A Look Inside Aperture's Third Annual Patron Weekend in Hudson Valley
From June 21–23, Aperture trustees, patrons, artists, and friends enjoyed an inspiring weekend of events in New York’s Hudson Valley, with visits to the Norman Rockwell Museum and artist studios and collections throughout the region.
Patrons started the weekend reflecting on American culture with an inside look at the work of artist and illustrator Norman Rockwell, in an exhibition tour of Private Moments for the Masses at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Autobiographical aspects of Rockwell’s art and imagery are incorporated into the exhibition, including the artist’s famous cover illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post, and Rockwell’s later series on racism for Look magazine. Following the tour, the group enjoyed an evening outdoors with cocktails and dinner, in the courtyard at beloved Hudson restaurant, Le Perche.
Lyle Ashton Harris hosted the group on Saturday morning at his serene cabin and work space, where he discussed pieces from his latest series honoring his late father. Harris also shared a grouping of self-portraits shot in Africa, among other works and publications. Harris noted that his Untitled (DAD), recently acquired by the Guggenheim Museum, will be included in the museum’s upcoming show, Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now, Part 2, opening July 24 in New York.
Later that day in Craryville, the group met at Letha Wilson’s airy studio to learn about her reliefs and site-specific installations, bringing together architectural and natural elements. A meet up at James Casebere’s studio followed, where the artist, a recipient of the 2019–20 Rome Prize, showcased his colorful architectural models and surrealist landscapes, revealing his technique for blurring lines between fiction and fact. A visit to Simon Lince and Cary Leibowitz’s 1795 farmhouse, redesigned by architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, was the last activity of the day, featuring whimsical furniture, decor, art, and curiosities, including a rotating mechanical painting. At sunset, dinner and a spectacular view of the Hudson Valley was enjoyed at the home of Aperture trustee Cathy Kaplan.
On Sunday afternoon, photographer and filmmaker Ayana V. Jackson presented her newest body of work as the first artist-in-residence in a series established by Aperture trustee Elizabeth Kahane and her husband, William Kahane. The group delved into a deliciously authentic Jamaican summer lunch after a viewing of Wigstock 1995, a presentation of color works by E.A. Kahane, in tribute to Stonewall 50.
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