Art & Art History
A Rain of Talent: Umbrella Art
Artists: Luis Cruz Azaceta, Roger Brown, Jeffrey Chapp, Robert Colescott, Houston Conwill, Lisa Englander, Dennis Evans, Richard Francisco, Viola Frey, Dan Friedman, Rodney Alan Greenblat, Richard Haas, Edward Henderson, Robert Kushner, Charmaine Lock, Michael Lucero, Phillip Maberry, Kim MacConnel, Miralda, Jeffry Mitchell, Don Nakamura, Vicki Scuri, Alan Shields, Buster Simpson, Jean Stamsta, Will Stokes Jr., Anita Thatcher, Richard Tuttle, Robert Venturi, Karl Wirsum, Betty Woodman, George Woodman, Claire Zeisler, and Rhonda Zwillinger
A Rain of Talent: Umbrella Art is an exhibition of umbrellas designed by a diverse group of artists, including sculptors, architects, ceramists, painters, and fabric artists. Each participant was given a plain umbrella to use as inspiration, and the resulting exhibit is a collection of various lighthearted and playful interpretations of a seemingly banal object. The exhibition originated at the Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia, and is the work of guest curator Patterson Sims (curator of modern art at the Seattle Art Museum) and the Fabric Workshop ’s founder and artistic director, Marion Stroud.
EXHIBITION SUPPORT
A Rain of Talent: Umbrella Art is supported by the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Art and Design’s College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Sullivan, Barbara. “Artists Take on the Umbrella and Turn Its Mundane Image Inside Out.” Chicago Tribune, Sept. 24, 1989.
EXHIBITION CHECKLIST
Luis Cruz Azaceta
Acid Rain, 1990
Pigment, hand-painted cotton, and sateen umbrella
Roger Brown
Blue Cloud Umbrella, 1990
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Red Cloud Umbrella, 1990
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Jeffrey Chapp
Black Spiral Umbrella, 1990
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Robert Colescott
Waiting for Godot, 1990
India ink on cotton sateen umbrella, 34 x 38 x 38 in.
Houston Conwill
Second Lining, 1987
Pigment (silkscreened and hand painted) on canvas umbrella with fringe
Untitled, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella with fringe
Lisa Englander
Painted/Patterned/Parasol, 1990
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Dennis Evans
Seattle Umbrella, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella with metal chain and books
Richard Francisco
Have a Nice Day, 1990
Cloth, wood, copper, and globe
Viola Frey
Winter Umbrella A, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Winter Umbrella B, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Dan Friedman
Group of Seven, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella with raffia and wooden beads
Rodney Alan Greenblat
Untitled, 1989
Acrylic on wood and cotton sateen umbrella
Richard Haas
Untitled, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella, 34 x 38 x 38 in.
Edward Henderson
Untitled, 1989
Cotton sateen umbrella with leather and wood, 72 1/2 x 38 x 38 in.
Robert Kushner
Rain Cabana, 1989
Gold, copper, and aluminum leaf on cotton sateen umbrella with crystals and rayon, 87 1/2 x 38 x 38 in.
Charmaine Locke
Spring, 1989
Graphite and watercolor on cotton sateen umbrella
Twister, 1989
India ink on cotton sateen umbrella
Michael Lucero
Untitled, 1989
Duct tape on cotton sateen umbrella and duct tape on ceramic vase
Phillip Maberry
Untitled, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Kim MacConnel
Polka Dot Umbrella, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella, 34 x 38 x 38 in.
Jeffry Mitchell
Pathetic Men A, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Don Nakamura
Untitled, 1989
Paint, fabric, and stuffed socks and gloves on cotton sateen umbrella
Vicki Scuri
Rain Stain Umbrella and Kites, 1989
Alan Shields
A Hand Held Dream Balloon, 1989
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Buster Simpson
Untitled, 1989
Cotton sateen umbrella with litmus and acid rain
Jean Stamsta
Night Flight to the Tropics, 1990
Fabric and acrylic paints, glass, and hand-cast paper
Will Stokes, Jr.
Animals A, 1986
Pigment silkscreened and hand painted on cotton sateen umbrella
Animals B, 1986
Pigment silkscreened and hand painted on cotton sateen umbrella
People in the Rain A, 1989
Pigment hand painted on cotton sateen umbrella
People in the Rain B, 1989
Pigment hand painted on cotton sateen umbrella
Anita Thatcher
Spring Chicken, 1989
Parachute fabric and vinyl with pigment on mylar
Robert Venturi
Notebook A, 1982
Pigment silkscreened on cotton sateen, 34 x 38 x 38 in.
Karl Wirsum
Untitled, 1990
Acrylic on cotton sateen umbrella
Betty Woodman
Untitled A, 1989
Pigment hand painted on cotton sateen umbrella
George Woodman
Untitled A, 1989
Pigment hand painted on cotton sateen umbrella
Untitled B, 1989
Pigment hand painted on cotton sateen umbrella
Claire Ziesler
Reigning Roses, 1989
Chainette rayon, acrylic, and decals, 84 x 38 x 38 in.
Rhonda Zwillinger
Walking in between raindrops, 1989
Faux jewels and silicon on umbrella skeleton
PRINT COLLATERAL
Postcard: Rain of Talent
CURATORS BIOGRAPHIES
Patterson Sims has worked in the arts since 1969. He began his career as assistant director of O.K. Harris Works of Art, in the then newly developing arts district of Soho in New York City. He was the first curator designated to oversee the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he worked from 1976 to 1987. During that time he was involved with exhibitions which include the 1977 and 1979 Whitney Biennials; The Decade in Review: Selections from the 1970s (1979); Reginald Marsh: Selections from the Felicia Meyer Marsh Bequest (1979); and a retrospective of Jan Matulka’s work (1979). After his time at the Whitney Museum, he began working as the associate director for art and exhibitions and curator of modern art at the Seattle Art Museum. Sims attended the New School for Social Research (1971) and earned a BA in the humanities from Trinity College-Hartford.
Marion Stroud founded the Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1977. Stroud ’s goal was to create a non-profit workshop that combined teamwork and innovation. The Artists in Residency program provided space, tools, and assistance for the artists to make functional objects through screenprinting on fabric. Over the years, the residency has expanded to include the creation of non-functional objects, allowing artists to expound on the meaning of the word “fabric.” As founder and artistic director of the FWM, Stroud has curated numerous exhibitions and commissioned works by internationally acclaimed figures in contemporary art, including Louise Bourgeois, Felix Gonzalex-Torres, Ann Hamilton, Reverend Howard Finster, Anish Kapoor, Robert Kushner, Glenn Ligon, Robert Morris, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, and Carrie Mae Weems. She is the author of
New Material as New Media: The Fabric Workshop and Museum and the editor of
William Wegman: Dogs on Rocks, among other exhibition catalogues and artist monographs.