Exhibitions
Aspects of (American) Life at the New Britain Museum of Art
Join us to celebrate the unveiling of Beth Lipman’s Aspects of (American) Life. The latest addition to the Museum’s Appropriation & Inspiration series, this installation relates directly to Thomas Hart Benton’s epic murals The Art of Life in America. Borrowing objects depicted in the murals, Lipman creates a monumental three-dimensional still-life sculpture from clear glass as a meditation on the good fortunes of wealth and prosperity as well as the misfortunes that ensue from their abuse.
Beth Lipman: Precarious Possessions
The still life has long been used in painting as a visual metaphor for considerations of materiality, the conspicuous consumption of wealth, and the fleeting nature of life. Beth Lipman (born 1971) uses the vocabulary of the still life, particularly the table setting with its various vessels, foods, and associated objects, in complex sculptures created in clear glass. For Lipman, the still life operates as a commentary on our current consumer culture.