ISSUE 7 // 12.6.2021

WHAT’S NEW

New Year, New Us

With a new year just around the corner, Madron is making some big changes to our regularly scheduled programming. Starting with this fall’s show, we’ll be holding two extended exhibitions a year rather than our usual three (more on those upcoming shows below!) This’ll give us a chance to bring in even more exciting pieces and craft bolder programs — even better, it’ll give you more time to come out and see what we’ve put together. Pro tip, though: You don’t need to wait for the next exhibition to come in and see us. Schedule an appointment today; we’re happy to show you around.

Tour de Force

Speaking of scheduling appointments, did you know you can book a group tour with us? Check out this recent image of the Art Encounter Members Reception where they got an exclusive inside look at the William S. Schwartz: Color and Coloratura exhibit. The event was a hit (and what a fun, stimulating way to spend a Sunday afternoon!) If you’re sad to have missed the show, worry not: you can always grab a copy of the accompanying book, and there’s still plenty of Schwartz to admire up on our walls.

WHAT’S ON THE WALL

Kruse Control

Renowned Ashcan School realist Alexander Kruse captures a fascinating moment in New York City’s transit history in his Harlem Street Scene. While the rush of water bursting from the firehose in the foreground draws immediate focus, take note of the background: a horse-drawn carriage and a trolley on tracks making their way down a cobblestone street. By 1938, the year this work was created, sleek automobiles, motor buses, and asphalt pavement had been steadily replacing those bumpy streets and bumbling modes of transportation, particularly in wealthier parts of the city; the last horse-drawn fire engine had returned to its 67th St. station all the way back in 1912. In 1935, New York City’s Mayor Laguardia announced that “Trolleys are as dead as sailing ships.” So Kruse gives us a fleeting moment in a city in flux — the trolley, almost completely out of frame already, is on the brink of disappearing — as well as characteristic moment of wit: “EXPRESS,” bold black letters proudly declare across the side of the green carriage.

WHAT’S NEXT

Keeping You On Your Toes

It’s (finally) (actually) (really) (truly) happening. We even have the dates to prove it! Madron’s spring show, Perpetual Motion, officially runs from March 7th-June 24th, 2022. Witness the ever-captivating modern dancer Isadora Duncan through the eyes of artist Abraham Walkowitz, whose drawings and watercolors preserved her monumental presence and groundbreaking fluidity for the ages. Don’t just take our word for it, though: come see for yourself (and keep your eyes peeled for an announcement about a special collaboration with Duncan Dance Chicago).

WHAT’S THAT WORK UP TOP?

Is-adore-a

Abraham Walkowitz first met Isadora Duncan in a small gathering at the Paris studio of Auguste Rodin in 1906. Though he only saw her perform a few times prior to her untimely death in 1927, Walkowitz’s imagination was utterly captured by their few encounters — he continued to draw Duncan from memory long after she died, creating over 5000 images of her over the course of his lifetime. In contrast to the relatively static portraits of Duncan made by other artists around the same period, Walkowitz’s drawings and watercolors were highly attuned to the flowing rhythms of Duncan’s movement. He often portrayed her in between steps, suspended in the moment before gravity brought her back to the ground. The works shown at the top of the newsletter, particularly the two at left, depict a moment of release that never comes to bear, imbuing the pieces with ongoing anticipation.