Honoring Karen Johnson Boyd: A Multi-Dimensional Approach

June 24, 2018 – February 3, 2019

Myra Mimlitsch-Gray
Pitcher with Oval Handle, 1998
Sterling silver
5 7/16 x 5 x 4 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Karen Johnson Boyd
Photography: Jon Bolton

This exhibition features two-dimensional and three-dimensional works in a variety of media. Collector Karen Johnson Boyd supported artists working in craft media as well as those in photography, drawing, collage, painting, and printmaking. She collected contemporary printmakers in-depth, like noted Wisconsinites Warrington Colescott and Frances Myers, in addition to famed Madison-based painter and draftsman, John Wilde. Her strong interest in photography, as both a photographer and collector, led her to acquire works by celebrated artists such as Diane Arbus, Roy DeCarava, and Aaron Siskind.

In some ways, Mrs. Boyd was revolutionary. Her trademark style—in terms of the work she collected and how she displayed it—was to blend all media together. For example, glass would be shown next to works on paper, baskets, ceramics, metals, and furniture. RAM’s approach to acquiring and displaying work is similar—two-and three-dimensional objects in a variety of media are shown together to demonstrate their commonalities.

More About the Exhibition

Exhibition Notes (PDF)

Press Room

Artists in the Exhibition

Rudy Autio, Sid Avery, Richard Bosman, Dale Chihuly, Chunghi Choo, Larry Clark, Francesco Clemnete, Deb Cocks, Ralston Crawford, Richard Diebekorn, Robert Frank, Lucian Freud, Lee Friedlander, Gregory M. Grenon, Jan Groover, Paul Horiuchi, Eikoh Hosoe, Michael Kenna, Mariko Kusumoto, John Lewis Conrad, Marvin Lipofsky, Tim Lowly, Sylvia Pliamck Mangold, Dante Marioni, Bruce Metcalf, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Hiromitsu Morimoto, Patrick Nagatani, Odd Nerdum, Albert Paley, Sylvia Plachy, Eliott Porter, Robert Rauschenberg, Eva Rubinstein, Italo Scanga, June Schwarcz, Michael Sherrill, Aaron Siskind, W. Eugene Smith, Ettore Sottsass, Therman Statom, Pat Steir. Geoff Thornley, Gianni Toso, Andree Tracey, Jerry N. Uelsmann, William Underhill, Tom Uttech, and Esteban Vicente