If you had the chance to stop by the second floor of Argyros Forum during the past few months, you may have noticed our most recent exhibition titled 1:1: Parings from the Escalette Collection of Art. Housed in the Doy and Dee Henley Galleria, this exhibition featured six cases with two paintings in each case.

Exhibiting two similar pieces next to each other allows for a more definite connection to be made between them—rather than assume common ground based on technique and color, the exhibition demanded reasoning behind the similarities.

To help visitors explore this theme of duality, we offered an interactive component. Viewers were provided with tags on which to write what they perceived as the connection between the two pieces in each case. Some wrote about the visual commonalities of the pairings, others opted for a comparison of emotions or moods, and all were challenged to engage with the art in a new way. Below are some memorable responses.

 

Eric Orr Miya Ando

Left: Eric Orr, Dark 14. Oil on canvas, 1989. Gift of Anton Segerstrom.
Right: Miya Ando, [727.6.22]. Varnish on steel, 2006. Gift of the Artist.

 

Orr-Ando (2)
Orr-Ando (1)

Jacci Den Hartog Paul Russo

Left: Jacci Den Hartog, Untitled. Gouache, ink, and watercolor on vellum, 1993. Gift of Anne Ayres.
Right: Paul Russo, Taj. Acrylic latex caulk on painted canvas, 2007. Gift of the Artist.


Den Hartog-Russo (1)
 Den Hartog-Russo (2)

Mark Bradford Sam Francis

Left: Mark Bradford, Untitled. Lithograph, 2003. Purchased with funds from the Escalette Endowment.
Right: Sam Francis, Yunan State III. Lithograph, 1971. Gift of the Steinmetz Family Collection.


Bradford-Francis (1)
 Bradford-Francis (2)
 Bradford-Francis (3)

Michael Reafsnyder Elizabeth Murray

Left: Michael Reafsnyder, Untitled (Mr. 00D). Oil on board, 2007. Gift of the Mark and Hilary Moore Collection.
Right: Elizabeth Murray, Hand on Head. Lithograph, 1984. Gift of Taco Bell.


Reafsnyder-Murray (1)
 Reafsnyder-Murray (2)
Thanks to all who participated in this exhibition! If you have any suggestions or proposals for a future exhibition in this space, please email collections@chapman.edu. We’d love to hear from you!

Our upcoming exhibition, “Geometric Aljamía: A Cultural Transliteration” will feature works of art that celebrate the perfection of geometry and its hybrid connections between Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and the Middle East. The exhibition opens August 29, 2016 in the Doy and Dee Henley Galleria in Argyros Forum.