CCS BARD

Artists: Peter Hutton, Tony Oursler, Olivia Plender, and Kiki Smith

A manifestation of the historical and spiritual Summerland at Bard College through a constellation of artworks by Olivia Plender, Tony Oursler, Peter Hutton, and Kiki Smith.

Summerland is the name given to the spirit realm by Spiritualists, adherents of a religious movement that began in the 1840s in the Hudson Valley and upstate New York and is still practiced today. Central to Summerland, the exhibition, is the legacy of certain religious and spiritual practices which are inscribed in the geographic region surrounding Bard College. By linking the past with the present, various artistic perspectives materialize a contemporary narrative based on research into regional histories and traditions which have been largely ignored by mainstream culture.

Contemporary artists, however, such as Plender and Oursler, actively engage with historical Spiritualism in their practice and research while others, like Smith and Hutton, consider the current possibilities of a spirit-centered approach to art production. Taking a nineteenth century religious movement as its starting point, Summerland assembles works by a diverse group of living artists to consider current belief systems untethered to dogma and orthodoxy.

Installed in two locations at Bard College, works included in the exhibition may be seen at the Center for Curatorial Studies, from March 18 to April 15, and in Bard Hall, from March 18 to April 1.