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Introduction

Raid the Icebox Now with Pablo Bronstein

Historical Rhode Island Decor
September 20, 2019 - September 20, 2020

Historical Rhode Island Decor presents three rooms decorated with new wallpapers and printed fabrics of my design. The wallpapers depict the Stephen Hopkins House, the First Baptist Church in America, and the Rhode Island State House, and reflect the development of the architectural imagery of statehood. The wallpaper and fabric serve as the backdrop to objects from RISD Museum’s storage to present plausible historical interiors. The wallpapers also refer to 18th- and early 19th-century examples in the museum’s collection and to the revival of Colonial and Federal styles at the beginning of the 20th century—styles that have not only contributed significantly to shared visual imagery, but have shaped notions of the past.

This installation pays homage to the period room, an exhibition practice now in decline. It also considers museological accuracy, the museum’s blurred relationship both as a place of scholarship and an inspiration for the home, and the ways in which museums submit to local historical biases and interests in shaping their collections and displays. Envisioned within the framework of printmaking, the presentation plays with architectural and decorative motifs, inventing imagery on a large scale in relation to sculptural furniture.

Pablo Bronstein was born in Argentina and lives and works in London and Deal, England. Drawing is his primary medium (see an example of his work in that medium in the 5th-floor European galleries), but he is also engaged in installations, choreography, and performance. Pulling from his deep knowledge and affection for historical architecture and the decorative arts, he interrogates these disciplines with humor and imagination for what they reveal about social ambitions, politics, and other concerns.

Raid the Icebox Now is made possible by a lead grant from the National Endowment for the Arts with support from the RISD Museum Associates, Pace Gallery, Taylor Box Company, and a generous in-kind gift from Meyer Sound Laboratories.

RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors.

Selected Objects

Z0001060.jpg

English, England

Mirror, ca. 1750
Z0031646.jpg

Edward Aldridge

Cake Basket, 1752-1753
04-073 Pendleton Neg_139.jpg

American, Probably Eastern Massachusetts

Chest of Drawers, 1755-1795
No Image Available

American, New York

Side Chair, 1790-1815
RISDM 31-139 v_01.jpg

American, probably New York City

Side Chair, ca. 1790-1815
37.257.jpg

American, Eastern Massachusetts

Sofa, 1790-1815
Z0001166.jpg

French

Clock, 1800-1810
Z0003787.jpg

English, England

Bedstead, mid 1700s
1991.137.jpg

American, New London Connecticut

High Chest of Drawers, ca. 1760-1780
Z0000147.jpg

Chinese

Enclosed Washstand, ca. 1805
RISDM 36-006 v_01.jpg

Job Townsend, cabinetmaker

Desk and Bookcase, 1750-1760
67-103.jpg

John Robins

Tea Urn, 1784
04-043 Pendleton Neg_118.jpg

English, England

Kettle Stand, 1755-1790
04-055 Pendleton Neg_362.jpg

James Evans

Tall Clock, 1770-1800
55.053.2 - Copy.jpg

English, England

Mirror, ca. 1740
31.612 - Copy.jpg

American, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Side Chair, 1755-1790
37.074A.jpg

English, England

Wall Case, 1700s - 1800s
53.209 (1).jpg

Johann Joachim Kändler, modeler

Figure Personifying Winter, 1741 - 1745
53.210 (1).jpg

Johann Joachim Kändler, modeler

Figure Personifying Autumn, ca. 1745
55.183.jpg

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

Putto Holding Globe, 1745 - 1750
Z0001384.jpg

Niderviller Manufactory, manufacturer

Putti Personifying Autumn and Winter, ca. 1765-1770
78.046.10 (1).jpg

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

Figure of Winter, ca. 1760
1995.063.jpg

English, Probably Birmingham

Tilt-Top Table, ca. 1850
Z0001476.jpg

Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory

Figure Personifying Painting, ca. 1754-1755
55.185 v_03.jpg

Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory

Figure Personifying of Music, ca. 1754-1755
Z0001385.jpg

Niderviller Manufactory, manufactory

Putti Personifying Spring and Summer, ca. 1765-1770
TL133.2019.1 det.jpg

Pablo Bronstein

Historic Rhode Island Decor (Stephen Hopkins House), 2019
TL133.2019.2.jpg

Pablo Bronstein

Historic Rhode Island Decor (Stephen Hopkins House), 2019
TL133.2019.3 det.jpg

Pablo Bronstein

Historic Rhode Island Decor (First Baptist Church in America), 2019
TL133.2019.4 det.jpg

Pablo Bronstein

Historic Rhode Island Decor (Rhode Island State House), 2019
TL133.2019.5.jpg

Pablo Bronstein

Historic Rhode Island Decor (Rhode Island State House), 2019
Z0038718.jpg

Stanislas Victor Edouard Lépine

View of Paris, ca. 1870
Z0055305.jpg

Dirck van Delen

Architectural Interior at Night with the Priests of Bel, ca. 1628

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Raid the Icebox Now with Pablo Bronstein : Historical Rhode Island Decor

September 20, 2019 - September 20, 2020
View Checklist PDF

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