Exhibition opening invites museum goers to experience illustrations by Maurice Sendak and the Marianne Moore and Alice In Wonderland-inspired installation by Sue Johnson

WHEN: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 from 6 – 8 p.m.  Admission to the museum will be free and the event is open to the public during this time.

WHERE: Rosenbach Museum & Library, 2008-2010 Delancey Place, Philadelphia. For more information, call (215) 732-1600 or visit www.rosenbach.org.

WHAT: The Rosenbach Museum & Library will offer two new exhibitions this fall with Too Many Thoughts to Chew: A Sendak Stew and Moore Adventures in Wonderland.

On Wednesday, September 23 from 6 – 8 p.m., the museum will host an opening party for both exhibitions, unveiling work by Maurice Sendak and Sue Johnson. Admission to the museum will be free during this time and the event is open to the public.

Too Many Thoughts to Chew: A Sendak Stew (Sept. 16 – Jan. 17, 2010) explores food, eating, and being eaten in the illustrations of Maurice Sendak. The exhibition presents 40 original Sendak illustrations that show how food brings families together, helps kids forge new friendships, and nourishes us emotionally and intellectually. Images on display include final drawings for the Sendak classics Chicken Soup with Rice (1962), Where the Wild Things Are (1963), In the Night Kitchen (1970), and We Are All in the Dumps with Jack & Guy (1993), among others. Too Many Thoughts to Chew is curated by the Rosenbach’s Traveling Exhibitions Coordinator Patrick Rodgers. The exhibition is appropriate for families and kids of all ages.

Moore Adventures in Wonderland (Sept. 26 – June 6, 2010) is a Marianne Moore and Alice in Wonderland-inspired installation, created by Rosenbach Artist-in-Residence, Sue Johnson. The installation investigates the Rosenbach’s collection of the work of author Lewis Carroll and Modernist American poet and writer Marianne Moore and uncovers the unexpected connections between the two.

Johnson has created a poetic archive and a hyper-visual experience using photography, illustration, digital collage and selected objects from the Rosenbach’s collections. The elements of the exhibition aim to represent collections and “cabinets of wonder” but also reflect the desire to collect and in particular Marianne Moore’s propensity to hoard any variety of objects, which struck her fancy. Johnson’s installation will lead the viewer on a journey through a conceptual rabbit hole, only to realize at the end of the journey that, like Alice, one hasn’t really travelled at all, but sees the surroundings in a new light.

The museum will also offer an Artist’s Talk and Reception with Sue Johnson in the Raymond K. Denworth Room from 5:30 – 6 p.m. on September 23. Johnson will be speaking about her experience as an Artist-in-Residence and the process of creating her installation. The talk is for Rosenbach Museum & Library members only. RSVP is required. Please email rsvp [at] rosenbach [dot] org or call 215-732-1600.

Moore Adventures in Wonderland is made possible by the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation and the Hirsig Family Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation. Too Many Thoughts to Chew: A Sendak Stew is made possible by the Independence Foundation and Marilyn and Mickey Steinberg.

ABOUT THE ROSENBACH: The Rosenbach Museum & Library seeks to inspire curiosity, inquiry, and creativity by engaging broad audiences in exhibitions, programs, and research based on its remarkable and expanding collections. With an outstanding collection of rare books, manuscripts, furniture, and art, the Rosenbach is a museum and world-renowned research library, set within two historic 1865 townhouses, that reflects an age when great collectors lived among their treasures. The Rosenbach Museum & Library is located at 2008-2010 Delancey Place and is open Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 seniors, $5 for students, and free for children under 5. For more information, visit www.rosenbach.org.