Bruce Museum to present ‘Kimberly Klauss: Primary Sources’

The Bruce Museum is proud to display a selection of work by its inaugural artist-in-residence Kimberly Klauss (American, b. 1977) in the Museum’s Gallery Lobby from October 8 to December 1.

Klauss spent her residency at the Museum creating artwork in response to two abstract works by the artists George Morrison (Ojibwe, 1919–2000) and McArthur Binion (American, b. 1946), both previously on loan from Art Bridges’ permanent collection.

The exhibition will feature six works created during Klauss’ residency that reflect the artist’s innovative approach to exploring her sense of self through portraiture.

Kimberly Klauss was born in the U.S. and recently returned to her hometown of Stamford after spending her childhood in Japan and most of her adult life in Germany. Her life experience as a foreigner led her to question the universal and singular experience of personhood, as well as the reliability of perception and portrayal. Working from her own experiences and photographs, her prints and paintings examine the selective nature of viewing and portraying.

In “Primary Sources” Klauss presents several iterations of her current self in a series of haunting life-sized collages of her body, using an adaptation of an ancient print technique that originated in China and Japan. Equally imposing and intimate, these delicate works on paper contrast with a collection of small ink drawings in which the artist attempts to capture a memory, an internalized image of her mother based on a family photograph. Together with an imprint of the family’s first quilt, the works in this exhibition reveal essential personal truths about the artist while also contending with the evasive nature of the self and memory.

“Klauss produced a dynamic series of new paintings and works on paper over the course of her residency in response to two abstract works by George Morrison and McArthur Binion, both previously on display in the Museum’s exhibition ‘Tracing Lineage,’” notes Margarita Karasoulas, the Bruce Museum’s curator of art.

“Combining incisive observation and memory, Klauss brings a deep sensitivity to her self-portraits and portraits of family members, including her mother, which oscillate between figuration and abstraction. Her own ‘primary sources’ are on display in this exhibition, each rooted in her own lived experiences,” Karasoulas added.

Kimberly Klauss was selected as the Bruce Museum’s inaugural artist-in-residence due to her innovative approach to figurative painting and her demonstrated commitment to combining art and science within her practice. Through her intimate portraits and depictions of interiors, she explores the limits of perception and the portrayal of oneself and others, questioning whether the self is fixed, knowable and unique.

Klauss’s work gained wide recognition in 2017 when she was a finalist in the televised painting competition “Portrait Artist of the Year” in the U.K. She has shown in numerous group exhibitions including at the ING Discerning Eye, Young Space and Compton Verney Gallery. Klauss’ work is held in the collections of Soho House and Ruth Borchard Next Generation Collection.

Located in Bruce Park and overlooking Greenwich Harbor, the Bruce Museum is a world-class institution that offers a changing array of exceptional exhibitions and educational programs that cultivate discovery and wonder through the power of art and science. Ahead of its time for taking this multidisciplinary approach over a century ago, the Bruce Museum is at the heart of contemporary efforts to bring together art, science and education to spark conversation, connection and creativity. The Museum welcomes over 100,000 visitors annually, playing an integral role in the area’s cultural life.

The first exhibition at the Bruce Museum took place in 1912 and featured works by members of the Greenwich Society of Artists, several of whom were part of the Cos Cob Art Colony. Their works formed the nucleus of the Museum’s art holdings and continue to be a strength of the collection, which has expanded to focus on global art from 1850 to the present. Other strengths include ancient Chinese sculpture, Native American art, the Hudson River School, modernist works on paper and photography. The natural science collections include extensive holdings of regional vertebrates and insects, one of the most comprehensive collections of Connecticut Valley fossils from the Triassic and Jurassic Periods and an exceptional collection of minerals from around the globe. In all, the community, through its generosity, has built the Museum’s varied collections of art and natural science to over 30,000 objects.

The Museum, which is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, opened a new building in 2023 that doubled the size of the museum and tripled the exhibition spaces. The new Bruce features state-of-the-art exhibition, education and community spaces, including a changing gallery for art and five new permanent galleries in the William L. Richter Art Wing; a changing gallery for science; a permanent science exhibition, “Natural Cycles Shape Our Land;” three classrooms in the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Education Wing; and a café, auditorium and grand hall. When the outdoor spaces are completed in 2024, the Bruce campus will feature a sculpture-lined, landscaped walking path and inviting spaces for relaxation and contemplation—natural enhancements to Bruce Park and an anchoring connection to Greenwich Avenue.

See also:

Bruce Museum Exhibition: Conservation Through the Arts – Celebrating the Federal Duck Stamp