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rachstratts

@rachstratts

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Modern and contemporary curator and art historian.

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Just opened my first show @thewadsworth - co-curated with the wonderful Danielle Drees.

It’s been a lot of fun to work on. Come and check it out if you’re in the area.

#contemporaryart #sculpture #artforeveryone taken in Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art by @rachstratts

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3 days ago

There are two brilliant photography shows up in Connecticut at the moment. Ocean Vuong: I’m Sorry I Love You @thewadsworth and Sightlines: British Landscape Photography, 1840 to Now @yalebritishart . I was so moved by both of these show in different ways.

@ocean_vuong who many know through his writing vividly evokes the people and places of his youth in CT. His meticulously composed images are a testament to the power of photography to not only document, but to poetically and very poignantly articulate the important moments in life, whether those that change your reality like the death of a parent or the fleeting everyday moments of connection with colleagues, lovers and friends.

Sightlines is such a thoughtful and well put together show, which beautifully conveys the diverse ways artists have utilised the so-called “mechanical eye” to vastly different ends. Sometimes it’s to abstract, at other times to document, and even to depart from reality entirely and reveal the surreal absurdity of modern life. Every work in the show is visually compelling and communicates something important. It manages to artfully weave in histories of photography and British art.

Congratulations to @danidrees and @jacksondavidow - two major talents in contemporary art curating and scholarship. by @rachstratts

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2 months ago

What makes Gwen John one of the most compelling artists of her generation? 🐈

Now open at Modern Two, Gwen John: Strange Beauties brings together more than 200 paintings, drawings and archival works to reveal an artist whose quiet, deeply personal approach changed the course of modern art.

In this film, @museumwales curator Lucy Wood, @yalebritishart Rachel Stratton and National Galleries of Scotland curator Charlotte Topsfield share what continues to make Gwen John’s work so extraordinary - from the strength and tenderness of her portraits to the subtle yet technical beauty that rewards those who spend time looking closely.

Whether you’re discovering Gwen John for the first time or returning to a favourite artist, this is an exhibition that invites you to pause, reflect and see the world through her eyes.

Gwen John: Strange Beauties is now open daily at Modern Two. Book your visit via the link in our bio 🐈 by @rachstratts

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2 months ago

She’s arrived.

From this Saturday, Gwen John: Strange Beauties takes over the whole of Modern Two in the first major retrospective in Scotland dedicated to one of Britain’s most pioneering artists.

Marking 150 years since her birth, the exhibition brings together more than 200 paintings, rarely seen drawings and archival material, offering a fresh look at Gwen John’s quietly radical artistic vision.

Following acclaimed presentation at @museumwales , it’s now your chance to experience this extraordinary exhibition in Edinburgh.

In this film, Rachel Stratton from the @yalebritishart reflects on John’s extraordinary ability to capture both the strength and tenderness of her female sitters.

Slow down and spend time with Gwen’s intimate and meditative paintings, then make a day of it at Modern Two with a walk through the grounds, lunch in the café and a visit to the shop.

Gwen John: Strange Beauties is open daily at Modern Two from Saturday 1 August. Book your tickets via the link in our bio.

@edinburghfilmco by @rachstratts

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2 months ago

Carnivals and protests have always been my favorite types of events because I love it when people take to the streets. I’m adding block parties to that list.

On Sunday we had our 2nd annual block party and it was so fun. The little kids went nuts, high on sugar and soaked through from the sprinkler; the teens played endless games of baseball and volleyball on the street; and the rest of us got to eat, drink, chat, and even dance a little.

Things a feeling pretty dark in this country at the moment, especially with the 250th around the corner. The block party was a great reminder that community is the way through all this. by @rachstratts

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3 months ago

by @rachstratts

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4 months ago

Belated photos of the Aldrich Decennial - a celebration of the visual arts in Connecticut. A beautiful show in a gorgeous setting.

I especially loved encountering artists I wasn’t familiar with, such as @enriquefigueredo whose incredible outdoor sculpture/painting (image 3) is inspired by the woodblock used for printmaking. Figueredo is a printmaker but has become fascinated with the aesthetics and tactility of the block. In the piece for the Aldrich, he scaled up the block to a monumental scale, transforming it from a tool used to print on paper into the final artwork.

Some favorites:
1. Dominic Chambers, Trilogy
2. Amanda Rushell Wallace
3. Enrique Figueredo
4. Anoka Faruquee and David Driscoll
5. Faustin Adeniran

#contemporaryart #aldrichdecennial #connecticut taken in The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum by @rachstratts

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4 months ago

I am so thrilled to join the incredible team @thewadsworth as Interim Assistant Curator for Contemporary Art. Working with a collection like this is any curator’s dream. There’s so much scope and variety, so many fascinating objects - some well known, others calling out for new research. The possibilities are endless for visual storytelling and for making interesting connections across time periods, geographies and media. If you’re in the tri-state area please come visit!

A few favs currently on display:

1. Eva LeWitt, Untitled (11), 2022
2. Howardina Pindell, Autobiography: Water / Ancestors / Middle Passage / Family Ghosts, 1988
3. Willem de Kooning, Montauk I, 1969
4. Sylvia Sleigh, Allan Robinson, 1968
5. Robert Rauschenberg, Retroactive I, 1963

#contemporaryart #museums #paintings #sculpture #collage by @rachstratts

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4 months ago

A weekend of conflicting emotions in Washington D.C. I was there to see my dad receive an award from the National Academy of Sciences for his contribution to cancer genetics. It was a proud moment for him and I was glad to be a part of it.

Alongside hearing about some incredible research taking place across the sciences (much of it over my head admittedly) the former head of NIH, Francis Collins, gave a rousing speech about the current situation in science, invoking Charles Dickens’ famous opener to A Tale of Two Cities: “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” In other words, the advances are extraordinary, the attack by this administration, unparalleled and devastating.

In downtown Washington now, visual reminders of Trump are everywhere you look - in newly named buildings and creepy propaganda posters. By contrast, when we went to the NGA’s #America250 exhibition, there was a notable dearth of work about slavery or its legacy. Whether this was official or self censorship I don’t know, but whatever the case it was sad to see.

In the same weekend, a few blocks away from us, the President and all the guests at the Whitehouse Correspondents’ Dinner were evacuated because of another assassination attempt on Trump. We fortunately were a safe distance, but it was surreal to think that not far away events were unfolding that once again revealed the precariousness and fragility of our current climate.

Although the darkness was present in the background, this weekend has ultimately been an inspiring one. It was a good reminder that hope comes from celebrating human creativity and it is that which unites the sciences and the arts. by @rachstratts

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6 months ago

This Friday, for #womenshistorymonth♀️I’ll be doing a gallery talk about the artist Stanislawa de Karlowska, who is depicted in this painting by Harold Gilman, currently on view at the YCBA (@yalebritishart) as part of the exhibition Going Modern: British Art 1900-1960.

Stanislawa de Karlowska (1876-1952) grew up in Poland but came to Britain as a young woman, after marrying the English painter Robert Bevan. I’ve long been interested in Karlowska’s work, which combines the colorful palette of French post Impressionism, the everyday subjects of The Camden Town Group and the elongated, stylised forms of Polish folk art.

Although she is best known for her scenes of life in North London (see final image), I’m personally much more drawn to her portraits of the artistic and intellectual women in her orbit and her staged still life’s of flowers and ornaments, which speak to the importance of the domestic space as a site for creativity in this period.

As a woman, Karlowska was excluded from the all-male Camden Town Group (1911-13) to which her husband and many of her friends (including Gilman) belonged. That changed in 1914 when she became one of the few female founders of the London Group, an exhibiting society set up as an alternative to the Royal Academy and the main proponent of modern art in Britain.

I am grateful to @patrick_baty for sharing these images of Karlowska’s work, most of which are not in public collections. Details of my talk and other events for women’s history month can be found on the YCBA website. taken in Yale Center for British Art by @rachstratts

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7 months ago

by @rachstratts

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7 months ago

It’s publication day! Gwen John: Strange Beauties is now available to buy wherever you get your books. I’m super proud of the exhibition as a whole but I think I’m especially proud of the book, which I hope will inspire people to love this weird and wonderful artist as much as I do.

The book charts her art and life, from her earliest realist portraits of her friends and family to her late works from the 1920s and 30s, which veer into abstraction. It’s the first book to look at and illustrate the full scope of her practice, including the oil paintings for which she’s best known and her lesser known works on paper and private writings, which reveal so much about the inner workings of her mind. Marking the 150th anniversary of her birth it aims to get to the heart of her artistic purpose as a “seer of strange beauties” and reconsiders how she fits within histories of modernism.

This book is a reflection of the brilliant people who contributed to it and from whom I have learned so much, both about Gwen John and about how to make good books. Special thanks to the designer Laura Lindgren, the Publications team @yalebritishart (@donmcmahon1234 @miciahhussey @victoriaahepburn); my co-editor @lucy.c.wood ; and the contributing authors Cecily Langdale @orin.zahra @rebeccafbirrell @gruetznerrobins @helena.on.sea @fimclees and @lauren_elkin_ . by @rachstratts

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8 months ago