Anita Thacher
(1940-2017)
Thanks to Ursula Corning, I am living in a castle. That is, I live in one side of the arch wall entrance to the castle. There is a glorious narrow window in my apartment which looks out at the castle, only about 150 feet away. Several oversized brick colored jardinieres of red and pink geraniums sit on the bright green lawn in front of the castle’s stone wall. The castle looks like it was built for a child’s imaginings. The birds sing early in the morning and late in the day on their way in and out of the openings in the castle wall. There is a headless stone statue of one of the Ranieris at the base of V shaped paths leading to the castle’s side entrances. There is no front entrance. The peacock’s nighttime shriek adds to the sound track for the illustration of this child’s castle. The pleasures are innumerable; my Fellow artists, the staff, the countryside, the towns visited, the work made and shared. We have the gift of time to study and explore ideas in a setting of unimaginable peace and beauty. My studio allows me to work on several projects at once, a spatial luxury for a New Yorker. I have painted, photographed, stenciled and dreamt here. The installation, “Corner Corner”, was begun in the last week of my residence and like another project begun there, is now being developed in New York. There are spectacular views from the rocky path to my studio. On rolling hills the fields face different directions and the mountains beyond are dotted with stone houses, barns and trees that find their place where field meets field. Crops of different sizes and colors roll in all directions but fit perfectly, snug against one another.
“Corner Corner,” 2002, installation views, wool & pushpins.
“Corner Corner,” 2002, installation views, wool & pushpins.
NEWS
12/15/2021: Anita Thacher “Loose Corner” at Microscope Gallery
12/11/2021: Homage to Magritte by Anita Thacher at the Met