February 29, 2020 — January 3, 2021*
*February 29 through March 13, 2020
Extension: September 5 through January 3, 2021
Savor: A Revolution in Food Culture is organized by the Gardiner Museum, Toronto, and curated by Meredith Chilton, Curator Emerita at the Gardiner Museum.
This presentation of the exhibition is a collaboration between the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and the Gardiner Museum.
Images courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Food and dining were transformed in Europe during the age of Enlightenment by profound changes that still resonate today. What many of us eat, the way food is cooked, and how we dine continues to be influenced by radical changes that occurred in France from 1650 until the French Revolution in 1789.
Savor: A Revolution in Food Culture explores the story of this transformation with rare objects, fascinating histories, and amusing stories. We start in the kitchen gardens at Versailles where advances in horticulture expanded the growing seasons of vegetables and fruits, making a greater selection of foods available year-round. Then we visit the steamy kitchens of cooks who advocated light, flavourful cuisine centuries before our time. Next, we discover surprisingly modern philosophies for healthy eating and vegetarianism, and join ardent foodies as they savor meals served on newly invented ceramic and silver wares, from sauceboats to tureens. Along the way, we explore how social changes were impacting eating then, just as now, as the grand formality of the past was often abandoned in favor of informality and intimacy.
Savor: A Revolution in Food Culture is organized by the Gardiner Museum and curated by Meredith Chilton, C.M., Curator Emerita. Works of art and objects from major North American museums and private collections, as well as key pieces of contemporary ceramics and knitted art, will come together in a delectable feast for the senses designed by Opera Atelier’s Resident Set Designer, Gerard Gauci.
FEATURED ARTWORK
A Little Feast of Folly”, was created in the artist’s studio in 2019.
CHRIS ANTEMANN’S: A Little Feast of Folly
Chris Antemann is known for work inspired by 18th-century porcelain figurines, employing a unity of design and concept to simultaneously examine and parody male and female relationship roles. Characters, themes, and incidents build upon each other, effectively forming their own language that speaks about domestic rites, social etiquette, and taboos. Themes from the classics and the romantics are given a contemporary edge; elaborate dinner parties, picnic luncheons, and ornamental gardens set the stage for her twisted tales to unfold.
PROGRAMMING
EVENTS
September 10 | Virtual Gallery Talk: Pleasing the Eye and Palate with curator emeritus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jeff Munger
September 12 | Second Saturdays for Families: Season’s Harvest
September 21 | Online Lecture: Ice Cream in the Age of Enlightenment with food historian Ivan Day
September 29 | Virtual Gallery Talk: Savor: A Revolution in Food Culture with Curator Linda Roth
October 13, 5 pm | Virtual Artist Talk: An Evening with Kate Malone
November 22, 2 pm | The King’s Peas: Food Culture in the Age of Enlightenment with Curator Meredith Chilton
Savor: A Revolution in Food Culture is organized by the Gardiner Museum, Toronto, and curated by Meredith Chilton, Curator Emerita at the Gardiner Museum. This presentation of the exhibition is a collaboration between the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and the Gardiner Museum.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated cookbook, The King’s Peas: Delectable Recipes and Their Stories from the Age of Enlightenment.
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID
March 12, 2020- Gallery talk with Curator Linda Roth
March 19, 2020- Gallery talk with Meredith Chilton
March 25, 2020- Panel Discussion: The Dining Room Then and Now
Enjoy what promises to be a fascinating conversation about dining customs across cultures with culinary historian Jessica Harris, designer Thomas Jayne, educator David Dangremond, and curator Brandy Culp. In conjunction with the exhibition, Savor: A Revolution in Food Culture. 5pm reception, 6pm Lecture.
April 9, 2020- Gallery Tour with Curator Jeff Munger
May 7, 2020- Ivan Day Lecture, 5pm reception and 6pm lecture
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