For Immediate Release
November 12, 2021
CLARK ART INSTITUTE PRESENTS ARTIST WALK FOR ANNE THOMPSON: TRAIL SIGNS
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Sunday, December 5, join local artist Anne Thompson for a walk through her outdoor exhibition, Trail Signs. Thompson will be joined by Clark associate curator of contemporary projects Robert Wiesenberger, and the walk will culminate with a campfire and treats on Stone Hill. The tour begins on the Fernández Terrace at 2:30 pm.
Artist Anne Thompson (b. 1963 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina) has long explored the shifting meaning of signs and symbols in relation to their social setting, whether making paintings, prints, or outdoor projections. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she began designing posters featuring bold, black-and-white symbols and installed them on trail kiosks throughout Berkshire County. Thompson’s unsanctioned project sought to engage and complicate public messaging at a time when people increasingly ventured into, and sought meaning in, the outdoors. As striking as they are mysterious, her abstract forms suggest public wayfinding, but also digital iconography, modernist logotypes, or even ancient languages. In Trail Signs, Thompson continues this series at the Clark and on the adjacent town trails maintained by the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation.
Thompson, a resident of Williamstown, and a visual arts faculty member at Bennington College where she is director and curator of the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan Gallery, uses trail kiosks around the Clark for a rotating installation, displaying new sets of her bold, black-and-white posters every two weeks, for a total of forty-eight unique prints. By mixing metaphors—organic and artificial, public and private, old and new, evocative and opaque—Thompson invites open-ended and ephemeral encounters on the trails.
This event is free but advance registration is required at clarkart.edu/events. Wear sturdy shoes and dress accordingly. The Clark has an all-terrain, motorized wheelchair available for this talk on a first-come, first-served basis. Call 413 458 2303 for assistance.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 285,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday and daily in July and August. Advance timed tickets are required. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303. As of November 1, visitors age twelve and older will be required to show proof of vaccination prior to entering the Clark’s facilities. Visitors age five and older are required to wear face masks at all times while indoors, and outdoors when social distancing is not possible. For details on health and safety protocols, visit clarkart.edu/health.
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