Like many objects rooted in the everyday, quilts have the capacity to communicate stories about the context in which they were made and used. They represent maps of the quilters’ lives—living records of cultural traditions, rites of passage, relationships, political and spiritual beliefs, landmark events, and future aspirations. In the same way, a map is a pocket-sized abstraction of the world beyond what can be seen; in a quilt, a maker’s choice of fabric and design reveals insights into the topography of her world and place within it.
Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts invites viewers to read quilts as maps, tracing the paths of individual stories and experiences that illuminate larger historic events and cultural trends. Spanning the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries, the exhibition brings together 18 quilts from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum, New York, representing a range of materials, motifs, and techniques—from traditional early American quilts to more contemporary sculptural assemblage. The quilts in Handstitched Worlds show us how this too-often overlooked medium balances creativity with tradition, individuality with collective zeitgeist.
Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts was organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection brings together a rich array of works on paper, breaking down the various methods and materials used in modern artistic practice. Showcasing 50 superb prints and drawings, this exhibition samples the breadth and beauty of International Arts & Artists’ own Hechinger Collection, which has the unique theme of hand tools and hardware. Focusing on the creative process, the featured works represent a variety of media and disciplines at an artist’s disposal. Audiences will learn about the intricacies of these assorted techniques, and directly see how an artist makes a statement through the graphic arts. Making Your Mark’s celebration of the visual and conceptual aspects of drawing and printmaking educates and inspires in the best way, leaving viewers engaged, and rapt with curiosity.
Some of the most influential artists of the twentieth century are featured in the exhibition, including Berenice Abbott, Jim Dine, Richard Estes, Walker Evans, Howard Finster, Ke Francis, Jacob Lawrence, Hans Namuth, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Lucas Samaras, Aaron Siskind, and Wayne Thiebaud.
Making Your Mark begins by establishing drawing as its foundation, then moves through five distinct printing styles, then shifts to the contemporary method of screen printing. The final technique, photography — whose name unites the Greek words for light (photos) and drawing (graphé)—brings the exhibition full circle, returning the viewer to the inception of mark-making. Each section highlights the complexities of the unique artistic process, and a timeless affinity for the beauty of lines and the bewitching utility of tools as instruments of craft.
Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection is organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
Artists have long created works featuring characters or scenes from popular stories. From the depiction of mythological fantasies in William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s Nymphaeum (on view in the Haggin’s McKee Gallery) to Salvador Dali’s dreamlike illustrations of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Keith Haring’s modern spin on Walt Disney’s Cruella De Vil, the tradition remains common practice in the art world. The artworks celebrate heroes, tell the tales of glory and heartache, or even express admiration one has for a beloved character. Carrying on the tradition, the artists of Sideshow Collectibles bring to life pop culture icons such as Batman, Iron Man, and Luke Skywalker, through fine art prints, three-dimensional figures, and more.
Sideshow Collectibles works with an international group of artists to produce high-quality licensed collectible art. Each fine art print or figure connects fans with their favorite characters from film, television, comic books, and pop culture. Stockton native Mat Falls and Greg Anzalone founded Sideshow in 1994. Mat Falls was a principle sculptor for the company creating highly detailed and sculpturally elegant figures. “These are collectibles—they’re limited edition—that elevates them to a particular place, that in my opinion, makes them fine art and has become a celebration of pop culture, icons, superheroes, fantasy, and creatures,” commented Mat.
Sci-Fi to Superheroes: The Art of Sideshow Collectibles is a celebration of pop culture and the artists that bring it to life. On view are a selection of limited-edition fine art prints and three-dimensional figures featuring characters from iconic brands such as DC, Marvel, and Star Wars created by Sideshow sculptors and artists.
Superhero Skyline
August 13 | 1 – 2:30 pm
Ready for some superhero fun? Join us to make your own Superhero Super City Skyline! Add your favorite superheroes saving your city from evil villains and crime.
Superhero Slime
September 1 | 1 – 2:30 pm
This activity is just right for kids who love playing superheroes at home or school! Make a fun and easy superhero slime or create your own button to show everyone your superpower.
Superhero Trivia Night
October 6 | 7 pm
DC and Marvel fans, assemble! Join us for a fun trivia night at the Haggin Museum. Gather your finest team of six (6) know-it-alls and put your minds to the test for a chance to win prizes!
At Yosemite National Park, more than five million annual visitors are supported by thousands of local rangers, workers, and volunteers. Through Yosemite People, the complex and nuanced relationships between people and Yosemite’s natural wonders come to life. Photographs from award-winning artist Jonas Kulikauskas – who brings his street photography sensibilities to the wilderness – reveal crowds clamoring to take the perfect selfie with Half Dome in the background and families cooling off in Tenaya Creek, while servers prep for diners at the Ahwahnee Hotel and rangers patrol the expansive Park. Traditions and history, too, are preserved through these images; Kulikauskas captures master basket weaver Julia Parker before her retirement, as well as Yosemite Valley Stables (where horseback riding tours are no longer allowed). Augmenting these images are text panels with oral histories from visitors to and workers in Yosemite, as well as historic images from Eadweard Muybridge, Ansel Adams, and Carleton Watkins.
Jonas Kulikauskas is an award-winning artist, photographer, and author, who has exhibited nationally and internationally, including a solo museum show at the National Čiurlionis Gallery of Art, Lithuania, in 2012. Since 2002, Kulikauskas has been a faculty member at ArtCenter College of Design, where he received the Samsung Faculty Enrichment Grant for Yosemite People.
Yosemite People is a traveling exhibition from Exhibit Envoy and photographer Jonas Kulikauskas.
Artist Talk with Jonas Kulikauskas
September 1 | 7 – 8 pm
Photographer Jonas Kulikauskas discusses his inspiration for his Yosemite People project and the people and scenery he encountered along the way. Since 2002, Kulikauskas has been a faculty member at ArtCenter College of Design, where he received the Samsung Faculty Enrichment Grant for this project. The Yosemite People book took 1st place in the People category at the prestigious International Photography Awards in 2017, and in 2019, 33 images from Yosemite People were accessioned into the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
