ArtBerkshires: COVET | Summer 2012

COVET: Art + Objects | Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA | May 26 – September 2
Reception: Saturday, August 4, 4 – 6 pm

COVETed | Sienna Gallery, Lenox, MA | July 20 – August 9
Reception: Saturday, July 21, 5 – 7 pm

ArtBerkshires | COVET | Summer 2012 | a series of curated events, lectures and exhibitions throughout the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts based on contemporary visual artists inspired by museum collections organized by Leslie Ferrin and Sienna Patti for ArtBerkshires to connect contemporary visual artists, curators, writers and collectors.

MEET ME AT ...
join COVET artists and curators for behind-the-scene tours of current exhibitions at museums throughout the Berkshires | July 19 – August 17

iCOVET
join COVET artists, collectors and curators for conversations about how history informs contemporary art and acquisitions at galleries and restaurants throughout the Berkshires | July 19 – August 17

The COVETed Cocktail Cultural Cocktail by Mezze Group served at Allium and Mezze and selected COVET events

DISH + DINE at Ferrin Gallery join COVET artists, curators and writers for the perfect pairing of local food and local art
$100 per person | portion of proceeds to benefit ArtBerkshires programming | call to reserve 413.442.1622
Friday, July 20 | 6 – 9 pm | Mezze Catering | Frances Palmer: Covet | Artists, Writers and Curators
Friday, August 17 | 6 – 9 pm | Chef Brian Alberg Red Lion Inn | Molly Hatch: Covet | Artists, Writers and Curators

ArtBerkshires.com for more information

ArtBerkshires announces COVET, a series of exhibitions and programs based on contemporary artists creating new works in response to museum collections and features works in all media including design, sculpture, ceramics, painting, photography, prints, works on paper . COVET: Art + Objects and COVETed are related group exhibitions of works in all media presented at Ferrin Gallery in Pittsfield, May 26 - September 2 and Sienna Gallery in Lenox, July 19 – August 9.

In addition to the gallery exhibitions, COVET is the theme for the 2012 ArtBerkshires summer program taking place in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, July 19 - August 17. Organized by ArtBerkshires, the two week COVET program includes gallery exhibitions, curated itineraries and behind-the-scenes tours of museums, studios and galleries related to the project to bring together artists, curators and collectors.

COVET was originally inspired by conversations between Museum of Fine Arts Boston curator, Emily Zilber and designer/artists Molly Hatch and Chris Antemann about the direct relationship between contemporary artists and historic artworks in museum collections. Starting in summer of 2011, a formal dialog began between artists and the museum curators responsible for specific artworks or collections. The exhibition will present new artworks inspired by the curator/artist conversations about content, context, social history and patronage. Artists have created work referencing artwork and collections based at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; the Frick Collection, New York, NY the Sterling and Francine Clark Institute, Williamstown, MA; the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA among others.

According to gallery director, Leslie Ferrin, "one of the strongest trends in contemporary art today is the reinterpretation of history as presented through modern ideas. Through the COVET project, we are pleased to offer our exhibition and public programs as an opportunity to inspire the creation of new artwork while simultaneously forging new relationships between museum curators and contemporary artists."

The projects in COVET range widely depending on the artists' style of interpretation and include updates of content by changing a cast of characters or details in a painting; the recreation of objects using new technology; and conceptual perspectives that focus on details drawn from the objects or informed by their conversations with curators. COVET began with the dialog between Molly Hatch and curator, Emily Zilber about the powerful John Singer Sargent family portrait of the Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882. The painting is prominently on view in the newly opened American Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, positioned between the two large scale 19^th century Japanese porcelain vases in the painting. The concept of the relationship between two and three dimensional works launched Hatch's current series that use prints and drawings drawn from various museum collections as source material for installations of multiple ceramic plates and silhouette paintings that join sculptures with works on paper. Directly referencing the 18^th century imagery, Hatch explores and updates social relationships, fashion, architecture and garden design.