Architect Vuko Tashkovich (B. Arch '62) captured the attention of critics and connoisseurs alike with his breathtaking work. His structures are not towers of commerce, concert halls, houses of worship or museums for ancient artifacts, but rather homes for families.
Now through June 15, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is showcasing the work of Tashkovich in a retrospective that caught the attention of The New York Times last year when a Pound Ridge, N.Y., library featured his work in its gallery.
Photos, design plans, models and conceptual drawings chart the evolution of five of Tashkovich's 57 masterpieces. These sprawling, dramatic homes, some costing upwards of $5 million, all showcase the architect's imaginative uses of light to draw the outdoors inside. Each home featured in the exhibition boasts glass walls, whether to light a breakfast nook or surround a lap pool. Part of an architect's talent lies in knowing where to put his or her designs or, rather, how to use the land to complement the work. A stunning aerial photograph of the Hanna house in Pound Ridge shows one of Tashkovich's creations tucked among the autumnal brilliance of New York state.
Photos from Tashkovich's own home, which he designed, are further testament to the architect's appreciation of light in architecture. Here, the living room is lined with clerestory glass and French doors bringing into view and opening the house to the sky, trees and lake.
Tashkovich lived and worked in Pound Ridge with his wife, Stefanie Lipsit Tashkovich (B.A. '59 M. Ed '61), from 1964 until his death last November. A scholarship fund at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning has been created in his memory.
Another exhibition closing June 15 is "Contemporary Works from the Anbinder Collection." Notable among the more than 60 works owned by Paul (Class of '60) and Helen (Class of '62) Anbinder (some of the works have been presented as gifts to the museum) are 17 lithographs and etchings by Robert Motherwell, including "Redness of Red," an eye-catching lithograph of brilliant color.
The collection also includes work by Roy Lichtenstein, Louise Nevelson, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and Jacob Lawrence.
The Johnson Museum is also showcasing works of alumna Phyllis Cohen '57. Now on exhibition through Aug. 17, "The Book and the Block" highlights Cohen's block prints and hand-made books.
Cohen's technique extends the definition of a woodcut. After creating the image, Cohen cuts the wood block, thereby producing a jigsaw puzzle, much like the ones created for young children. The Japanese method of print, in which the artist carves a single block per color, is demonstrated in her pleasingly colorful piece "Whiteware Pitcher, Cream Pitcher and Bowls." The exhibition also features several hand-made books that Cohen has written, typeset and illustrated with woodcut prints. Whether the subject is animals, wildflowers or apples, her books are delightfully simple with generous dashes of color and spare use of the written word.
Cohen's work has been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Virginia Museum of Art in Richmond, among others.
This weekend also is the last chance to see the "The Tale of Genji: Splendor and Innovation in Edo Culture." The exhibition closes June 15.