June 27 through December 1, 2025
Celestial Bodies: Sculpture by Karen LaMonte is an expansive, breathtaking array of about 60 figures and forms, which not only reflects LaMonte’s life and career but her artistic soul, as well. LaMonte, a contemporary artist and sculptor, demonstrates her interest in both the presence and absence of the female body throughout her body of work, connecting ideas of timeless beauty and femininity to the idea of the everywoman in a projection of both strength and fragility, permanence and mortality.
From her earliest experiments in casting glass to her astonishing achievements in form and size, LaMonte’s work in Celestial Bodies includes early studies, which were explorations in size, light, and darkness, along with photographs inspired by theater and dance.
Her most recent work—scientifically accurate representations of clouds—derived from a childhood interest in how they form and how they dissipate, reflect LaMonte’s ongoing interest in impermanence and light. Of this new series of work, LaMonte observes, “Clouds intrigue me because they make visible the invisible forces of the natural world.” Finding connections between the earth and femininity, LaMonte’s work conveys a sense of connection that transcends time.
LaMonte’s work has been shown globally, including at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia; Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington; the Toyama Glass Art Museum in Japan, and the Musée du Verre in France. Most recently, she was honored with a Corning Incorporated Specialty Glass Residency at Corning Museum of Glass and awarded the Master of the Medium award from the James Renwick Alliance.
Descended from the owner of the first glassworks in America, LaMonte was born in New York City, spending her formative years attending museums as a way to escape the heat in the summer when her family had no air conditioning. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, LaMonte received several fellowships that allowed her to further her study of the concepts of beauty, culture, and the human form.
Tickets: Free for Munson Members | $10 General Public | Members Preview RSVP
Funding for Munson’s 2024-2025 exhibition series is provided by Christian and Cheryl Heilmann; Elizabeth R. Lemieux, Ph.D.; the Family of F. X. Matt II; and Linda and Alan Vincent. Funding for this exhibition is provided by Deborah and Michael Zahn.
