Making art can be a solitary experience, but human connection was essential to the creation and curation of “Jonathan Lethem’s Parallel Play” and “One Last Thing Again,” two exhibits that opened at Pomona College’s Benton Museum of Art on Feb. 13.
At the center of a web of relationships sits Pomona professor, novelist and art writer Jonathan Lethem, whose most recent book, “Cellophane Bricks: A Life in Visual Culture,” provided the framework for “Parallel Play.” A collection of art writings spanning both commentary and fiction, the book provided an initial catalog for “Parallel Play,” which was then amended by co-curator Solomon Salim Moore.
The exhibit is premised on the human connection between words and art, as its title nods to.
“[‘Parallel Play’] is really about art as a form of social transaction or a form of relationship,” said Lethem. “There is a dialogue or a give and take that describes almost every piece in that show.”
The walls of the “Parallel Play” gallery space are filled with dynamic and colorful paintings, drawings, prints and photographs, along with some three-dimensional works throughout the space.
The neighboring “One Last Thing Again” displays every edition of the periodical “THE THING Quarterly,” which was produced by visual artists Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan from 2007 to 2017. During its run, “THE THING” distributed a practical object and accompanying text, which illuminated some deeper or subversive train of thought about the object in question.
“The exhibit is premised on the human connection between words and art, as its title nods to.”
Each issue of “THE THING” was conceived by a different contributor, usually a creative.
“Issue 7” was created by Lethem, and “One Last Thing Again” runs in conjunction with “Parallel Play.” The exhibit was curated by Herschend and Rogan, with Victoria Sancho Lobis, the Sarah Rempel and Herbert S. Rempel ’23 director at the Benton.
The Benton held an opening reception for both exhibits on Feb. 15, including an artists panel moderated by Lethem and Moore, featuring exhibited artists Julia Jacquette and Mark Johnson.
The group discussed the origins and meanings of the exhibit.
“Part of it was the occasion of ‘Cellophane Bricks’ the book, so [Lethem] would be the common bond there,” Moore said.
Lethem’s personal art collection and relationships with working artists inspired and provided the content for his book, and are also very present in “Parallel Play.”
“Most of what I do is totally solitary,” Lethem said. “So everything that you can add to that fundamental fact that is interactive, that is connecting you to other people, is so precious.”
Lethem became friends with Jacquette during their high school years, and with Johnson while at Bennington College. Lethem and Johnson’s relationship is a mutually inspiring one; Lethem bought his first real painting from Johnson, a moment that changed each of their respective relationships to their careers.
“To me, that was probably the finest painting in my first one-person show,” Johnson said. “When [Lethem] bought this painting at a real proper price, we were both sort of like ‘We can do this.’”
Jacquette echoed Lethem’s sentiments about escaping solitude and explained how attending the opening reception and speaking at the panel allows her to connect with an audience and other artists in person.
“I actually love this kind of thing which we call programming, which accompanies an exhibition,” Jacquette said. “For me, it’s when I get to be out of the studio and talk about how the work was created.”
Lethem, Jacquette and Johnson all grew up with artists in their immediate families. Witnessing artistic practice through observing family members shaped their respective understandings of how to be artists. These legacies are also present in “Parallel Play,” which includes paintings by Lethem’s father and brother.
“Any creative endeavor that I had interest in was tremendously encouraged,” Jacquette said. “What a tremendous piece of luck to have somebody in my life where I could see how she operated in the world and what a studio practice was.”
Lethem often traded his writings for works of art created by his friends, or for minor works by bigger artists he wrote for, an exchange essential to the construction of both “Cellophane Bricks” and “Parallel Play.”
This curatorial process included some 5C students as well. Ava Monheit PZ ’27, one of the curatorial interns working at the Benton under Moore, assisted with artist research, developing the exhibit’s themes and organizing visits to the studios of exhibited artists.
“It’s honestly unreal. I feel like I’ve been looking at this exhibit in tiny paper cutouts,” Monheit said. “And walking in when it opened up was so incredible.”
While curating the show, Lethem and Moore strove to maintain conversations with students like Monheit and exhibited artists.
“It was really important to keep the process living and collaborative,” Moore said.
For the artists, “Parallel Play” is a way to look back over their careers, and the web of relationships that connects each artwork.
“As a younger artist, I had doubts about whether there was a validity to what I was doing,” Johnson said. “And seeing it now as an older artist I’m like ‘What’s there to question? Everything is valid just by the fact that you’re doing it.’”
“Jonathan Lethem’s Parallel Play” and “One Last Thing Again” are on view at the Benton until June 29.
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