On November 13 th , new members Sarah Deschenes, Holly Hancock,
Susan Reynolds and Catherine Coquillard, joined by Chandra King,
Jennifer Baxter, Elizabeth Berry, Annie Brose, Katy Champ, Guardian
Angel, Katie High, and President Judy Penner, were treated to a tour of
Betty Duker’s extraordinary art collection at her home in Pasadena.
Katy Champ wrote the following account of the visit:
Betty Duker had been collecting art since 1965 when, in December of
2008, “ I woke up and had an epiphany; I just wasn’t into contemporary
art anymore.” She explained, “My husband asked me, ‘What are you
going to do?’ I had been to Brazil and decided I could make a collection
of Latin American art. To my astonishment, he said, ‘That’s a great
idea.’ So I was out the door with my checkbook.”
Betty’ collection spans art from the 1940’s through the 1990’s showing
the link between western Europe and Latin America. Artists used
whatever materials were at hand and focused on geometric
abstraction. Betty shared Gertrude Goldschmidt ( Grego)’s fragile
hanging wire, line based art she called “drawings on paper,” where
shadows create the illusion of a wheel. Sergio Camargo’s “ White
Painting” was made from circular dowls cut at 45 degree angles and
mounted on Brazilian wood. Helio Oiticica’s sculpture is hung where
you’ll confront both the object and the color. In Alfredo Hlito’s oval
painting, each bruch mark is so precise it has the same feathery edge.
We loved hearing Betty’s stories about each piece and can’t thank her
enough for remarkable Latin American Geometric Abstraction collection.