“Focus on the Past marries the talent of contemporary artists with highlights from the Attleboro Arts Museum’s collection. Each participating artist has selected one of eight collection items and has responded to that holding with an original work in their current style and chosen medium.
The artists were not prompted to create replicas. Instead, they were given the opportunity to use a holding as inspiration for creating a new work that tapped into their personal visual language and point of view.”
Attleboro Arts Museum
I am truly honored to participate in the remarkable Focus on the Past exhibit at the Attleboro Arts Museum, an exhibit commemorating America’s 250th anniversary. The 76 exhibiting artists in this invitational exhibition are all previous 8 Visions artists since 2006. Each artist was asked to select one of 8 artifacts from the Museum’s Permanent Collection that relate to U.S. history. Each artist was free to interpret their chosen collection piece with an original work of their own.
I have selected “Plant a Victory Garden”(1943) a WWII Conservation Poster by Robert Gwathmey (American 1903-1988) and used it as inspiration to create a new work entitled "The Tubers of Victory".
Here is my artist statement:
Instead of sitting on my hands during the COVID-19 pandemic, I was motivated to grow more vegetables. Cultivating the plants not only helped me cope with the lock-down emotionally, but it also eased the restless boredom and societal restrictions. On another level, I was doing my part in fighting the pandemic "war”, in a small way, helping to alleviate the effects of supply chain disruptions, cost increases, and product shortages due to panic buying. Working in my "Pandemic Victory Garden" was therapeutic and gratifying. My gardening became a mission to self-sustenance, providing a portion of my household's food needs, and sharing a bounty of healthy, delicious produce with family and neighbors. And that was a Victory.
Sand T Kalloch
January 2026
Image: The Tubers of Victory By Sand T Kalloch, 48x36x2, Acrylic, Graphite, Colored Pencils and Varnish on wood panel
PRESSThe Attleboro Arts Museum is now exhibiting 'Focus on the Past' where artists were invited to respond to a range of American artifacts and history. Exhibition runs through Feb 28th... Learn more in the DoubleACS Daily News! Video by DoubleACS Daily news, premiered on Feb 24, 2026
