This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Brandywine Conservancy’s acquisition of the Kuerner Farm on Ring Road in Chadds Ford Township. To commemorate that anniversary, the Brandywine River Museum of Art has a new exhibit, Karl J. Kuerner: The Continuity of Creativity.
In a museum press release, Kuerner said, "The Kuerner property holds a wonderful history and a bright future with many artistic discoveries still to be made. The Farm witnessed so much over the course of its existence and continues to sustain those who see history and art as intertwined, much as the lives of the Kuerners and the Wyeths on this land. It is a landmark for both land conservation and art. I know my father would be thrilled by how the Farm still thrives as a part of the Brandywine Museum of Art and what the future holds.”
Taught by Carolyn Wyeth and mentored by both her and her brother Andy, Kuerner’s works show his memories and feel for the property that Andy Wyeth made famous in many of his paintings.
Amanda Burdan, the curator for the exhibit, said that while the conservancy might have had different ideas on how to commemorate the anniversary of getting the farm, "on the museum side, we’re looking for the art story.”
She explained that “one of the things we try to promote and promise with the Kuerner Farm and with the [Andrew and N.C.] Wyeth] studios is that these are going to be living spaces, they’re not just sealed in amber. I think one of the ways that Kuerner Farm does that best is by hosting art students and making sure that the inspiration continues to flow down to the next generation. And Karl is key to that.”
As Carolyn and Andrew Wyeth taught and mentored "young Karl" as some call him, Kuerner now does the same for other art students. He’s taught at Darlington and now accepts students to paint at the farm.
“He bridges that divide,” Burdan said, between the time Andy Wyeth painted at the farm and new, younger artists starting to paint there. “He continues to use that property as the subject and inspiration for so many students that he teaches. He’s the conduit to keeping the creativity flowing down to the next generation.”
While farming is hard work, Kuerner’s works in the exhibit show a calmer and gentler aspect of farm life. He doesn’t portray a stereotypical romantic or romanticized picture of farm life. Burdan agrees.
“You get a sense of calm and peacefulness,” she said. “Even though you understand the labor of farm life, it’s not a lament over the loss of farming. It’s not about how impossible it is to be a farmer these days, it’s an enjoyment and celebration of the way he grew up and his family’s work on the land.”
According to Kuerner, the museum had hundreds of paintings to choose from, but they were whittled down to 19, and only one is not focused on farm life. That is a piece called “Surge,” depicting rough ocean surf.
Yet, there’s another aspect of his work that he would like people to see: “There’s another side of me that isn’t included, the whimsical side.”
When questioned about that, Burdan said the museum had to stay focused.
“It’s not a retrospective, we’re not trying to cover every aspect…We wanted to look at and take his insider’s perspective on the farm itself, being a person who’s not just a fly on the wall but [his] being part of the family, part of the farm, and part of the work that was being done there…and have his point of view of the farm on display,” she said. “Karl probably spent more time on the farm than anybody other than Andrew Wyeth observing, painting, and seeking out the nooks and crannies of that property.”
Burdan then contrasted Wyeth’s depiction of the farm with Kuerner’s, saying Wyeth’s works show more of the somber and tough side of farm life, but “Karl has funny sheep that are looking at you like ‘what are you doing in my barn,’ and he catches [these scenes] because he looks from his window.”
This is the first Kuerner exhibit at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. It got to him.
“It’s overwhelming,” he said when the exhibit officially opened. “There’s so much emotion in each painting. When I first saw the exhibit hanging, I was by myself, and it brought a tear to my eye, seeing my father and [his late wife] Louise.”
As Kuerner said in a brief telephone interview before the exhibit opened, “It was always stressed upon me to ‘do your own life history.’”
Considering those 18 images are based on or around the Kuerner Farm, Karl J. Kuerner: The Continuity of Creativity shows he does just that.
The exhibit runs through May 19, the actual anniversary of the conservancy's acquisition of the property.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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