The Art Complex Museum

1 week ago

Many of us find comfort in a cup of tea and, in many cases, this sensation may derive, not just from the contents of the cup, but from the cup itself.

A vessel’s well-matched functionality and appearance might offer its user a sense of ease and contentment, in turn revealing the object’s inherent beauty. “Yo-no-bi," meaning “beauty through use,” is all about this concept, and it’s a driving notion in Mingei tradition.

The Japanese folk art movement, Mingei, was developed by Yanagi Sōetsu in the late 1920s and 30s. Through close collaboration with Yanagi, potters Hamada Shōji and Kawai Kanjirō deliberately practiced their craft with Mingei in mind.
Now is a better time than ever to appreciate the beauty of use in everyday objects.
Share with us, in which useful objects do you find beauty?

Kawai Kanjirō, Bottle-Shaped Vase, Showa period ca.1961-65, stoneware and three-color glaze.
Hamada Shōji, Tea Bowl, 1971, clay and glaz ... See MoreSee Less

The Art Complex Museum

2 weeks ago

A peek at Jackie Reeves’ work space at the Chalkboard Studios in Barnstable. Jackie is one of four women artists with solo exhibitions in 2021. ... See MoreSee Less

The Art Complex Museum

4 weeks ago

The museum is fortunate to have in its permanent collection work relating to our historic region, among which is a portrait by American physician and folk painter Rufus Hathaway. 2020 marks the four hundredth anniversary of the founding of Plymouth Colony. In 1629, Colonists, including notable settlers John Alden and Myles Standish, were granted land to the north, along the coast. Later, in 1637, Duxborough was incorporated, becoming the second town in the Commonwealth.
There are certain names that have been known and recognized throughout the long history of Duxbury. They can be seen on street signs and buildings throughout town. Winsor is one of them.
The portrait of Judith Winsor as a young woman was painted by Rufus Hathaway in 1795, a time when Duxbury was rising in prominence as one of the world’s most renowned ship-building towns. In it, the sitter is depicted in the artist’s idiosyncratic style, marked by naively rendered forms and emphasized elements of pattern and design. Hathaway may have worked as an apprentice ship-carver but was presumably self-taught as an artist, traveling through southern Massachusetts creating portraits. It is thought that the sitter and artist fell in love while this portrait was being made!
After their marriage, Hathaway took up medicine, studying under Dr. Isaac Winslow of Marshfield. He spent the rest of his life in Duxbury, serving as the town’s only physician.

Caption: Rufus Hathaway, American, 1770–1822, “Judith Winsor,” 1795, oil on canvas

After her husband Rufus died in 1822, Judith Winsor Hathaway, at the age of forty-four, was left responsible for their nine children. Her modest circumstances forced her to board ship’s carpenters in her home on Washington Street which has since been destroyed. She was admired for her courage and resilient efforts to keep her children together.
That courage can be seen in a daughter of Judith Winsor Hathaway and Rufus Hathaway, Judith Winsor Smith. She went on to become an American women's suffrage activist, social reformer, and abolitionist.

Caption: Judith Winsor at age 102, 1880, photographed by M. Chandler, Marshfield Massachusetts ... See MoreSee Less

The Art Complex Museum

4 weeks ago

The museum is fortunate to have in its permanent collection work relating to our historic region, among which is a portrait by American physician and folk painter Rufus Hathaway. 2020 marks the four hundredth anniversary of the founding of Plymouth Colony. In 1629, Colonists, including notable settlers John Alden and Myles Standish, were granted land to the north, along the coast. Later, in 1637, Duxborough was incorporated, becoming the second town in the Commonwealth.
There are certain names that have been known and recognized throughout the long history of Duxbury. They can be seen on street signs and buildings throughout town. Winsor is one of them.
The portrait of Judith Winsor as a young woman was painted by Rufus Hathaway in 1795, a time when Duxbury was rising in prominence as one of the world’s most renowned ship-building towns. In it, the sitter is depicted in the artist’s idiosyncratic style, marked by naively rendered forms and emphasized elements of pattern and design. Hathaway may have worked as an apprentice ship-carver but was presumably self-taught as an artist, traveling through southern Massachusetts creating portraits. It is thought that the sitter and artist fell in love while this portrait was being made!
After their marriage, Hathaway took up medicine, studying under Dr. Isaac Winslow of Marshfield. He spent the rest of his life in Duxbury, serving as the town’s only physician.

Caption: Rufus Hathaway, American, 1770–1822, “Judith Winsor,” 1795, oil on canvas

After her husband Rufus died in 1822, Judith Winsor Hathaway, at the age of forty-four, was left responsible for their nine children. Her modest circumstances forced her to board ship’s carpenters in her home on Washington Street which has since been destroyed. She was admired for her courage and resilient efforts to keep her children together.
That courage can be seen in a daughter of Judith Winsor Hathaway and Rufus Hathaway, Judith Winsor Smith. She went on to become an American women's suffrage activist, social reformer, and abolitionist.

Caption: Judith Winsor at age 102, 1880, photographed by M. Chandler, Marshfield Massachusetts ... See MoreSee Less