Variations on a Theme by Sol LeWitt & Paula Robison
September 23–November 13, 2005

A collaborative project by two internationally acclaimed artists. Sol LeWitt has created a wall drawing for the Gardner Museum’s special exhibition gallery. Every day, Artist-in-Residence Paula Robison will select a masterpiece for flute to be performed at random hours in the gallery.

Sol LeWitt is a leading figure in the conceptual art movement. Known for his ink and wall drawings, structures and prints, his work is included in the collection of almost every major museum in the world.

Paula Robison has commissioned well over 30 works for flute and is internationally renowned for her groundbreaking performances, master classes, original transcriptions and books on the art of flute playing.

Stray Dogs
Danijel Zezelj, Artist-in-Residence, illustrator
June 24 – August 21, 2005

Illustrator Danijel Zezelj presents a contemporary exhibition of original works inspired by his 2004 residency at the Gardner. Zezelj is comfortable in a Kafkaesque world; his poetic illustrations and graphic stories examine the darker side of life. His experience growing up during one of the most tumultuous and violent times in Croatia is reflected in the hauntingly dark and lonely nature of his work. Zezelj is the author of twenty-eight graphic novels and short comic collections. Originally from Zagreb Croatia, Zezelj lived for eight years in Seattle, where he worked for The New York Times Book Review and DC Comics. He now lives and works in New York.

Chairs
Dayanita Singh, Artist-in-Residence, photographer
February 11 – May 8, 2005

Contemporary photography and the historic decorative arts converge in this collaborative exhibition presented by Artist-in-Residence Dayanita Singh in conversation with Italian furniture scholar Fausto Calderai, designer Andrea Anastasio, art educator Carla Hartman, and filmmaker Michael Sheridan. In this unique gathering a new synthesis emerges, exploring the historical record of chairs as a decorative art form, the cultural importance of chairs as everyday objects, and chairs as an inspiration for a contemporary artist. Chairs combines Singh’s “chair portraits” from India, Italy, and the United States with multimedia and historic installations of chairs from the museum’s permanent collection — one of the largest and most important Italian furniture collections in America — and is an evocative look into the moods and personalities of chairs and the stories behind empty chairs and spaces.