A second round of installations at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library reinforces how its vast collections inspire the makers and creators of today. Maker-Creator Fellows watercolor painter Rob Finn and ceramicist Heather Oassandon join four other former Maker-Creator Fellows in Transformations: Contemporary Artists at Winterthur, which features lively, often surprising responses to the traditional forms and objects in the museum, library, and garden collections.
“Transformations is a way of looking at how the collections remain relevant and how objects from the past inspire important conversations today,” says Kim Collison, curator of exhibitions at Winterthur. Through its Maker-Creator Fellowship program, Winterthur invites artists, writers, filmmakers, horticulturalists, craftspeople, and other creative professionals to immerse themselves in Winterthur’s collections. Work resulting from these fellowships can now be seen in the Winterthur galleries and gardens.
Ongoing through 2024, projects featured in Transformations will change periodically. The first cycle of Transformations features works by artists who have reflected on nature at Winterthur. Transformations coincides with the new exhibition Outside In: Nature-Inspired Design at Winterthur, which shows the powerful connection between nature and the decorative arts. Several of the featured artists have created works that invite visitors to consider the human impact on the environment. The newest featured artists are:
Rob Finn, watercolor painter
Finn’s art is an investigation into the character of trees that shows how climate, geology, and human society affect the morphology of each species. A Maker-Creator Fellow at Winterthur in 2020–2021, Finn studied the grounds and created dozens of tree portraits. His watercolor tree portraits show a modern sensibility in landscape painting by focusing on individual arboreal models rather than the grand or expansive perspectives that have historically dominated the genre. Finn’s Browns Meadow Tree, which celebrates a 300-year-old white oak tree lost to a hurricane and tornado in August 2020, is featured in the entryway to the first-floor galleries.
Heather Ossandon, ceramicist
Having observed the techniques and traditions of classically functioning ceramic communities around the world, Ossandon spotlights time-honored practices in the creation of everyday objects that are vehicles in the conversation about art and its social applications. On a table in the Society of Winterthur Fellows Gallery, Ossandon’s ceramic still life. Still Life with Fruit, examines the connection between the landscape and the food prepared for the many tables of the people who once lived and worked at Winterthur. Ossandon was a Maker-Creator Fellow in 2018.
ABOUT WINTERTHUR MUSEUM, GARDEN & LIBRARY
Winterthur—known worldwide for its preeminent collection of American decorative arts, naturalistic garden, and research library for the study of American art and material culture—offers a variety of tours, exhibitions, programs, and activities throughout the year. Admission includes the Winterthur garden, galleries, and a museum tour (by reservation).
Winterthur, located on Route 52, six miles northwest of Wilmington, Delaware, and five miles south of U.S. Route 1, is closed on Mondays (except during Yuletide), Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Museum hours are 10:00 am–5:00 pm, Tuesday–Sunday. $20 for adults; $18 for students and seniors; $6 for ages 2–11. Memberships are available for free and discounted admission. Winterthur is committed to accessible programming for all. For information, including special services, call 800.448.3883, or visit winterthur.org. Winterthur is closed seasonally from early January through late February.
Winterthur follows state and national protocols for the health and safety of all visitors and staff. For the latest information, visit winterthur.org/faq.
Contact: Mark Nardone
Mnardone@winterthur.org
302.888.4803 O 302.500.2559 M