FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (November 13, 2023) – The Springfield Art Museum is pleased to announce the acquisition of work by Rhode Island artist Tanya Crane. Crane is an artist, educator, and jeweler. She is Professor of the Practice in Metals at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts. Her work was recently featured in the group exhibition Holding Space: Contemporary Enamel Vessels, the Museum’s first exhibition devoted solely to the enamel arts.
Crane was the April 2022 Artist in Residence at Indigo Arts Alliance in Portland, ME. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Stewart Program for Modern Design in Montreal, Canada; Yale University Art Gallery; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts; the Museum of Fine Arts Houston; the Crocker Museum; and the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. Crane’s work embodies the many layers of human existence including history, race, class, and culture. Her current body of work utilizes mark-making in enamels as a meditative act. Each mark reveals the layer beneath for an effect that invokes traditional African craft and contemporary urban graphics.
Time is Measured in Many Ways incorporates the use of black and white sgraffito, or etching into the enamel. In this work, each tick mark or hash mark is referenced as a way to mark time through repetitive groupings around the body of the vessel. Crane notes, “My black and white sgraffito work is something that I repeat a lot in my compositions as I feel it’s a way for me to continue my story from piece to piece.” The detail on this work creates an overall pattern that is methodical, precise, and unique.
Prior to this acquisition, the Museum had no work by Crane in the permanent collection. Crane is the third artist featured in Holding Space: Contemporary Enamel Vessels that the Museum has acquired work from. The Museum previously announced the acquisition of new enamel works by Sarah Perkins in August and work by Indiana artist Jessica Calderwood in October. The Springfield Art Museum is located at 1111 East Brookside Drive. Admission is always free. Donations are gratefully accepted.
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Image credit: Tanya Crane, Time is Measured in Many Ways, 2022, Copper and enamel. Collection of the Springfield Art Museum.
The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, the Museum invites you to connect with the world, your community, and yourself through active engagement with art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org or contact Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at (417) 874-2859 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov.
