Press Releases November 5, 2007

The William Benton Museum of Art Announces the December 2007 Exhibitions & Events

The William Benton Museum of Art Announces the December 2007 Exhibitions & Events


Storrs, CT, November 5, 2007-The William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut will be winding down its 40th anniversary year celebration with the following exhibitions and special events during the month of December.

On Exhibition Through December 16
RODIN: A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
This traveling exhibition of original works from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection and Cantor Foundation Collection serves as a showcase for 68 bronze sculptures, a selection of photographs, works on paper, and documents, and explores both the creative and technical processes Rodin employed. Some of the works were made during Rodin's lifetime while others were made after his death but according to his explicit wishes and instructions to the government of France. This exhibition has been organized and made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. Admission: $5 general public. Free to Benton members, children under 18 and UConn students.

Rodin's Contemporaries
Complementing the sculptures by Rodin (1840-1917) is a selection of 15 works by his contemporaries, including Thèodule Ribot's dramatically dark and realist painting, Portrait of an Old Woman; Alphonse Legros' The Aged Spaniard; and Camille Pissarro's lithograph, The Firewood Gatherers.

On Exhibition Through December 21 and January 22-May 11, 2008
ROME, ITALY AND EUROPE
The classical tradition that flourished between 1550 and 1650 incorporated architecture, monuments and sculpture into paintings, drawings, prints, and wall decoration. The centerpiece of this exhibition is the Benton's recent acquisition of a fine example of this tradition: Italianate Landscape with Sleeping Youth and Sculpture by Dutch painter Jan Weenix (1642-1719).

Special Events
December 4, 12:15 pm
Tuesday Gallery Talk: Ray DiCapua, Associate Professor of Art, will speak about the art of Rodin.

December 6, 12:15 pm
RecitalsPlus: Pianist Hye-Jun Ceon will perform works by Couperin, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

December 11, 12:15 pm
Tuesday Gallery Talk: Benton Director Steven Kern will discuss Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession.

December 16, 5 pm
Music on a Sunday Afternoon: String Chamber Music performed by cellist Kangho Lee. Doors open at 4:45 pm.
Tickets are available at the door. Public $10, Benton Members and UConn students $5.

Opening January 22, 2008
THE ART OF GAMAN: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946.
Based on a ground-breaking book, The Art of Gaman by Delphine Hirasuna, this exhibition will present 200 arts and crafts objects made from scrap and found materials by Japanese and Japanese Americans who were interned in concentration camps, many of which were located in California, during World War II. The exhibition runs through March 20, 2008.
This presentation of The Art of Gaman is made possible with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.