Special to Times
The Boston Athenaeum has launched its newest exhibition, ‘The Art of Paper: Claire Van Vliet and the Janus Press.’
The exhibition celebrates the 70th anniversary of Van Vliet’s Janus Press by showcasing the artist’s dramatic pulp paintings and prints alongside about two dozen artists’ books from the Athenaeum’s Janus Press collection.
Claire Van Vliet’s ‘Abiquiu Mesa Blue.’
Through Dec. 30, Van Vliet’s multisensory and awe-inspiring work will be on display at the Athenaeum, highlighting Van Vliet’s innovative approach to papermaking and the extraordinarily inventive handmade books of her private press, the Janus Press.
On Sept. 25, Claire Van Vliet will join Ruth Fine, former curator for the National Gallery of Art, at the Boston Athenaeum for a signature event celebrating ‘The Art of Paper’ exhibition, discussing their 60-year personal and professional relationship, and the history of the Janus Press.
The exhibition focuses on Van Vliet’s pioneering and highly collaborative uses of handmade paper as an integral component of both her wall art and her artist’s books. Featured collaborators include New England-based papermakers Katie MacGregor and Bernie Vinzani, and an international roster of poets including Keri Hulme, Rita Dove, and Denise Levertov. Items on view include examples of Van Vliet’s woven and interlocking book structures such as her captivating quilt books, and her sculptural bookworks featuring pulp painted imagery. The books are displayed in conversation with Van Vliet’s dramatic landscape prints and vibrant pulp paintings, made by “painting” with pigmented paper pulps.
“The Athenaeum’s Art of Paper exhibition showcases Claire Van Vliet’s extraordinary ability to reimagine how handmade paper can be used in the service of an expansive artistic vision,” John Buchtel, the Athenaeum’s Head of Special Collections and curator of the exhibition, said in a press release. “Visitors to the Boston Athenaeum will experience the force of Van Vliet’s imaginative creative problem solving and her lifelong dedication to making artwork and books by hand.”
Additional thematic threads throughout the exhibition illuminate Van Vliet’s collaborative spirit, incisive exploration of social issues, and deep connection to the natural world.
Canadian-born, Vermont-based artist Claire Van Vliet (1933) is a 1989 MacArthur Foundation Fellow known for her creative use of pulp painting and printmaking techniques to depict landscapes, rock formations, and skyscapes from around the world. In 1954, Van Vliet founded the Janus Press, publishing original works by contemporary poets and printmakers. For much of its 70 years, the Janus Press has specialized in books that incorporate innovative structures formed from handmade paper, often including pulp painting.
“As both a library and museum, preserving and presenting remarkable books and works of art such as these are central parts of the Athenaeum’s mission,” Leah Rosovsky, Stanford Calderwood Director of the Athenaeum,said in a press release . “The Boston Athenaeum is honored to show Van Vliet’s artwork alongside the astonishingly beautiful books of her Janus Press. We hope that visitors and Athenaeum members alike will take joy and inspiration from this celebration of Claire Van Vliet’s artistic legacy.”
The Boston Athenaeum’s Ruth Fine Collection of Claire Van Vliet and the Janus Press is part of the Sadie Lewis Webb Collection of the Art and History of the Book, given to the Athenaeum by an anonymous donor in memory of Emily Webb Collier and Ann M. Anderson in 2019. The exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the Boston Athenaeum’s Annual Fund donors.
Learn more at bostonathenaeum.org.