*This exhibition contains neon lights which may affect those who are photosensitive.

ART/OBJECTS Lab is a series of exhibitions related to ongoing collections care projects. These projects highlight Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art’s continued efforts towards the care of the museum’s Permanent Collection. They are presented as an extension of the museum studies core concepts in collections care and history of collections in Montana as featured in OBJECT#: A Permanent Collection Exhibition about Art Museums and the Practice of Collecting (November 2022-March 2023). The lab’s aim to focus on the artist and the object of their creation within the museum’s collection. In this series great attention is given to the repair, analysis, and safekeeping of the work of art. The conservation projects are presented in exhibition format to provide educational benefits to the museum members, community, artists, and Montana’s museum professional constituency. We believe an informed community is a healthy community.

Focus on Willem Volkersz: ART/OBJECTS House, 1988 and Vincent’s Hats, 1992

Montana-based artist Willem Volkersz (b. 1939) is a significant contemporary artist known for his neon and paint-by-number-style installations. He was a pioneer in the use of neon in art and developed early and sustaining loves for photography, travel, American roadside culture, Americana, and Folk and Visionary Art.

Volkersz studied art and architecture at the University of Washington before earning an MFA in painting at Mills College in Oakland, CA. After teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute for 18 years, he went to Montana State University-Bozeman in 1986 to direct the School of Art and teach until his retirement in 2001. His work has been featured in 46 solo exhibitions and in over 200 group shows in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, China, and Taiwan. He is the recipient of many awards, including a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, grants from the Mellon Foundation and Gottlieb Foundation, and a 2020 Montana Governor’s Arts Award. He has been a visiting artist and lecturer at almost 100 institutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China.

This exhibition is curated by Nicole Maria Evans, Curator of Exhibitions and Collection at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art. Exhibitions at the museum are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, Davidson Family Foundation, D.A. Davidson, Horizon Credit Union, an anonymous donor, and Kelly’s Signs & Design. Special project funding by Gordon McConnell.