Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/92498
artist profile "a treasure of this town" left: Two owl panels adorn the Wellesley High School Visual Arts stairwell. Owls were a signature of Julie Kepes, who painted the owls into the panels her husband created. above: Commemorative plaque presented at the dedication ceremony at Wellesley High School on April 29, 2012. the Wellesley panels swirl with the same colors found on a fall day along the Fuller Brook Path. A treasure of this town, many believe that the panels must remain in Wellesley and should remain together as a set. In 2001, consultants from, MIT, the MFA, the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, and Harvard University concurred. The commit- tee has met with the Hungarian consul in Boston, Dr. Gábor Garai, who suggested that a foundation be created in order to generate funds that will assist in the restoration and display of the panels. Possible sites have been considered such as the Fuller Brook Path, the Wellesley stops on the commuter train, and incorporation into the landscape of the new high school. Due to a shortage of town funds, minimal progress has been made to prepare the remaining panels for ultimate display and a permanent home. The growing popularity of Kepes has brought increased interest from the international art community. Kepes' work currently can be viewed in the new wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MoMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bauhaus Museum in Berlin and, most 156 recently, the György Kepes Museum, which opened in March 2012 in the wine country of Hungary. In conjunction with the museum open- ing, The Alpha Gallery on Newbury Street held a reception to celebrate and display Kepes' art. Kepes scholar and Budapest Museum of Fine Arts curator Márton Orosz visited with the Wellesley Kepes Committee in 2011 to request that the library panels become a part of the perma- nent collection in Hungary. This past December, the Wellesley Kepes Panel Committee was invited to attend Vision & Projections, an event celebrating the legacy of the Center for Advance Visual Studies (CAVS) at MIT. In attendance was György Kepes'daughter, Julia, who gratefully supports the efforts of the Wellesley Kepes Committee. The Kepes Panel Committee members continue to safeguard the panels and believe that eventually they will find a permanent home in Wellesley. It is the belief of the committee that there is an absence of public art in Wellesley and having contemporary art panels that are a part of the town's history should be seen and enjoyed by all. WellesleyWeston Magazine | winter 2012/2013