Fran Forman
March 16 – June 1, 2017
Reception April 27, 2017 3-5 PM
Due to security restrictions imposed by the State House your RSVP is Required
The Griffin Museum of Photography Brings Fran Forman to Massachusetts State House
The Griffin Museum of Photography is proud to announce that we have been invited by Senator Jason Lewis to exhibit at the Massachusetts State House. The Griffin has chosen Watertown artist Fran Forman to exhibit Return to the Clouds. The exhibit is the 12th installment of a new Senate effort to showcase local art from across Massachusetts outside of the Senate Chamber at the State House in Boston.
Return to the Clouds exhibition will run at the Massachusetts State House from March 18, 2017 – June 1, 2017. An opening reception will be April 27, 2017 from 3-5 PM. The exhibition will be shown in Room 426 of the State House which is the room where the Senate will temporarily meet in spring due to renovations of the Senate Chambers and the Lobby where exhibits usually take place.”
“The Griffin Museum of Photography is one of our region’s most impressive cultural institutions and a treasured Winchester destination,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “I’m thrilled that the Griffin Museum will have the opportunity to showcase an exhibit at the State House to give the entire Commonwealth a taste of our local flavor.”
The Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of photography Paula Tognarelli is the curator of the exhibition “Return to the Clouds.” She says, “We are excited to exhibit Fran Forman once again as her last exhibition with us was in 2008.” Tognarelli says more about the exhibition. “Much of what Fran Forman speaks to in her artwork is humankind’s relationship to the past, to history and myth, our animal brethren and the concept of hope. The bird-cage shows itself in many of Forman’s images due to her influence by the surrealist artist, René Magritte. The bird is a reoccurring character in her narratives that speak to freedom, escape and the natural world.”
Fran Forman received her BA from Brandeis University in sociology and art, an MSW in psychiatric social work, and an MFA from Boston University. Forman is a Resident Scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis and represented by Pucker Gallery in Boston, AfterImage, Dallas TX and Susan Spiritus, Los Angeles, CA. A monograph, “Escape Artist, the Art of Fran Forman,” was published in 2014 from Schiffer Books. Curator and designer Elizabeth Avedon selected it as one of the best photo books of 2014, and it won first prize in an international juried competition selected by 21st Editions.
The Massachusetts State House is located at 24 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02133. The exhibition is open to employees and guests and special events made specifically for the exhibit. For reception enter through the Hooker entrance. Go through metal detector. Take elevator to the 4th floor. Room 426.
