The Cantor Arts Center introduces Artist at Work 2017: Hope Gangloff as part of the Diekman Contemporary Commissions Program, a recurring opportunity for artists to create new work

Hope Gangloff, the first visiting artist in the program, transforms the museum's historic Atrium into an active artist's studio this May

May 24–26, 2017

Stanford, California — The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University is pleased to announce that Hope Gangloff has been chosen as the first Diekman Contemporary Commissions Program artist. For the inaugural presentation of the program—Artist at Work 2017: Hope Gangloff—she will paint several large-scale, site-responsive portraits to hang along the light-filled Atrium Balcony. She will create additional works on site in the museum's grand 1894 Atrium, painting for three days May 24–26, and display those works on handmade easels.

"This project allows contemporary artists to use the Cantor Arts Center as a laboratory of sorts as they respond to the architectural space and create new and unexpected works," said Alison Gass, Associate Director for Collections, Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs. "This is a rare and exciting opportunity for the museum, since this type of boundary-pushing project can activate the experience of the visitor by altering otherwise familiar museum spaces and conceptually trigger a new engagement with the artistic ideas of our world. We are thrilled Hope Gangloff accepted our invitation to transform our Atrium into a space for contemporary creation and dialogue, and delighted that the public will be able to witness the artist's process."

As an extension of the contemporary commissioning program, Gangloff will mine the museum's permanent collection and select key historical works to hang alongside her own contemporary paintings in the exhibition Hope Gangloff Curates Portraiture. Using the format of artist as curator, this exhibition will contextualize contemporary art within the language of art history and investigate the traditional genre of portraiture. It will also invite viewers to experience the Cantor's rich historical collection through the eyes of a celebrated artist working today. The exhibition will be on view April 5–September 24, 2017.