Mark Dion, The Vassar College Atheneum, 2024. Multi-faceted, site-specific installation with custom cabinetry and rug, mixed materials, and 48 framed archival prints. Dimensions variable. Commissioned by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, 2024.18. Photo: Jeffrey Jenkins.
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY.- Eight acclaimed contemporary artists with roots in the Hudson Valley have their works featured at the new Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts, The Heartwood at Vassar, a boutique hotel, and the farm-to-table restaurant, The Salt Line Hudson Valley, all in a new building adjacent to Vassar’s campus. The shared lobby, each of the hotel rooms, the restaurant and the Institute feature more than 160 pieces of artwork in various mediums from an eclectic group of artists. Artists include Andrea Baldeck ’72, Laura Battle, Mark Dion, Nancy Graves ’61, Mara Held, Ransome, Amy Talluto, and Julia Whitney Barnes, all with Hudson Valley roots who were inspired by their surroundings.
All of the building’s artwork—curated by staff from Vassar’s on-campus museum, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center—responds to the mission and rich history of collecting at Vassar, and creates a visual dialogue between art and science objects. “From professors and administrators to classes and individual students, the College benefits from prolonged engagements with contemporary artists, including those from local communities,” said the Loeb’s Mary-Kay Lombino, Deputy Director and the Emily Hargroves Fisher ’57 and Richard B. Fisher Curator. “The artwork on display at The Vassar Institute, The Heartwood and The Salt Line provides an enriching, new visual experience that we expect visitors far and wide will enjoy.”…