de Menil Gallery wraps up 2024–25 season with exhibition of retiring art faculty member Monika Andersson’s photography, ‘A Game of Beautiful Parts’

Groton School’s de Menil Gallery saluted one of its own on May 10 with an artist reception in honor of retiring arts faculty member Monika Andersson’s “A Game of Beautiful Parts” photography exhibit. 

Ms. Andersson—who is departing the Circle after twenty-five years—served as director and curator of the gallery from 2007 until recently. “A Game of Beautiful Parts” is the final exhibition of the 2024–25 de Menil season.

“The camera has always been a magical tool for me, freezing and revealing the fleeting moments

of passersby and loved ones,” said Ms. Andersson. “Not all images are the same; some hold more mystery and depth than others.”

Growing up in Sweden, Ms. Andersson discovered photography in her twenties, when she decided to take a two-year class in the medium. 

“The school taught me a lot about cameras, light, and viewing the world,” she said. 

When the two-year class ended, she applied to Massachusetts College of Art for a degree in Photography, spending the next four years in Boston before continuing her studies at Yale School of Art in Photography, where she earned her MFA.

“As a photographer, I have mainly focused on capturing moments of people in the world around

me,” Ms. Andersson explained. “Even without my camera, I observe many beautiful and complex moments daily, feeling as though I am swimming through the river of time.”

Since joining the Groton faculty in 2000, Ms. Andersson has taught photography and video and curated the de Menil Gallery, among other duties. Her work has been showcased in exhibitions at various schools and museums, seeing the walls of galleries from Massachusetts to Guangzhou, China. In 2000, her photography was included in the show “Open Ends” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 1987, a Life magazine contest for young photographers selected Ms. Andersson as one of the eight best photographers in the U.S. under 30. 

“Photography has given me insight into the world and taught me to appreciate the beauty in the ordinary things—a sliver of light on a person’s face, a profile turned in a certain way, a sudden movement,” she said. “Sometimes, as I drift off to sleep, I wonder about the people I’ve photographed. While they may not remember me, I have seen them countless times through my images, wondering where they are now and how they are doing.”

“A Game of Beautiful Parts” runs until June 6.