After a life-changing summer studying at Black Mountain College (BMC), Boston-based artist Jo Sandman decided to devote her life to art. During that pivotal summer of 1951, she studied painting with Robert Motherwell and Ben Shahn, drawing with Joseph Fiore, photography with Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind, anthropology, and French. It was this “galvanizing experience” at BMC that prompted Jo Sandman to decide to follow the path of an artist. She went on to develop and maintain a studio practice exploring painting, drawing, experimental sculpture, installation, and photography for more than 60 years. The exhibition Jo Sandman / TRACES, curated by Alice Sebrell, celebrates the artist’s restless curiosity and expansive approach to imagery, materials, and processes.
An opening reception for the artist will be held on June 3, 2022, and will include a gallery talk by Katherine French, curator of the Sandman Legacy Project, on the artist’s time at Black Mountain College and its lasting impact on her life and career. The catalogue Jo Sandman / TRACES, featuring a comprehensive essay by French and published by Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC), will be released that day. The exhibition will run until September 3, 2022.
On July 30, 2022, in conjunction with the exhibition, dancer and choreographer Polly Motley and pianist Yukiko Takagi will perform “The Glyph,” a playful work created by dancer Katherine Litz and composer Lou Harrison at Black Mountain College. The original performance at BMC was part of a Glyph Exchange with poet Charles Olson and painter Ben Shahn in the summer of 1951, when Jo Sandman was in attendance. This iteration of “The Glyph” was commissioned in 2015 by ICA/Boston and directed by Richard Colton.
To learn more about the institution and upcoming exhibitions, visit blackmountaincollege.org.
