Passing Time: The Art of William Christenberry
William Christenberry, Sprott Church, 1974–1975, wood, illustration board, paper, Plexiglas, paint, red soil, The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas
William Christenberry (b. 1936) looks for the spirit of Southern culture in the landscape and architecture of rural Alabama. Drawing upon his formal training, family traditions and a lasting relationship with his native home in Hale County, Christenberry has spent the last 50 years creating a remarkable body of work that is an exploration of all aspects of life and experience.
Description
This installation—not a retrospective, but a survey of past and present work, some seen here for the first time—includes more than 60 of Christenberry's photographs, drawings, paintings, sculptures and building constructions. Though his work is inspired by the American South, Christenberry's overall themes are universal, touching on family, culture, nature and the spiritual. His artworks are poetic assessments of a sense of place, landscape, aging, memory and the passing of time. Christenberry, who teaches at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, selected the works included; the exhibition complements the adjoining installation of folk art, also selected by Christenberry, from the museum's permanent collection.
Visiting Information
Credit
"Passing Time: The Art of William Christenberry" is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Exhibition Catalogue
The accompanying catalogue "William Christenberry" is co-published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Aperture Foundation. The catalog includes a foreword by Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and essays by Walter Hopps, Andy Grundberg and Howard N. Fox.
Artists
Born in Alabama. An artist of national acclaim, equally known for his photographs of the South and his disturbing sculptural pieces.