Couched in Material Culture

This month the Georgia Museum of Art will present an exhibition of 19th century Georgia-made chairs at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center in Madison, GA. Organized by GMOA’s own Dale Couch, Adjunct Curator, Henry D. Green Center for the Study of the Decorative Arts, “Echoes from the Continent: Franco-Germanic Chairs in Georgia” explores the abiding influences of French and German furniture-making techniques and styles on southern American furniture, in particular on chairs crafted by Georgia artists.

In conjunction with this exhibition, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts will hold its Seventh Biennial Annual Conference on American Culture at the MMCC from October 28 to 30. Couch will present along with a several other curators and professors of art history and American studies. Dr. Bernard Herman, professor of American studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, will give the keynote address. Conference schedule and further information is available on MESDA’s website.

The exhibition and the conference are wonderful opportunities for lovers of the decorative arts in the Southeast to enjoy and learn more about Georgia’s important contributions to the form and the history embedded in the structure of each and every beautiful piece. The exhibition opens this Friday and runs through January.