On view October 2019 – March 2026
A loose narrative of possession, loss, and fragmented history unfolds within Florence Foerderer Tonner’s bedroom at historic Glen Foerd.
Research
The project builds on research conducted during an artist residency.
It incorporates Florence Foerderer Tonner’s artwork, poetry, artifacts, and correspondence, interwoven with contemporary poetry.
A poet and artist, a collector and benefactor, Florence assumed many roles over time, leaving traces of self within the accumulations of the estate.
Embodied Site
Tree scaled time
In this installation, large-scale ink paintings fill the paneled recesses of the period room, connecting the preserved interior to the cucumber magnolia tree on the grounds of Glen Foerd.
This immense tree is estimated to be over 150 years old and may be nearing the end of its own life cycle.
Excerpt of 8 min loop with music by Aaron David Miller
A video sketchbook exploring the role of the artist in residence – interpreter, interloper, preservationist, snoop and hired help – using the artifacts of the historic home to question the nature of collecting, gendered roles, and visual churning.
Artifacts
Florence Foederer Tonner’s Louis Vuitton trunk contains drawn, printed, and painted studies of ephemera around the estate, including scenes from the art gallery curios.
Blue Trunk
The blue trunk displays a painting by renowned Philadelphia artist, Violet Oakley (1874-1961,) entitled Joy Followed by Tears. This trunk contains painted studies for the wall works and printed textiles with reproduced imagery. One reproduction features a drawing made by Florence Foerderer Tonner: a blue pencil portrait of Edith Emerson, a fellow artist and Violet Oakley’s life partner of forty years.
Looking West
On the wall is ‘Portrait of a Woman’ by Thomas Sully (1783 – 1872.) Thomas Sully was a well-known portrait painter based in Philadelphia. Florence’s neighbors and friends, the Biddle Family of the nearby Andalusia estate, commissioned the artist on several occasions.
The tableau on the top of the trunk features poetry, reproductions, and artifacts from the home. The velvet encased photograph is Florence Foerderer Tonner, the small gold framed photograph may also be her. It is an uncertain portrait.
Likewise, this project – an openness to all things lovely– is a speculative portrait, gleaned through the possessions and archives of Glen Foerd on the Delaware. It is titled after a description of Florence Foerderer Tonner from a Lutheran Church of America program booklet.
Archive of the Air
The project was later recontextualized in a group exhibition curated by Heather Moqtaderi.
“Archive of the Air is an exhibition in the Past Present Projects Gallery that centers on residencies as sites for exploration and inspiration. “Air” takes on a double-meaning, referring to artist-in-residence programs as well as “air” as in the air we breathe. The project documents the necessity of downtime and room to breathe – unhindered by their usual everyday concerns – in order to create new work.”
Endlessly Shaking
The project expanded into other projects – including the music video I created for Endlessly’s ‘Shaking‘ by Rachel Wetzel.
Chalkboard Chronicle
The cucumber magnolia also made an appearance in my piece for The Chalkboard Chronicle at The Art Yard.
