Join us for an intimate conversation with our two library artists-in-residence on August 16 from 6 to 8 pm where they will discuss their recent work and reflect on the experience of making art in and of the library.

In January 2018, Bard Graduate Center Library piloted a visiting artist residency, inviting visual artists Karen Mainenti and Spencer Merolla to use the library to develop new work that highlights our unique collection as well as their respective approaches to research. To mark the end of their residency, each artist has altered a section of the library, transforming study alcoves to exhibition spaces to show their research-inspired work.

Exhibitions:

Karen Mainenti: Objects of Desire
Spencer Merolla: Unfixed

Both exhibitions on view August 1–31, 2018 in the Bard Graduate Center Library
Viewing available by appointment only, please contact: public.programs@bgc.bard.edu to schedule a visit.

Spencer Merolla studied religion as an undergraduate and had embarked on a career in academia before returning to her first love, visual art. Her work, informed by her study of religion and history, explores the social practice and material culture of grief through various affectively-charged materials. She has shown nationally and in London, most recently at the Invisible Dog Art Center, Rush Arts Gallery, Art House Productions, and the Fed Galleries at Ferris State University. Her work has been featured in Hyperallergic, The Jealous Curator, and The Creators Project. She has also authored an essay, “The Accidental Archivist” in Modern Loss, published by Harper Wave in 2018. She lives and works in Brooklyn.