’13) for Lostronaut.  The juror for the Sitings 2012 was New York-based artist Nancy Chunn. Sitings is funded by the Artist’s Development Fund of the Rhode Island Foundation.
 
Pilgrims of Beauty: Art and Inspiration in 19th-Century Italy
Through July 8, 2012
Throughout the 19th century, the landscape, history, architecture, and art of Italy served as a tremendous source of inspiration for artists from around the world. Masters such as Ingres, Turner, Sargent, and Whistler were among those who benefitted from, and contributed to, the spirit of artistic experimentation and collaboration Italy offered.

Everyday Things: Contemporary Work from the Collection
Through Sunday, February 24, 2013
Everyday Things brings together contemporary works from the collection that depict commonplace objects and imagery, utilize everyday elements in their construction (teabags, fluorescent lights, metal pipes, a bowling ball), or serve as functional artist-made objects, including benches, chairs, and light fixtures. With roots in Pop Art, Photorealism, and design, artists in the exhibition use non-traditional materials and subject matter to transform, repurpose, and represent aspects of everyday life.

About THE MUSEUM
Southeastern New England's only comprehensive art museum, the Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design—- also known as the RISD Museum—- was established in 1874. Its permanent collection of more than 86,000 objects includes paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, costume, furniture, and other works of art from every part of the world—- including objects from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and art of all periods from Asia, Europe, and the Americas, up to the latest in contemporary art. The Museum also offers a wide array of educational and public programs to more than 100,000 visitors annually.