ART! The RISD Museum – Works in Process

by Nancy Thomas

Photo: William Edgar Brigham, Study of Parrot on Perch, 1914. Gift of the Estate of William E. Brigham. RISD Museum, Providence

The RISD Museum is a Rhode Island treasure. Whether it is going to events for the family, or visiting your favorite part of their standard collections, it is always worth a once a month stop-in to see what’s new.

Art isn’t always about a finished product. The Works in Process exhibit ends at the end of January, so plan to visit soon.

The groups of objects in this exhibition demonstrate how ideas—and even artworks themselves—develop throughout the process of creation. Whether an image translated into a sketch then simplified into a design, a pattern made into an object, or motif preserved through careful documentation and later used as inspiration, these objects speak to one another, demonstrating some of the ways artists work through their ideas.

Line gives shape and form to vision, and it is also an own expressive entity that rewards close study. Whether articulated with a brush, pen, or pencil or carved and impressed, each mark conveys the artist’s thought process.

Curated by Emily Banas, Assistant Curator, Decorative Arts and Design and Wai Yee Chiong, Associate Curator of Asian Art.

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1874–1948), a daughter of Rhode Island senator Nelson W. Aldrich and the wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr., was a lifelong supporter of the arts. Mrs. Rockefeller assembled a remarkable collection of Asian woodblock prints, donating more than 700 Japanese prints to the RISD Museum.

Advance ticket purchase is required to help ensure the safety of museum staff and visitors.

HOURS: TUE, WED, SAT, SUN 10am – 5pm, THU & FRI 12 – 7pm.

Admission is free on Chase Free Sunday (10 am–5 pm) and Free After Five Presented by Chase on Thursdays and Fridays (5–7 pm).

Go to: https://risdmuseum.org/ – and plan your visit! Bring the family and start a new tradition.

ART! is sponsored by….