In February, a Walker-organized 25-year survey of Kiki Smith's art entitled Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005 was presented. The exhibition, featuring works that explore the body and the human condition in a broad variety of media, toured to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Educational Trust helped to make the show possible, with additional support from Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, Lowry Hill Private Wealth Management, and Donna Miller. The accompanying catalogue was generously supported by PaceWildenstein, New York.
OPEN-ENDED (the art of engagement) opened in March and invited gallery visitors to play an active role in art. To construct and energize a shared gallery space, the Walker brought together past artists-in-residence with whom it has formed ongoing relationships-choreographer Ralph Lemon, filmmaker Spencer Nakasako, and visual artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. Designed as a social space for all, the exhibition included more than 20 events and performances by guest curators and artists, video screenings, and salons where visitors could gather for discussion. OPEN-ENDED was an important component of the Walker's three-year More Than a Museum initiative, which is generously funded by the Bush Foundation.
In April, the exhibition Sharon Lockhart: Pine Flat presented this Los Angeles-based artist's portraits of young people living in a small community in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Lockhart is internationally recognized for films and photographs that frame the quiet moments of everyday life. The artist's film loops, large-scale portrait photographs, and a full-length feature film were presented in the exhibition, which was also on view at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University and the Museu do Chiado in Lisbon, Portugal. We are grateful to Andrew S. Duff and the Broad Art Foundation for supporting this exhibition.
