Animal Magnetism runs through June 5, 2011 at the John Michael Kohler Art Center and is comprised of a series of six individual exhibitions.

Animal magnetism is said to be a mysterious force that influences Homo sapiens and all other animate creatures. While humans are unquestionably drawn to one another, our fascination with and dependence upon animals races back further than history records. In evocative paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, and mixed-media works, this enthralling series explores the dynamic and shifting relationship between people and animals.

Exhibitions in this series include:

Animal Instinct: Allegory, Allusion, and Anthropomorphism
Andrew Scott Ross: Century Zoo
Tristan Lowe: Mocha Dick
Thomas Brennan: Photogenic Drawings of Birds from Natural History Collections
Mia Mulvey: Cervidae
Jim Neel: Babel

Full credits for above video after the jump.

Sadly short in run, Infinite Variety is one of the most stunning installations of American folk art to hang in New York City.

About the exhibition -

The American Folk Art Museum has dramatically transformed the Park Avenue Armory’s historic 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall with the installation of 650 red and white American quilts, all of which are on loan from the collection of Joanna S. Rose. It is the largest exhibition of quilts ever held in the city.

The quilts will remain on display through Wednesday this week (March 30, 2011) having only just opened on Friday.

Make sure to catch the exhibition if you can.

Photography by Jacob Breinholt for Curated.

A full look at Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts after the jump.

Tattoo enthusiasts, and frankly anyone interested in American folk art, take note – Skin and Bones: Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor opens this weekend at Mystic Seaport. Being that I worked on the show, which originated at Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, my opinion is a little biased, however I think you’ll find reviews from parties unrelated to myself also pretty strong.

The exhibition is rich in objects and hosts a wealth of terrific tattoo stories.

Learn more here.

Perspectives: Setting the Scene in American Folk Art not only features a slew of terrific works, but also marks a new and positive shift in institutional policy. For the first time, with Perspectives, the American Folk Art Museum’s Education Department has organized an exhibition. Drawing from a firm understanding of audience experience, the exhibition explores notions of space and place in American Folk Art. The result is far reaching and hits on several different depictions that offer a full view of the American experience.

Perspectives: Setting the Scene in American Folk Art runs to August 15, 2010.

A few more examples of included works follow.

Topiary gardening is not something I claim to know a lot about, and it isn’t a subject often discussed on these pages. In any event, the seasons are finally changing where I live and I do enjoy a nice walk through a formal garden… or let of gardens like at Longwood.

I recently watched A Man Named Pearl, a film that appeals to both my firm interest in self-taught artists and slight interest in gardening. The film released in 2008 and tells a wonderful story.

With the new year just around the corner, its time (for me) to get excited about some forthcoming exhibitions. One which is high on my radar is The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946. Opening on March 5, 2010 at the Renwick, the exhibition showcases the arts and crafts of the Japanese internment camps, highlighting the roll arts and crafts played in emotional and cultural survival.

The underlying topic certainly isn’t easily digested, but the work remains an important chapter of the American folk art story. The Art of Gaman will run through January, 2011.

ABOVE: Artist Unidentified, Interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, Camp Scene, Wood, paint, Collection of the Japanese American Museum of San José, From “Art of Gaman” by Delphine Hirasuna, ©2005, Ten Speed. Terry Heffernan photo

Despite being situated next to the mighty MOMA, I still tend to think of the American Folk Art Museum as a little hidden gem. The confinments of the space lends well to tightly edited and engrossing shows. Time and time again, the method of display has also struck as remarkable. An example, the simple idea of mounting painted furniture at eye level for an exhibition a few years ago.

Founded in 1961, the Museum has been a catalyst for rethinking American cultural and visual history. From its formation, the institution has given the very idea that folk art can be studied as art a home. Rediscovering or discovering artistic talents and presenting ground breaking exhibition has made the Museum a continually enjoyable visit. From a scholarly perspective, the lovely library is also a joy to research in.

The building itself is fun, rather quirky, and allows for maximum natural light given its unforgiving street position. Architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien are responsible and have been reworded with much critical praise.

The American Folk Art Museum is located at 45 W. 53rd Street, New York.

Recently opened, Henry Darger and the Coloring Book packs nine examples of the artists work with mixed media and coloring books in a concise case exhibition. The collected material provides glimpse into Darger’s process, casting light on use of popular culture imagery adopted for his own unique purpose.

Henry Darger and the Coloring Book runs through September 13, 2010 at the American Folk Art Museum.

Further examples from the exhibition follow.

Owned and operated by Doug Ramsey, DBR Antiques is located in Hadley, MA. Ramsey began his work in the trade as a picker, working as a wholesaler source for major Northeastern Americana dealers since 1972. Now, Ramsey specializes in folk art and furniture. His eye is well regarded and while once a “well-kept” secret, the inventory of DBR now finds space at many of the Nation’s finest antique shows.

Representative of the objects sold by Ramsey is the J.L Baker Trade Sign (ca. 1870) shown above. A few more exceptional pieces may be found after the jump.

Open now at the American Folk Art Museum, Thomas Chambers (1808-1869): American Marine and Landscape Painter sheds light on an artist obscured in his own lifetime. Chambers’ art, bold and expressive, has been heralded as “America’s first modern” works. There is a distinct individuality in his marine and landscape paintings which emerges in original takes on his chosen subject matter.

This is the fifth survey Chambers has received and will remain on view until March 7, 2010. Above is Boston, ca. 1843-1845. More images follow.