The List Gallery Swarthmore College, September 20 — November 20, 2020
Spatial Recollections:
Art from the Swarthmore College Permanent Collection and Recent Exhibitors
September 20 — November 20, 2020
Donald Teskey Crum Creek 2017 acrylic on paper 42 x 38 cm
“Several works in the exhibition grew out of residencies by artists invited to Swarthmore from abroad or by Swarthmore-based artists have who engaged in extended cultural exchanges. For example, the small oil sketch, Crum Creek, was created by the noted Irish artist Donald Teskey as part of a plein air painting demonstration he gave in Swarthmore’s Crum Woods during his 2017 residency at the College. Crum Creek offers a point of continuity between the historical works in the gallery’s inner room and the recent works in the outer gallery. By exploring ephemeral qualities of light, paying close attention to his surroundings, and elaborating the plein air tradition in his own way, Teskey creates a vision of nature that resonates across cultures and eras. Spatial Recollections reflects many such collaborations between Swarthmore and artists in communities as distant as Gee’s Bend, Alabama; Haifa, Israel; County Mayo, Ireland, and Jingdezhen, China. Although the pandemic has postponed such collaborations, it offers an opportunity to distill lessons from the past and reflect on values we wish to carry forward.”