The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) will celebrate its 10th anniversary in Saint Louis with the opening of its first-ever museum-wide exhibition, Mind, Art, Experience: Celebrating 10 Years of Chess & Culture in Saint Louis, on January 27, 2022. The exhibition will be on view through July 17, 2022, and admission is free. A virtual tour will also be available on the WCHOF website and Facebook and YouTube channels.
Mind, Art, Experience: Celebrating 10 Years of Chess & Culture in Saint Louis celebrates the best of chess, art, and culture from all 50 exhibitions held at WCHOF since its move to Saint Louis, Missouri in 2011. The three-story exhibition features more than 120 works of art and artifacts, including pieces associated with legendary world champions Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garri Kasparov, and Boris Spassky, works by famed photojournalist Harry Benson CBE and internationally recognized artists M.C. Escher, Tom Friedman, Barbara Kruger, and Yoko Ono; chess-inspired works by Michael Drummond, Peter Manion, and Audra Danielle Noyes of Saint Louis; and loans from notable collectors and institutions, including Jon Crumiller, Dr. George and Vivian Dean, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Luhring Augustine Gallery, and David Zwirner Gallery.
“This show is a celebration of what our staff has accomplished together over the past 10 years, thanks to the unique vision of Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield and Rex Sinquefield,” says Shannon Bailey, WCHOF Chief Curator. “By mixing all 50 of our past exhibitions, our audience will truly see the heart of our mission—to show the rich history of chess not only through the lives of legendary grandmasters but also the unifying impact this timeless game has on all aspects of culture.”
Highlights of the exhibitions include Tom Friedman’s Untitled, a chess set made of found objects and carefully crafted items in which no two pieces are alike; Barbara Kruger’s Untitled (Do You Feel Comfortable Losing?), a chess set that reproduces one of over one hundred possible statements when a piece is moved; Play It By Trust by Yoko Ono, an all-white chess set inspired by the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, the military conflict in Vietnam, and the struggle for civil rights in the United States; Rachel Whiteread’s Modern Chess Set, whose pieces are inspired by the dollhouses she collects; and chess pieces used in Game 3 of the legendary 1972 World Chess Championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Financial support for this exhibit was provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
“From insightful artwork that takes inspiration from chess and artifacts related to the sport’s greatest players, Mind, Art, Experience includes something for everyone,” says WCHOF Curator Emily Allred. “We are excited to share these pieces of our history with visitors and hope it will inspire them to learn more about the game or think about how it has had an impact on their own lives.”
To learn more about the exhibition or to find out more about the WCHOF’s safety procedures and guest guidelines, visit www.worldchesshof.org.
