Cianne Fragione in “Strange Glue, Collage & Installation”

Fragione’s “Ritorno”, mixed media on wood panels

Thompson Gallery at The Cambridge School of Weston
(781) 398-8316 or (781) 642-8608     thompsongallery@csw.org

NEWS RELEASE

WESTON, Mass. – The Thompson Gallery at The Cambridge School of Weston is pleased to present “Collage at 100,” a three-part exhibition series that celebrates the centennial of the appearance of collage in painting.

The three-part exhibition will run from Sept. 7, 2012 through June 16th, 2013, and will highlight work from over 100 artists, including celebrated contemporary collage practitioner Michael Oatman, in the final exhibition of the series. “Collage at 100” will be unveiled with an opening reception with the artists on Friday, Sept. 7, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Thompson Gallery.

“There have only been a handful of exhibits that have celebrated collage’s centennial,” said Todd Bartel, Thompson Gallery Director. “We received over 500 applications for this show, and I reviewed over 3500 works of art. This exhibition is sure to be one of our most popular and densely concentrated shows. It is thrilling for our teaching gallery to take the pulse of contemporary collage after its inception 100 years ago.”

“Strange Glue—Traditional & Avant-Garde Collage,” the first show in the series, assembles the work of more than 100 contemporary artists as it traces the transition from traditional to avant-garde approaches to papier collé. The first show will run from Sept. 7 through Nov. 20, 2012.

The second part, “Strange Glue, Collage & Installation,” will showcase contemporary collage strategies that either border upon or require overt installation tactics. It will examine the work of 24 contemporary artists as it demonstrates the connections between the flatness of collage and the physicality of installation. The second show will launch with an artist’s reception on Dec. 19, running through Feb. 22, 2013.

Michael Oatman’s “Another Fine Mess,” the final show in the exhibition, assembles the work taken from his days as an emerging artist at the Rhode Island School of Design in the 1980’s through to his monumental “maximum collages,” a term he coined to refer to his installations, including work made specifically for “Another Fine Mess.”