Arcadia University Art Gallery Presents Francis Cape: Utopian Benches, Nov. 10-Dec. 18
Glenside, Pa.—Nov. 9, 2011—Arcadia University Art Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Utopian Benches, a new project by the British sculptor Francis Cape, on display from Thursday, Nov. 10, to Sunday, Dec. 18.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Cape will give a slide lecture about his practice and address the evolution of the Utopian Benches. The lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Room 102 in Brubaker Hall, adjacent to the gallery building. A public reception will follow in the gallery.
The show, Cape’s first solo exhibition in the Philadelphia area, is comprised of twenty reconstructed benches originally designed for American utopian communities. Cape has remade each seat based on a careful study of available examples and measured drawings, many obtained from his own research. Built from poplar grown near Cape’s studio in Narrowsburg, N.Y., each unpainted bench suggests a newly minted prototype. To be considered both as contemporary sculpture as well as furniture that can be actively used by gallery visitors, the twenty benches evoke the accumulated aspirations that helped to shape them while inviting collective engagement, speculation, and discourse. Read more at www.arcadia.edu/gallery.
The exhibition will be supported by a small, illustrated booklet containing information about each community from which the benches were sourced and available at no charge to visitors.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and weekends noon to 4 p.m., as well as by appointment.
About Arcadia University: Arcadia University is a top-ranked private university in metropolitan Philadelphia and a national leader in study abroad and international education. The 2010 Open Doors report ranks Arcadia University 1st in the nation in the percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad. U.S. News & World Report ranks Arcadia University among the top regional universities in the North and as one of the top study abroad programs. U.S. News also ranks Arcadia’s Physical Therapy program 7th in the nation. Arcadia University promises a distinctively global, integrative and personal learning experience that prepares students to contribute and prosper in a diverse and dynamic world.
