Tang Museum Reopening July 10, Presents Ellsworth Kelly Postcards; L.A. Artist Sarah Cain

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery presents Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards, a comprehensive survey of postcard collages by American artist Ellsworth Kelly, on view from July 10 through Nov. 28.

The exhibition marks the first time Kelly’s lifelong practice of collaged postcards will be the focus of a major museum exhibition. 

Widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, Kelly (1923–2015) is known for his abstract paintings, sculptures, and prints that are masterworks in the exploration of line, form, and color. Over the course of more than 50 years, the artist made approximately 400 postcard collages, some of which served as exploratory musings and others as studies for larger works in other media. They range from his first monochrome in 1949 through his last collages of crashing ocean waves, made in 2005. Together, these works show an unbounded space of creative freedom and provide an important insight into the way Kelly saw, experienced and translated the world in his art. 

An extensive catalogue will be published in conjunction with the exhibition, featuring 1:1 scale reproductions of 250 works.

Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards is curated by Ian Berry in collaboration with the Ellsworth Kelly Studio with Jessica Eisenthal, independent curator. The exhibition is part of All Together Now, a regional collections-sharing project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation to celebrate the Tang Teaching Museum’s twentieth anniversary. The project brings together rarely-seen works from The Tang Teaching Museum collection to the public in collaboration with the Shaker Museum, Ellsworth Kelly Studio, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hyde Collection, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, among others.   

The Tang Museum also announced that the next artist in its influential Opener series will be Sarah Cain. The exhibition Opener 33: Sarah Cain—Enter the Center opens July 10 and will be on view through Jan. 2, 2022.

Los Angeles–based artist Cain explores and expands upon traditional ideas of painting, often modifying canvases by cutting and braiding, painting on all sides, and installing the canvas with the back facing the viewer. Cain describes herself as a feminist painter, using elements traditionally seen as feminine as an act of non-conformity and an alternative to the traditional hierarchies of painting.

Opener 33: Sarah Cain — Enter the Center features more than a dozen major paintings from 2012 through 2020 and an expansive site-specific installation in the Tang that includes a wall-to-wall floor painting and painted furniture. 

The opening of the exhibition marks the Tang’s official reopening to the public since closing in March 2020. The Museum’s Summer hours will be Noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday through August 29.  Fall hours will be announced at a later time. For more information, please call the Visitor Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or visit online at tang.skidmore.edu.