Rona Pondick Nasher Mixtape
Rona Pondick, Head in Tree (2006-2008) is included in the Nasher Sculpture Center's new installation Into the Garden as part of the exhibition series, Mixtape. Nasher Mixtape offers a compilation of "tracks," micro-exhibitions focused on the Nasher's permanent collection installed throughout the museum.
Nasher Mixtape Overview
Nasher Mixtape takes its title from a practice, born in the 1980s, of selecting a sequence of songs from different sources and recording them on a single audio cassette. Writer Nick Hornby compared making a mixtape to writing a letter: "[There's] a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again." A labor of love and a versatile creative activity, the mixtape has survived into the digital era in many different forms.
Alongside favorites from the collection-Joan Miró, David Smith, Martin Puryear, and Nancy Grossman, among others-are a host of recent acquisitions as well as historical works making their debut here: nearly one third of the works on view inside the museum have never been shown at the Nasher, and others have not been exhibited for many years. The newest additions to the collection-by the likes of Judy Chicago, Melvin Edwards, Maren Hassinger, and Nicole Eisenman-take important strides in the ongoing work of diversifying the collection through the inclusion of more women and artists of color, as well as celebrating the endlessly inventive approaches artists take to sculpture.
Mixtape - Into the Garden
Track 1
The sculptures at the Nasher's entrance reference nature in their materials and themes, inviting visitors to continue into the garden, which architect Renzo Piano described as "the museum without a roof."
About Track 1: Into the Garden
When Raymond Nasher began preliminary discussions with architect Renzo Piano about designs for the Nasher Sculpture Center, he initially envisioned "a large garden complemented by a relatively small gallery." While the concept evolved into plans for a larger building, the sculpture garden has remained at the heart of the Nasher's identity. Here in the entrance, the sculptures on display reference nature in their materials and themes, inviting visitors to continue into the garden, which Piano described as "the museum without a roof."
