University of New England

Wall Envy:
A Passion for Collecting
February 5 - March 30, 2008

Opening Reception

Cheryl Warrick, Winter Garden, Astrachan Collection

Stephen Pace, Abstract ‘59 A-13, Day Collection

Conversations with the Collectors
John Day, Feb. 7, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Gary Astrachan, Feb. 9, 3:00 to 5:30 p.m.

John Day and Gary Astrachan, March 22, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

The Exhibitiion
Wall Envy features works by two passionate art collectors in our state: John M. Day, an historian, and Gary D. Astrachan, a psychoanalyst. While the starting point for each may be mid 20th century abstract expressionism, their collections go in very different directions and demonstrate a breadth of exploration across mediums in modernist and postmodernist American art.

These works taken together stimulate our own consideration of the ups and downs of fashion trends, as well as, and perhaps more importantly, the possibilities for enduring quality and content, inspiration and enthusiasm to be found in American fine art today. 

Some of the questions to be addressed are:  What makes a person become a collector?  Why does he choose certain artists over others, and focus upon a particular period, place, and/or style?  How have these men developed their collecting raison d’être?  What are their goals?  And how do their assessments of their own collections comport with viewers’ interpretations?   Will these collectors influence the broader art world?