Brandywine Museum of Art to present "The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick"
Chadds Ford, PA, September 12, 2024 — Opening at the Brandywine Museum of Art this fall, The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick will explore the artistic legacy of Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), one of the most creative and interdisciplinary figures of twentieth-century American art, craft and design. Co-organized by the Brandywine and the Wharton Esherick Museum (WEM), this major exhibition will detail the artist’s career from his early woodcut illustrations for books by the avant-garde literati to his revolutionary reimagining of furniture forms as organic sculpture. The Crafted World features more than 70 works by the artist and will be the first exhibition to draw exclusively from WEM’s collection of over 3,000 objects. The exhibition will bring together works from across different media mastered by the artist—from painting, sculpture and printmaking to woodworking, furniture making and illustration—including many objects never before seen outside of Esherick’s home and studio. The Crafted World will debut at the Brandywine and will be on view from October 13, 2024 through January 19, 2025. The Museum has also organized a two-venue travel tour for the exhibition that will raise the profile of this remarkable artist.
Esherick is best known as the father of the Studio Furniture Movement, which saw artists bringing their unique voices to handmade, functional objects and craft traditions, often reinventing them with bold, experimental techniques and forms. He grew up in West Philadelphia and later moved to Malvern, PA, where he built his own home and studio on the slope of Valley Forge Mountain. Now operated as WEM, this National Historic Landmark for Architecture houses the world’s largest collection of Esherick’s artworks, spanning seven decades of artistic practice. “Esherick’s creative work was inseparable from his personal identity,” said Emily Zilber, WEM’s Director of Curatorial Affairs & Strategic Partnerships, and curator of the exhibition. “He considered his hand-crafted hillside home and studio, which he designed and built between 1926 and 1966, the best representation of his iconoclastic vision, calling it ‘an autobiography in three dimensions.’ It is significant, then, that The Crafted World is the largest exhibition ever organized from the remarkable collection housed in the artist’s home and studio.”
The Crafted World will be presented in thematic vignettes that focus attention on recurring design explorations across Esherick’s body of creative work. Through a variety of forms, formats and media, these vignettes will invite visitors to examine the artist’s unconventional way of life and some of his key artistic interests—urban versus rural life, the movement of the body in space, the power of patterns, and the organic growth of the natural world. Organized thematically, rather than by chronology or media, the exhibition will allow visitors to witness the evolution of Esherick’s thinking around these primary design concepts.
“This exhibition was originally conceived years ago as a small display of Esherick’s woodblock prints from WEM’s collection at the Brandywine Museum of Art, but the remarkable sweep of the artist’s cross-disciplinary creative brilliance quickly led to this more expansive examination,” said Thomas Padon, the James H. Duff Director of the Brandywine Museum of Art. “In a partnership forged over years of visits to the Wharton Esherick home and studio, conversations and deliberations, and marveling together over the artist’s work, Brandywine and our superb colleagues at WEM developed plans for this long overdue reassessment of Esherick’s contributions to American art.” WEM’s Executive Director, Julie Siglin, added, "Esherick engaged with the world in a collaborative way; likewise, this exhibition has been a fundamentally collaborative effort from the start. WEM is thrilled to share Esherick's legacy more broadly with the world through this exciting partnership with the Brandywine."
Although The Crafted World is not a comprehensive retrospective of the artist’s career, the exhibition uses WEM’s significant collection, made up largely of the works Esherick surrounded himself with, to highlight his integrated approach to living and artmaking. “Visitors to The Crafted World will be introduced to the artist’s singular voice, creativity and skill in a way that recontextualizes the objects with innovative thematic approaches to his work,” said Amanda Burdan, Senior Curator at the Brandywine, who provided organizational and curatorial guidance and coordination for the exhibition. “Works on view will explore Esherick’s intimate connection to the natural world and its materials, his skillful design approach and problem solving, interest in performance and the body, fascination with the natural world, enduring imaginative spirit, and even his wry sense of humor.”
The Crafted World will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Rizzoli Electa. In addition to an essay by Zilber, this major publication includes contributions by Sarah Archer, a design and culture writer based in Philadelphia; Colin Fanning, Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Ann Glasscock, Associate Curator and Decorative Arts Specialist at the Taft Museum of Art; Holly Gore, WEM’s Director of Interpretation and Associate Curator of Special Collections; and photography by Joshua McHugh, a renowned New York–based photographer who specializes in interior, architecture and design. Support for the exhibition catalogue is provided by the Decorative Arts Trust and the Furthermore Foundation.
Following its presentation in Chadds Ford at the Brandywine, The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick will travel to the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio.
About the Wharton Esherick Museum:
The Wharton Esherick Museum, located just outside of Valley Forge Park in Malvern, PA is the handcrafted home and studio of Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), an internationally significant artist and leader of the Studio Furniture Movement. Esherick worked primarily in wood and extended his unique forms to furniture, furnishings, interiors, buildings, and more. His motto, “If it isn’t fun, it isn’t worth doing,” is evident in the joyful expression of his work. A National Historic Landmark for Architecture, his hilltop studio/residence has been preserved much as it was when the artist lived and worked there. Open March through December, the Wharton Esherick Museum is experienced through guided tours that must be reserved in advance. Visit whartonesherickmuseum.org to make your reservations and learn more about upcoming tours and programs.
About the Brandywine Museum of Art:
The Brandywine Museum of Art features an outstanding collection of American art housed in a 19th-century Mill building with a dramatic steel and glass addition overlooking the banks of the Brandywine Creek. The Museum is located on Route 1 in Chadds Ford, PA. Current admission rates and hours of operation can be found at www.brandywine.org/hours. Guided tours of the Andrew Wyeth Studio, N. C. Wyeth House & Studio and the Kuerner Farm—all National Historic Landmarks—are available seasonally (for an additional fee); advance reservations are recommended. For more information, call 610.388.2700 or visit brandywine.org/museum. The Museum is one of the two programs of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art.
About the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art:
The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art preserves and promotes the natural and cultural connections between the area’s beautiful landscape, historic sites and important artists. The Conservancy protects the lands and waters throughout the Brandywine Valley and other priority conservation areas, developing sustainable approaches to emerging needs and assuring preservation of majestic open spaces and protection of natural resources for generations to come. The Museum of Art presents and collects historic and contemporary works of American art, engaging and exciting visitors of all ages through an array of exhibitions and programs. The Brandywine unites the inspiring experiences of art and nature, enhancing the quality of life in its community and among its diverse audiences.
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