RACINE, WI.- Long-time friend to RAM, Karen Johnson Boyd (1924-2016) was an advocate for and collector of art who had a strong affinity for contemporary American craft. Open August 4, 2017 - July 22, 2018, this Windows on Fifth Gallery installation pays homage to her role in establishing Racine Art Museum’s craft collection by featuring colorful, dynamic ceramic work that she donated to the museum at various points over the years. With works presented as if being pulled from crates or out of storage, Unpacking Karen Johnson Boyd's Clay Collection at RAM offers a playful take on building a collection, honoring a donor, and managing works of art, while providing a new viewing context for contemporary clay.

The artwork assembled here includes a selection of contemporary artists interested in both figural and abstract clay sculpture. While some artists allude to ceramic’s functional past, others utilize the material for its flexibility and potential as a sculptural medium. Objects were chosen for this particular installation based on the idea that they will be visible 24 hours a day for several months. Size and color were a concern as was the idea that a viewer’s perspective would be mediated by the windows.

This behind-the-scenes exhibition offers transparency—giving visitors a chance to see how works of art may be prepared for transport, stored, and unpacked. Usually taking place away from the eye of the public, these activities are integral to organizing a collection and exhibitions. In referencing packing, shipping, and storage needs, this display showcases an aspect of collecting and arranging that Mrs. Boyd, as a commercial gallery owner and private collector, would have appreciated and experienced first-hand.

Mrs. Boyd supported artists working in craft media, as well as photography and printmaking. Her trademark style—in terms of the type of work she collected and how she displayed it—was to blend materials together. For example, ceramics would be shown next to works on paper, baskets, and furniture. RAM’s approach to acquiring and displaying work is similar––two-and three-dimensional objects in a variety of media are shown together in the galleries.

Racine Art Museum was the largest single beneficiary of Mrs. Boyd’s generosity—a fact acknowledged with this exhibition and through subsequent shows planned for 2018 that honor her philanthropy. Over four decades, she gifted a significant number of ceramics, textiles, glass, metals, and works on paper to the museum. In recognition of her core gift of over 1,700 works, RAM's galleries were named in her honor. In 1991 alone, Mrs. Boyd gave over 200 works, grounding the museum’s craft focus and setting the stage for RAM to become the holder of America’s largest contemporary craft collection.

Mrs. Boyd had a particular interest in ceramics. She was drawn to a number of different types of surface treatments—from smooth glazed surfaces to rough, textural ones, a variety of subject matter, and diverse approaches to the material. She passionately collected sculptural work, but she would also purchase and use functional pottery for both daily and special occasions. Mrs. Boyd gave hundreds of works in clay to RAM, including the work of notable artists such as Gina Bobrowski, Annette Corcoran, Richard DeVore, Jack Earl, Ken Ferguson, Anne Hirondelle, Margaret Ponce Israel, Sergei Isupov, Cindy Kolodziejski, Michael Lucero, Beverly Mayeri, David Regan, Joseph Seigenthaler, and Vanessa Smith.