By Dan Murphy
Nancy Schön is seen inside her Newton garage studio displaying ‘Immigration,’ one of her recent mixed-media creations.
Though she is likely best known for her whimsical public art creations, including the ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ sculpture in the Public Garden and the Tortoise and the Hare sculpture in Copley Square, venerable local artist Nancy Schön is now squarely taking aim at the Trump administration and current political landscape with her latest exbibit ‘My Truth.’
“I was energized beyond belief to show my anger,” said Schön, now 96. “Artists have an obligation to put their footprints in history, and we have to be able to tell the truth. I had to tell my truth about the horrible things going on in this political world. I’ve lived long enough to see we’re on a dangerous path.”
The exhibit, which will be on display on Friday, June 27, from 5 to 9 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday June 28-29, from noon to 5 p.m., in Schön’s Newton garage studio, comprises 25 works, including 10 of her signature bronze sculptures, as well as 15 mixed-media pieces. All works in the exhibit will be available for purchase.
Schön had originally intended to call the exhibit ‘Truth’ but then modified the name to ‘My Truth,’ since she said it specifically reflects her personal truth.
“I don’t know that it’s everyone’s truth, but it’s my truth,” she said. “I’m willing to take anything that anyone thinks is their truth. Theoretically we live in a democracy.”
She has allowed a handful of guests (including this reporter) to preview the exhibit, and they have told her that it conveys what they feel but often can’t articulate.
“In a sense, it’s a liberating time for viewers to express their own feelings, and I seem to have been able to do that,” said Schön. “It feels good to be able to vent through my art.”
While most of her previous work had contained little or no political subtext, Schön was compelled to turn her attention to world affairs when Russia invaded Ukraine in late February of 2022. She soon began working on a sculpture that would set the tone for her latest, self-described “collection of outrage.”
The piece, called ‘Ukraine,’ is a 12-inch tall, 18-inch tall bronze sculpture depicting a military boot, its toe taking the form of a fanged bear face, about to crush a tiny nightingale, the state bird of Ukraine. A hammer and sickle adorn the top of the boot, which sits in a pool of rubble.
From there, Schön went on to create ‘Justice’ – a 12-inch tall, 23-inch wide bronze sculpture depicting the far-right, male Supreme Court justices clustered together as robed Klansman. On either side of them are the more-moderate, unhooded female justices who have seemingly been pushed aside.
Her next project, called ‘Guns,’ was a 16-inch tall, 18-inch wide bronze sculpture of a Republican elephant with a handgun in place of its trunk. Schön describes the piece as a statement on “a country controlled by the gun lobby with no regard for horrendous consequences.”
To keep up with the rapid pace of her ideas for new art, Schön then moved away from bronze and began working in mixed-media.
“I can say more complicated things in mixed-media that I can’t say in bronze,” she said, adding that working in mixed-media also takes significantly less time than working in bronze.
Schön also loved creating dioramas as a child, she said, so working in mixed-media has allowed her to revisit that different form of artistic expression.
One of her mixed-media pieces, ‘Lost Science,’ offers a barbed commentary on the current state of the national healthcare system, with a bomb emblazoned ‘RFK Jr.’; a red-circle ‘do not’ sign showing a crossed-out vaccination syringe; a coronavirus particle; and a despondent-looking smiley face riddled with measles, among other images, on a blue background.
Another mixed-media piece in the exhibit – the 9-inch tall, 16-inch wide ‘Love Affair’ – depicts wax busts of President Trump and Adolph Hitler seemingly about to share a kiss, with a small red heart perched beneath their noses.
‘My Truth’ ends on a note of optimism, however, with ‘Hope’ – a mixed-media piece with that word emblazoned in gold lettering on a 24-inch base. Atop the base sits a white, red-lined pontiff hat adorned with gold material. This piece, according to Schön, expresses hope for the future arriving with the arrival of the new American pope, Pope Leo XIV.
Despite all her recent mixed-media work, Schön hasn’t abandoned working in bronze, having just finished a commission three weeks ago for Dana Hall School, a private girls grammar and high school in Wellesley.
As for what’s next, Schon said, “I don’t know what’s next, but something always comes up. Something will happen, something always does.”
To schedule to view her ‘My Truth’ exhibit between June 27-29, email Nancy Schön at [email protected].