New Hampshire Art Association announces Biennial One exhibition
PORTSMOUTH — The New Hampshire Art Association, a long-time leader of the arts community in New Hampshire, announced an exciting new exhibition.
For the first time in its 80 year history, the organization will host a Biennial exhibition that invites artists to take creative risks, push boundaries, use abstract expressionism, address contemporary environmental and social justice issues, and explore new forms of media.
Biennial One is set to take place Aug. 31, to Oct. 1. This transformative exhibition will offer New England-based artists an opportunity to elevate their work by showcasing it to prominent curators. Amanda Kidd-Kestler, Executive Director of the NHAA, says this show is “one of our preeminent new exhibitions.” She is excited about its potential to build upon the organization's long history of leadership in the regional art scene.
The much anticipated exhibition is a joint effort by Bob Thoresen, a long-time leader and generous supporter of the Portsmouth community, and Kidd-Kestler, who will celebrate two years at the helm this month. Thoresen, who is also a long-time juried member and former president of the NHAA board, came to Kidd-Kestler several months ago with the idea and the two have been collaborating ever since.
Thoresen and Kidd-Kestler chose Lorenzo Fusi, Chief Curator at the Currier Museum in Manchester, N.H., to curate the Biennial. Fusi has broad experience as a curator and artistic director at galleries and museums in the U.S. and abroad. He has curated over one hundred exhibitions, including the Yerevan Biennial in Armenia and the Liverpool Biennial in the U.K. Working with Fusi solidifies a decades-long partnership with Currier Museum, who has worked alongside NHAA to bring important artist opportunities to artists in New Hampshire.
The Biennial is made possible by a generous grant from the Thoresen Werner Families Fund (established by Bob and Sue Thoresen) of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, by contributing $30,000 to fund the exhibition for the next ten years.
The New Hampshire Art Association will host Biennial One in the Main Gallery of the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery at 136 State Street in Portsmouth, with an opening public reception on Friday, Sept. 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. Visit www.nhartassociation.org or call 603-431-4230 for more information.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: New Hampshire Art Association announces Biennial One exhibition
