The Hampden Gallery Triennial is a juried exhibition showcasing cutting-edge works by emerging and established artists working in all media. It is a platform that reinforces Hampden Gallery’s mission to foster creativity and advance the careers of artists at all levels.
Tammy Nguyen's artistic practice is reliably fixated on historical context and narrative. Her work combines the investigation of geopolitics, ecology, and lesser-known histories with myth and fantasy producing enchanting visual narratives that blur the lines of fiction and nonfiction.
Reserved Passages celebrates Richard Yarde’s exceptional legacy in watercolor and connects his artistic vision to the work of his former graduate student Susan Montgomery, who now serves on the faculty of Smith College. The exhibition’s title refers to the untouched spaces in watercolor painting — areas purposefully left unworked, set aside, protected, or withheld. A meditation on a shared passion for watercolor, the exhibition reaches beyond the medium itself. It reflects on the genuine dialogue, exchange of knowledge, and relationship between a teacher and student.
In Fragile Connections, artist and master glassblower Sally Prasch transforms blown and recycled glass into intricate sculptures that address the climate crisis. Both visually striking and intellectually engaging, her pieces range from vivid, neon-lit forms that underscore the urgency of environmental issues to works delicately engraved with thought-provoking texts about climate change.
Celebrating twenty years of the museum’s curatorial program, this exhibition looks back to two decades of student-curated exhibitions, all drawn from the museum's permanent collection. Déjà Vu: The Cycles That Haunt Us traces recurring cycles of thought that echo through earlier iterations of the exhibition program. Like specters, enduring sociopolitical concerns persist from the program's earliest exhibitions to its most recent.
Featuring works from the museum’s collection, the exhibition engages visitors through participatory activities that prompt reflection on the past and invite them to