“A Separate Shining” Opens this Fall at the Dennos Museum
Image download | caption: Vaune Trachtman, Reverie from NOW IS ALWAYS, 2021.
Direct to plate photopolymer gravure with a surface roll, Akua ink on Shiramine washi paper, 21 x 28” image.
A Separate Shining:
Selections from the Tusen Takk Foundation Collection
September 15, 2023–January 7, 2024
Dennos Museum Center
Traverse City, MI
Contact Tusen Takk: maggie@tusentakk.org, tusentakk.org
Contact Dennos Museum Center: cniemi@nmc.edu, dennosmuseum.org
Public programs:
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 14, 7pm
Tour: Sunday, October 8, 12pm
The Tusen Takk Foundation and the Dennos Museum are pleased to present A Separate Shining, an exhibition of selected works from the Tusen Takk Foundation’s collection representing ten artists who have participated in its artist-in-residence program to date. Taking its title from the poem “Joy” by Hilda Conkling, the exhibition surveys the artists’ exploration of the intangible–the unseen qualities of joy, beauty, and hope.
Nestled in the forested dunes of Lake Michigan on the Leelanau peninsula, the Tusen Takk residence and studios were conceived by Geoffrey and Thomas Peckham, and designed by world-renowned architect Peter Bohlin. At Tusen Takk, both the natural and man-made landscape are sources of inspiration for the artists who come to use its studios to bring into existence what they once only imagined.
In her poem, Conkling likens joy to “a separate shining,” a thing not seeable but nevertheless felt. Working across a variety of disciplines from photogravure to painting, to sculpture and music composition, the artists in this exhibition provide us with glimpses of joy and, in doing so, remind us that light overcomes darkness.
Featuring artists: Martin Brief, Cathy Cone, Juan Giraldo, Joseph Labate & Laura LaFave, Shruthi Rajasekar, Debra Salopek, Alyssa Smith, Vaune Trachtman, and Dale Trumbore
Joy
Joy is not a thing you can see.
It is what you feel when you watch waves breaking,
Or when you peer through a net of woven violet stems
In Spring grass.
It is not sunlight, not moonlight,
But a separate shining.
Joy lives behind people's eyes.
About the Tusen Takk Foundation
Named for an expression of thankfulness, the Tusen Takk Foundation nourishes artists by giving them a place to work, engagement opportunities to enrich the culture of Northwest Michigan, and a platform to share their work internationally. Working across the visual arts, writing, and music composition, artists-in-residence have 24/7 access to the Foundation’s state-of-the-art studios and the beauty of Lake Michigan, located steps away.
Tusen Takk means ‘thousand thanks’ in Norwegian, often used to convey appreciation for something received, like a wonderful dinner or a helping hand. It’s with this same sense of gratitude and grace that the founders of the Tusen Takk Foundation wanted to express: thankfulness to artists for the transcendent truth and intangible joy they give back to the world in their work. Located on the isolated Leelanau Peninsula in Northwest Michigan, Tusen Takk is nestled into the quiet, forested dunes of Lake Michigan and was designed by world-renowned architect Peter Bohlin. For more information, visit tusentakk.org.
About the Dennos Museum Center
The Dennos Museum Center seeks to engage, enlighten and entertain its audiences through the collection of art, and the presentation of exhibitions and programs in the visual arts, sciences and performing arts. Opened in 1991, the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College is a premier cultural facility in northern Michigan offering a dynamic array of exhibitions and programs in the visual arts, sciences, and performing arts. The Museum includes temporary exhibition and permanent collection galleries, an elegant sculpture court, and a hands-on Discovery Gallery. The permanent collection features regional, national, and international art from the 19th-21st centuries. The Milliken Auditorium hosts events and concerts with performers from around the world. Visit the Museum Store for great shopping, including a fine selection of Inuit art for collectors.
In 2021, the Dennos joined a network of more than 200 other Smithsonian Affiliates in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Panama. Established in 1996, the affiliations program is designed to facilitate a two-way relationship among Smithsonian Affiliates and the Smithsonian to increase discovery and inspire lifelong learning in communities across America. Smithsonian Affiliates are collaborators on many of the Smithsonian’s strategic priorities, adding local content, context, and expertise to national initiatives to help tell a fuller story.
Support provided by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and National Endowment for the Arts.
