Exclusive Artist Lecture: Thursday, March 2 at 6:00 PM
Lecture will be in French with English (consecutive translation)
Opening Reception and La Francophonie Kickoff: Thursday, March 2 at 7:00 PM
The opening reception will be preceded by an exclusive artist lecture at 6:00 PM during which Bernar Venet will share his fascinating experiences and give an informal lecture focusing on his interactions within the contemporary art world. He will discuss how these experiences led to his vast collection of works by the great artists of his generation and to the establishment of the Venet Foundation in Le Muy, France to ensure that his work lives on after him. Purchase your tickets to this special lecture ahead of time as spaces are limited.
About this Exhibition
Bernar Venet has spent decades exploring painting, poetry, film, performance and sculpture, for which he is best known and admired around the world. This very intimate exhibit features a selection of previously unpublished photographs brought together for the first time in the United States. These images of icons of art in the 1960s’ (Warhol, Rauschenberg, Indiana…), taken by Venet almost all by chance, are truly unique as a valuable mix of historical evidence and friendly instantaneous moments.
Venet began to take these portraits in the 1960s, first in Nice, then in Paris, and, after 1966, in New York where he has been based for the past fifty years. They rekindle the sense of adventure around an art movement that was created in solitude and friendship. Throughout the years, Bernar Venet has collected works by these artists who he knew and with whom he socialized, many of whom were his friends. These photos taken on a whim are another way to extend the collection and the community of friends that they embody.
About Bernar Venet
Born in 1941 in the south of France, Venet’s attraction to art became evident at an early age. In 1966, he established himself in New York where, over the course of the next five decades, he explored painting, poetry, film, and performance, and was attracted to pure science as a subject for art. During the 1960s, Venet developed his Tar paintings, Cardboard Reliefs, and his iconic Pile of Coal, the first sculpture without a specific shape. Venet had his first retrospective at the New York Cultural Center in 1971. Contributions to major art events such as Kassel Documenta VI, and the Biennales of Paris, Venice and São Paulo, followed. 1979 marked a turning point in Venet’s career: he began a series of wood reliefs – Arcs, Angles, Straight Lines – and created the first of his Indeterminate Lines. That same year, he was awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 1994, Jacques Chirac invited Venet to present his Indeterminate Line sculptures on the Champ de Mars, which developed into a world tour. To date, the number of Venet’s exhibitions amounts to no less than 250. In 2008, Sotheby’s invited Venet to present 25 large-scale sculptures on the grounds of Isleworth, near Orlando, their first venture to exhibit and support a single sculptor on this scale. In 2011, he became the 4th contemporary artist to be offered the world-renowned Château de Versailles for a solo exhibition, leading the French Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp of his 22-meter vertical Arcs framing the iconic statue of Louis XIV at the entrance.
Monographs in multiple languages have been published on the artist’s oeuvre, with texts by noted art historians Barbara Rose, Donald Kuspit, Carter Ratcliff, Thomas McEvilley, Catherine Millet, Jan van der Marck and Achille Bonito Oliva, (and) among others. His work can be found in more than 70 museums worldwide, including the MoMA, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, and MOCA in Los Angeles. Venet has also received commissions for sculptures permanently installed in Auckland, Austin, Bergen, Berlin, Denver, Paris, Neu-Ulm, Nice, Norfolk, Seoul, Shenzhen, Tokyo, and Toulouse.
Venet has been the recipient of several distinguishing honors, including France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. Most recently, he received the 2013 Julio González International Prize, and the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center (ISC). Inaugurated in July 2014, the Venet Foundation aims to preserve the site in Le Muy, France, conserve the collection, and ensure that Bernar Venet’s work lives on after him.
GALLERY HOURS
Monday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday and Saturday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Erika Bailey, American Repertory Theater Institute Head of Voice and Speech, offers tips and tutorials for effective public speaking.
Presented as part of All the City’s a Stage: A Season of Shakespeare at the Boston Public Library, commemorating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death.
Learn why your fashion education begins at the School of Fashion Design!
Email fashion@sfdboston.org for more info and to RSVP.
Summer classes begin June 5, 2017
Days, evenings, and weekend classes
The Man in the Cowboy Hat, a documentary film about Carlos Arredondo, will premiere at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square on Saturday, March 25 at 2 pm, followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A.
Carlos first appeared in the news in 2004 when he learned that his oldest son, Alex, had died fighting in Iraq. The film follows Carlos for the next ten years as he evolves from a grief stricken father to an influential peace activist to the Boston Marathon bombing hero. His story of public involvement and private struggle raises important questions about the impact of war on families, patriotism and the American Dream.
The premiere event is free and open to the public.
Learn more about the film and the premiere screening at themaninthecowboyhat.com
Brahmin Capitalism, Noam Maggor’s history of the Gilded Age explores how the moneyed elite in Boston―the quintessential East Coast establishment―leveraged their wealth to forge transcontinental networks of commodities, labor, and transportation. With the decline of cotton-based textile manufacturing in New England and the abolition of slavery, these gentleman bankers traveled far and wide in search of new business opportunities and found them in the mines, railroads, and industries of the Great West.
Mr. Maggor is currently a Postdoctoral Associate and visiting lecturer in the department of history at Cornell University. He was previously a Charles Warren Center Fellow at Harvard University, Thomas Arthur Arnold Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Historical Studies at Tel Aviv University and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at Vanderbilt University.
Fresh off their award and before they open their Boston restaurant, the Eventide team will pop up at Uni during regular dinner hours (5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.), serving up a number of a la carte specials alongside Uni’s usual menu.
Yes, the famous brown butter lobster roll will be available, as well as chowder ramen (pork and clam skewer, potato, celery), buttered ramen (yellow chive, maitake, daikon bushi), smoked sablefish (ramen cracker, umeboshi, tofu), and brandade (potato, cod, cauliflower romesco, ramp).
Call Uni for reservations (617-536-7200), book online, or just show up; there will be limited walk-in availability.
Ready to verify your Mayflower connection?
Interested in confirming a patriot ancestor?
Consider joining a lineage society! Meet with representatives from a number of national and local hereditary societies (including the Daughters of the American Revolution, Society of the Cincinnati, the Mayflower Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Society of Colonial Wars, and others) to learn more about the organization, the application process, and requirements.
This is a free, drop-in activity open to the public with a brief presentation at 11:00 am (and repeated at 2:00 pm). Registration is encouraged.
For more information or to register, please click here.
Learn to Make an Iconic Seasonal Dessert
Upon arrival, participants will transform into a pastry apprentice as they sip a complimentary glass of prosecco or a rich cup of hot cocoa while preparing to expertly craft this standout, celebratory sweet. Each participant will have a choice of White Chocolate Eggnog or Dark Chocolate Peppermint, they will then be presented with a pre-rolled Bûche de Noël that serves as a confectionary canvas.
Emphasizing festive decorating techniques, this tailored class allows students to focus on all of the fun aspects of holiday baking without the stress of measuring, mixing and manipulating. Each class participant will depart with a recipe for crafting this iconic Christmas-themed dessert at home, along with a freshly baked Bûche de Noël to share with friends and family.
To purchase tickets, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/buche-de-noel-pastry-class-tickets-39664414331
Sip Cocktails, Sample Small Bites, and Savor Boston’s Most Dramatic Rooftop View
Join us for the official opening of The Taj Boston Rooftop. Toast to spring and the first of our seasonal pop-ups with a variety of cocktails featuring Monkey 47 Gin.
Featured Drinks:
Monkey Tonic – Monkey 47, Elderflower Tonic, Grapefruit Twist
Lillet Rosé Spritzer
Throw the Tea into the Sea – Natural Hibiscus Tea, Lemon, Absolut
For more information, please click here.