Portraits of Process: The American Artists’ Hand Archive

WINTER GALLERY HOURS (January – March 2024):
Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Reservations strongly recommended.

Portraits of Process: The American Artists’ Hand Archive documents both the physical realities and personal narratives  of contemporary American visual artists  through their primary agent of creative process and expression: their hands.

On display from September 21, 2023 through July 21, 2024 the exhibition showcases 34 expertly crafted bronze life castings created for the American Artists’ Hand Archive (AAHA). Using a traditional lost-wax casting technique, AAHA founder Vanessa Hoheb and artistic director Thomas Donahue took the molds for the project in the subject artists’ studios, where each selected the gesture, context, and patina of their hands for the cast. Accompanied by Mark Lacko’s abstract close-up photographs of the casts, the resulting deeply personal sculptures record in intimate detail the relationship between artist and material, transcending simple physiological record to honor both the artists’ contributions to American art and the counter-impact of the creative process on the artists. The participating artists span boundaries of age, ethnicity, and gender to reveal the powerful common denominator of simple humanity.

Hoheb began her career as an apprentice under her father, sculptor Bruce Hoheb. While working in his studio for artists like Willem de Kooning, Louise Nevelson, and Jasper Johns, she gained the technical skills of sculptural enlarging, mold making, casting, and restoration, as well as a respect for the skill and effort inherent in artistic creation. After a 35-year career in restoration and conservation—including as lead of the team responsible for restoring the Statue of Liberty in 1984—she established the ever-growing American Artists’ Hand Archive in 2010 to acknowledge the careers of artists whose works have had significant influence on American culture. Thomas Donahue joined as its artistic director in 2013.

Portraits of Process: The American Artists’ Hand Archive includes casts of the following artists’ hands:

Huma Bhabha
Chuck Close
William Crozier
Elizabeth Strong Cuevas
Michele Oka Doner
Eric Fischl
Mary Frank
April Gornik
Don Gummer
Peter Haines
James Hart
Bruce Hoheb
Bryan Hunt
Robert Indiana
Jasper Johns
Titus Kaphar
Mel Kendrick
Lucy Kim
Maya Lin
Todd McGrain
Toshio Odate
Tom Otterness
Beverly Pepper
Judy Pfaff
Rona Pondick
Richard Prince
Martin Puryear
Ed Smith
Kiki Smith
Kenneth Snelson
William Tucker
Ursula Von Rydingsvard
John Waters
Jean Wiart

Portraits of Process: The American Artists’ Hand Archive  is a collaboration between the American Artists’ Hand Archive and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. It is organized by American Artists’ Hand Archive Founder and Director Vanessa Hoheb, Founder and Director, and Artistic Director Thomas Donahue, Artistic Director, of the American Artists’ Hand Archive. Mark Lacko is the American Artists’ Hand Archive’s photographer.