Life is precious. That’s an easy cliché to state, sure. But even the most perceptive of us can admit guilt to overlooking the obvious once in a while, even when it’s right in front of our eyes.
I always welcome the chance—especially during the summertime—to pause and admire the true beauty of the world around us. Two great artists, Olafur Eliasson and Luchita Hurtado, remind us to do just that in our latest releases.
Eliasson, in today’s new film, reenforces our innate connection with nature. “Everybody has a relationship with natural phenomena,” he asserts. “You don’t have to be a professional to have an opinion about a rainbow.”
Hurtado echoes a similar sentiment. Over the course of eight decades, Hurtado’s work has reflected motifs from her examination of our relationship with the natural world. “We’re all on this planet together and we’re all related,” declares the artist. “It’s just the joy of life—the joy of being alive.”
I hope that these stories will motivate you to spend some time with nature this summer. And I especially hope that your time with nature charges up your creative energies. What about nature inspires you? As always, please share your stories with me at [email protected].
Thank you to those who responded to last month’s prompt about finding inspiration while traveling. I especially loved an anecdote shared by Susan H, a long-time supporter of ours. She wrote, “The surprising connections between cultures threaded by travel and research is an endless source of projects,” adding, “reasons to continue travel.” Thank you for sharing, Susan!
Safe travels to everyone hitting the road or the nature trails in July, and I look forward to sharing more exciting news with you next month.
Tina Kukielski
Executive Director and Chief Curator
July 10, 2019
Watch our latest film
More new films to come in the fall
I am incredibly proud of the fact that we have put out ten new films so far in 2019 across two waves of premieres.
With today’s release, our film programming will take a pause for the summer. But don’t fret! We’ll be back in September with a third wave of premieres, leading off with a pair of new films featuring Marcel Dzama.
Until then, in case you missed any of this year’s releases, queue them up on your summer watching list.
Our 2019 films have featured (in order of premiere date): Kevin Beasley; Doreen Garner; David Goldblatt; Elle Pérez; Creative Growth Art Center; Jes Fan; Zanele Muholi; Dan Herschlein; Luchita Hurtado; and Olafur Eliasson.
Welcome to our new Art21 Educators
Among the moments that I eagerly anticipate every July is welcoming a new group of teachers into the Art21 Educators community. This week, we are pleased to host the ninth cohort of Art21 Educators to New York City as they begin an intense, week-long Summer Institute.
We are also excited to welcome back a few alumni at this year’s institute, some of whom will serve as mentors to the new cohort throughout the year.
Meet the members of this year’s cohort.
Watch these films, then visit the shows
Don’t let the summer slow you down—there are plenty of opportunities to take in some excellent art this month. In our weekly collaboration with artnet News, we’ve gathered some highlights for you, including: a series of site-specific assemblages by Abraham Cruzvillegas, on view at The Contemporary Austin through this weekend; the first museum show for musician and artist Jason Moran, organized by the Walker Art Center and currently on view at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio; and the first-ever show at a public institution for 98-year-old Luchita Hurtado, currently on view at London’s Serpentine Galleries.
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