No Misery Can Tell, No Word of Farewell at the Wassaic Project
Illustration of Wassaic Project Maxom Mills, Shannon Blanton
I was fortunate enough to catch the winter exhibition at Wassaic on the final day. I am unsure how the whole winter has essentially sped by (I know some might argue with the use of the word sped), but on the eve of the vernal equinox I thought it prudent to say some words of farewell to the beautiful exhibition No Misery Can Tell, No Word of Farewell.
The kids wanted to start from the tippy top of the mills and work our way down - the magic carpet by Ambrus Gero had been delightfully described by an adorable eager patron at the bottom of the mills so my daughter Josephine was eager to see what it was all about. The whole room feels like you might be flying, with the bluebird sky day we had too it was as if we were floating on our magic carpet alongside.
The room just below was another fam favorite. We are all fairly keen on dioramas and the curious nature of Cate Pasquarelli’s work held us all. As we discovered each work and the little/big idiosyncraticies started to show themselves but so too did the self reference. Unsure if the church in the cloche was supposed to be on its side we were both relieved and even more curious after viewing a painting of the same church also tipped on its side. Phew, it hadn’t been knocked, but now what does this mean?
The precise beauty of Christina Hunt Wood’s aluminum can tapestries, as they became maps of sorts with rivers of color traversing the surface below the forest of tin.
I truly resonated with the work of Raul De Lara the absolutely elegant craftsmanship alongside the theatrical compositions were moving. The works were alive - a second life for the wood.
EVERY TIME I go to Wassaic I leave there thanking my lucky stars that I live 20 minutes away. I always come away charged up by the possibilities of humanity and creativity.
I haven’t even gotten to talk about the amazing artists I met during the open studio session either…I guess that will have to be for another time. Until then “No Word of Farewell”
Ambrus Gero, Flying Carpet, 2019
Cotton blanket, vacuum formed styrene sheet, spray paint, 43.5 in x 78 inches
