By RJ Crowley, Standard Correspondent
The iconic Hall Art Foundation, located in Reading, begins a new season of exhibitions on May 11.
The four hundred acres of hayfields and woodland, along with the buildings that comprise the Hall Art Foundation, were originally a dairy farm (called Lexington Farm) dating back to the 1800s.
Artist Ed Ruscha, whose work will be part of the new season opening at Hall Art Foundation on May 11. This piece is titled “Selected Works, 26 Gasoline Stations.”
Courtesy Hall Art Foundation
Andrew and Christine Hall purchased the property in the 1980s and it continued to be run as a dairy farm until 2007, when the Hall Art Foundation was created. The organization officially opened its doors to the public as a contemporary art museum in 2012, with the expressed intent of sharing art from the Hall’s own collection as well as from their foundation, for the enjoyment and education of the public. The foundation now boasts 6,000 square feet of gallery space within those converted buildings.
In addition to the space in Reading, the Hall Art Foundation also operates a museum in Danenberg, Germany and has a partnership with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
Maryse Brand, has been the Director of the Hall Art Foundation in Reading, for ten years, and she offered a description of the new art shows along with the artists, that will be on exhibit:
Barbara Kruger
“Since the 1970s, renowned American artist Barbara Kruger has utilized images and words to create powerful, graphic works that prompt us to question what we see and hear in the mainstream media, and to contemplate how our consumption of these messages shape our identity and our world. This exhibit includes over a dozen works that exemplify Kruger’s iconic and distinctive visual language as a means of examining the manipulative power of images.”
Sherrie Levine
Artist Sherrie Levin’s image titled “After Walker Evans” is a Gelatin silver photograph that is being exhibited. Courtesy Hall Art Foundation
“Spanning over 30 years of her work, this survey includes photographs, paintings, and sculptures from many of Sherrie Levine’s most acclaimed series which are central to her ongoing inquiry into notions of ownership, authorship, originality and authenticity.”
Ed Ruscha — “Works on Paper”
“The show begins with a group of the internationally acclaimed American artist, Ed Ruscha’s seminal black-and-white photographs from 1962 and presents over a dozen works on paper that span five decades of his career. Since the 1960s, Ruscha has explored the role of language in painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, and bookmaking by using the meaning and formal qualities of words as his principle subject matter.”
Zorawar Sidhu & Rob Swainston — “Doomscrolling”
“An exhibition of woodblock prints by the New York-based artists Zorawar Sidhu and Rob Swainston. An addictive compulsion, ‘doomscrolling’ is described as the act of spending an unintentionally excessive amount of time actively seeking out and reading negative or depressing news online. In this series of 18 woodblock prints, Sidhu and Swainston culled imagery from the mainstream media to depict 18 moments between May 24, 2020 and Jan. 6, 2021. The date of each work is tied to now-iconic images and specific events, and all together form a portrait of the United States during the time of COVID, Black Lives Matter protests, the events leading up to the 2020 election, and the infamous day of the insurrection at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.”
This work, “Rudy Guliani publically melts down as Stacey Abrams delivers Georgia to the Democrats,” is one of many items on display by artists Zorawar Sidhu and Rob Swainston.
Courtesy Hall Art Foundation
What makes a trip to the Hall Art Foundation in Reading so mesmerizing and uniquely enjoyable is that the art on display is not just limited to the above-referenced artists and their work housed within the buildings. The meticulously landscaped grounds of the museum, along with strategically placed sculptures and outdoor installations, provide both a compelling and meditative experience as you stroll the grounds.
And thanks to the addition of a full-service café (“Café Lex”), it’s possible to make an entire day of it. The café overlooks a babbling brook (the Black River) and its hours run in synchronicity with those of the gallery.
The Hall Art Foundation and its entire campus opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 11 and remains open — weekends only — through December 1. The cost is $15 for adults, and $5 for children, 12 years of age and under. There is also a 50% discount for Readings residents, and an option for docent-led tours during selected times.
For an optimal experience, reservations are recommended but not required. For full details on the history of the Hall Art Foundation, its current art exhibits, profiles on the artists themselves as well as hours of operation and more, visit their website at: hallartfoundation.org.