Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), has appointed Denise Markonish to the position of curator. Markonish comes to MASS MoCA from New Haven’s Artspace where she has been Director and Curator since 2002. Together with MASS MoCA Director Joseph Thompson and Curator Susan Cross, Markonish will program approximately six exhibitions per year which fill the institution's 120,000 square feet of gallery space.
In 2006 the New Haven Register lauded Markonish saying, “The prize for the most innovative gallery curator undoubtedly goes to Denise Markonish of Artspace in New Haven, whose consistently curious mind appears to keep coming up with one after another provocative, edgy and original theme-based exhibits.
“We are delighted to have Denise join us in the Berkshires,†said Thompson. “We have admired her curatorial acumen and adventuresome programming over the years and found her exhibitions at Artspace to be consistently lively, thought-provoking and remarkably ambitious. She’s a prodigious exhibition maker, and is an artist’s curator: her work starts and stops with art, though in between she has a wonderfully light-handed way of engaging neighbors, critics, and gallery visitors, both those dressed in black, and otherwise. Denise will join Susan Cross and our larger creative, fabrication, and production team that includes Sue Killam, Rachel Chanoff, Laurie Cearley, Richard Criddle, Dante Birch and Eric Nottke – a stunningly effective and inventive group of souls who together have made MASS MoCA among the most fertile sites in the nation for the creation of new work in all media. I join them and all my co-workers at MASS MoCA in welcoming Denise to North Adams.â€
â€MASS MoCA is a dream institution for any curator, from its amazing gallery spaces to the fantastic artists that it draws to North Adams,†said Markonish. “ I have always respected the institution’s willingness to take risks and to be a large institution with a true renegade spirit. I very much look forward to returning to Massachusetts and joining this dedicated team.â€
A graduate of Brandeis University and Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies, Markonish has been the recipient of the Ramapo College Curatorial Prize, given annually to a graduate of the Center for Curatorial Studies, and the Rosalind W. Levine Prize in Fine Arts for excellence in the field of art history. She has been a visiting critic/lecturer at the University of Connecticut, Storrs; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I.; Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA; List Center for Visual Arts, MIT, Cambridge, MA; School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Yale University, New Haven, CT; and Galerie fur Landschaftskunst, Hamburg, Germany. She also served as a panelist for the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Organizational Support Grants.
Her recent exhibitions include: Why Look at Animals?, Don’t Know Much About History, Jean Shin: Ensemble, The New English, and Brandon Ballengee: Love Motels for Insects at Artspace as well as Hypervision at Westport Art Center and 19th Annual Boston Drawings Show at Boston Center for the Arts.
Markonish will relocate to North Adams and begin work full time in August 2007.
MASS MoCA is located on Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th -century factory buildings. MASS MoCA is open from 11 – 5, closed Tuesdays, with extended hours in the summer. For more information call 413 662 2111.
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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