EXHIBITION: September 18 – June 29, 2019
ABOUT | memento [muh-men-toh]1) An object or item that serves to remind one of a person, past event, etc.; keepsake; souvenir.2) Anything serving as a reminder or warning.
Memento: Selected Works from the Elwood Collections will be the first chance since the turn of the century to more fully research and exhibit one of the prized collections at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Washington State University. Spanning fifty years from 1968 to 2018, the Sean Elwood Collections total over 300 objects across three distinct groupings. Originally established through a single donation of prints, the Sean Elwood Collections has grown to include examples 20thand 21stcentury photography, drawings, video, documentation, and cultural ephemera. Highlights include works by renowned Northwest artists such as Fay Jones, Michael Spafford and Jacob Lawrence, as well as by artists known nationally and internationally, such as Robert Mangold, Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. Organized thematically, the exhibition will offer reflections on key content areas such as minimalist gestures, performative works, non-normative narratives, as well as social satire and justice.
WSU alumnus Sean Elwood began donating contemporary prints in 1987 in dedication to his parents Karen and John Elwood—both of whom were members of the Washington State University faculty. The early collection features works by artists from outside the state of Washington. A second collection was later established featuring artists living in Washington State and named to honor Elwood’s daughter, Shannon Strother Elwood. The third and final collection of art includes ephemera, resource materials, and objects related to visual culture, and named in honor of Elwood’s wife, Yvonne Puffer.
In 2017, Sean Elwood retired from the Creative Capital Foundation (NYC) where he served for over 17 years as Director of Programs & Initiatives. Prior to Creative Capital, Elwood served in various roles including: curator & art collection manager for the City of Seattle; Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs; director of special projects at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts; and manager of the artist residency program at Centrum Foundation. He founded Sean Elwood Fine Arts, SEEDITIONS Art Publishing Company and was co-founder of Fuller/Elwood Gallery in Seattle. Once retired, Elwood launched Sean Elwood Creative Projects, to assist individuals, businesses and organizations with the management of creative careers, collections, estates and program design. He also formed The Artist’s Estates Foundation to help support artists in all disciplines and allow the arts community to facilitate the creation of new artworks. Throughout his career, Elwood has periodically curated exhibitions, published limited edition artworks, served on multiple art and artist residency selection committees and he has written about, spoken about, collected and donated artworks.
Sean Elwood holds a BA in Fine Arts (Washington State University), and an MA in Visual Arts (Hunter College, New York), and continues to occasionally make artworks under an assumed name.
