Sacramento, CA | Curator-Led Tour of the Crocker Art Museum: “Gleefully Askew:A Gladys Nilsson Retrospective,”Suzanne Adan: I’m No Spring Chicken,” & “Hot Takes: New Acquisitions in Glass”

Join ArtTable for a Curator-Led Tour of the Crocker Art Museum with Francesca Wilmott and Sara Morris. Attendees will be guided through three exhibitions: Gleefully Askew: A Gladys Nilsson Retrospective, Suzanne Adan: I’m No Spring Chicken, and Hot Takes: New Acquisitions in Glass.

Born in Chicago in 1940, Gladys Nilsson is best known for her watercolors of long-limbed figures engaged in everyday micro-dramas. As a member of Chicago’s Hairy Who in the 1960s, Nilsson made watercolors that earned her a reputation as the most “feminine” member of the group—a characterization that she has challenged and spoofed throughout her career. Nilsson’s self-reflexive approach has guided her experimental practice, which also includes Plexiglas paintings, largescale diptychs, embroidery-hoop paintings, drawings, prints, and mixed-media collages. 

Suzanne Adan (born 1946) creates personal universes that combine fantasy, popular culture, and autobiography. Approximately 100 of these compelling works, in a variety of media, are included in Suzanne Adan: I’m No Spring Chicken, a retrospective assembled in her 80th year. A native Californian, Adan was born in Woodland and raised in nearby Yolo. She earned her BA and MA from Sacramento State College in 1969 and 1971, respectively. It was there that she met her husband, sculptor Michael Stevens, and became influenced by instructor Jim Nutt, a member of Chicago’s Hairy Who.

Hot Takes presents approximately twenty works in glass that have recently entered the Crocker’s expanding collection of craft and decorative art. The exhibition features spectacular examples by Art Nouveau artists and designers such as Louis Comfort Tiffany and Émile Gallé. These works are presented alongside expressive pieces by leading contemporary artists—including Dale Chihuly, Richard Marquis, Preston Singletary, Ginny Ruffner, and Hiroshi Yamano—who introduce new takes and unexpected perspectives on the medium. All illuminate the enduring aesthetic and conceptual possibilities of glass, underscoring the material’s versatility and luminosity, as well as the technical innovation and creative vision that continue to define glass as a sculptural art form.

Program Admission:

• ArtTable Members – $15
• ArtTable Member Guest – $20
• Non Members – $25

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All program registration fees go toward event expenses and administrative costs for the organization.