Kay Hartung's Favorite Artists

This is another in a series of occasional blog posts, where we've asked a member artist to talk briefly about an artist who's profoundly influenced their work. Here, in summery picture-book fashion, associate artist Kay Hartung has compiled a list of artists who have particularly inspired her. Click on the artist's name for more info, and treat yourself to a mini art history lesson.

Tell us- Who's inspired you?

Annie Albers - pattern

Sonia Delaunay- color

El Anatsui - materials, structure

Ernst Haekel - cellular images

Eva Hesse - materials

Matisse - pattern, color

Sheila Hicks - texture, color

Picasso - abstraction

And now a bit about Kay Hartung:

Kay Hartung is a mixed media artist who has a studio at ArtSpace Maynard and lives inActon. She has a BFA from Philadelphia College of Art and an MFA from Syracuse University. She was on the faculty of Bradford College in the Creative Arts Division from 1979-1999. She maintained a studio at Vernon Street Studio in Somerville for 10 years before moving to Acton in 1992. Her work has been exhibited nationally and is in many private and corporate collections. She has created specially commissioned work for both public and residential spaces. You can see examples of her work at kayhartung.com

Internal Combustion/ Juror Selections

INTERNAL COMBUSTION:

 152 entries

+ 76 artists

 x 1 juror =

a very strong show!

We spent the better part of the day watching quietly while Joseph Carroll carefully examined each piece, as he made his selections for the show. Earlier, we had randomly arranged the submissions  along the walls and on every surface of the gallery, in order to make each piece visible at first glance without introducing any bias.

Joseph may have experienced a bit of sensory overload when he walked in (as you might expect from the above images), but was undaunted as he methodically studied each piece. If several pieces had been submitted by a single artist, he often considered them together. By the end of the day, he had selected and arranged 50 pieces by 38 artists.

Joseph told us later that he likened the experience to "walking into a party where you didn't know anyone", and trying to get a feeling for which people you'd like to get to know a little better. He commented that as he grew a little more familiar with the individual pieces, he noticed common themes in work that was executed with different media and of different styles.  He curated the show to reflect this interplay and create a conversation between the disparate elements of individual pieces, with the intent that the exhibit as a whole comes together in a way that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Come see for yourself!

Internal Combustion runs from June 22- August 4.

Please join us for the

  Opening Reception, Saturday June 23, from 5 -7pm

or visit us anytime-

Gallery hours are Thursday-Sunday 11-5

Our summer hours are as follows:

Closed July 6-7, Independence Day weekend

July 13- Aug 4, Fri-Sat 11-5 

and as always, by appointment

508-879-4200