CSU, Chico Janet Turner Newsletter #2
Current Exhibition
Does Size Matter: Small to Large Scale Prints>
AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 19
Curator’s Talk: Thursday, August 27, 5:30, Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall (PAC 134), followed by a reception at the Janet Turner Print Museum.
The first exhibition of the academic year investigates the role of scale in our perception of art. Do small prints lessen content or create a more intense focus? Are large works impressive primarily because of their size? Is the experience of intimacy, inherent in the small scale, possible in larger scale works? What part does surface detail play in the change in scale? Through an exploration of visual and experiential differences, what might seem like a technical consideration becomes the foundation for visual perception.
Recent Acquisitions!
The Janet Turner Print Museum has received of a number of significant donations, including works by Bay Area artists Theodora Varnay Jones, Roy Ragle, and Beth Van Hoesen. As a regional museum, The Turner endeavors to strengthen and enlarge its Northern California collection, and this year we are fortunate to have received a number of exciting donations in this area.
Turner friends and Bay Area printmakers Herlinde Spahr and Art Hazelwood facilitated the donation of prints from the estate of Roy Ragle. Ragle was a contemporary of William Wolff, who is already represented in The Turner collection. His creative use of relief printing, coupled with self as subject, resulted in a deeply personal body of work.
Theodora Varnay Jones is part of a thriving community of Bay Area printmakers. The artist and her collector/donor will be delivering this donation in person and a public meet and greet is to be announced!
Prints by noted Bay Area printmaker Beth Van Hosen have been donated from the artist’s estate, and are a valuable addition to the collection.
Additionally, local patron Sekioh Newton donated nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Japanese woodblock books from her father’s library, helping to further expand the Japanese holdings in The Turner’s collection.
OLLI at the Turner
The Turner will host a three-part brown bag series at the museum for The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) this fall, one for each exhibition, which includes a curator’s museum talk, print explanation and lively discussion of the exhibition on display, September 17, October 22, and November 12, 10:30 a.m.–noon. Continuing from the success of The Turner’s OLLI offerings last year, curator Catherine Sullivan’s talks will focus on understanding, appreciating, and analyzing fine art prints from The Turner’s collection.
Member Spotlight
Patricia Roux served on The Turner board of directors for over 25 years, stepping away from active duties at the end of the last academic year. A dedicated supporter and member of The Turner from its earliest days, Roux co-chaired the Friends Garden Party for many years, helped set up The Turner Scholarship for a current printmaking student, and was instrumental in facilitating Durham Elementary students’ annual visit to The Turner as part of their trip to California State University, Chico.
We thank Pat for generously giving her time, talent and financial support to the museum, and are glad that she will continue to be a visible presence at our events.
Summer Scholar
Curator Catherine Sullivan was delighted to entice CSU, Chico professor emeritus Yoshio Kusaba to continue his long association as guest curator/researcher for The Turner’s Japanese print holdings. Kusaba researched a recent donation of maku hanga books from local donor Sekioh Newton.
The books in this important acquisition, from Newton’s father’s collection, range from the nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries and will appear in a future exhibition on Edo reading culture.
Emeritus Professor Yoshio Kusaba and Curator Catherine Sullivan
The Turner’s New Home – A Cultural Destination for the Campus and Community
Turner Board Members Groundbreaking November 12, 2013
On November 12, 2013, we broke ground for the new 91,000 square foot building on campus dedicated to the arts and humanities. The construction is now 80% complete on the new building—the future home of The Turner. In addition to housing The Turner, the arts and humanities building will create a hub for visual art and gatherings in Chico. Along with The Turner and other galleries, the first floor of the building includes a state-of-the art glass studio and ceramics studio, where working classes will be visible from the courtyard space. Across the courtyard, there will be classrooms and a beautiful recital hall with a linked professional recording studio that will allow hands-on learning experiences. Just as Janet Turner utilized all resources to teach her students, this building provides a forum for students, faculty, and community members that will spark creativity and inspire collaboration across disciplines. The Turner will be a cornerstone of this place where creativity happens.
Your help is needed now more than ever to move The Turner into the new, permanent, museum space. Your generous donation will help provide new curatorial equipment, professional museum storage and preservation tools, special gallery lighting, and more.
Please make your gift today. Remember—You Move Art Moves You! If you have questions or would like to discuss the many ways you can help support The Turner, please contact Daria Booth, Advancement Director at dbooth3@csuchico.edu or 530-898-4054.
Gallery lobby and Janet Turner Print Museum entrance