SPRING
A CHANGING LANDSCAPE
2013
EXHIBITION SEASON NEWSLETTER VOL VI
SUART GALLERIES
THE WAREHOUSE GALLERY
THE PALITZ GALLERY
ART COLLECTION
2
EXHIBITIONS
OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 5:00 – 7:00 P.M.
NEIL WELLIVER: THE PRINTS From the late 1970s, to his death in 2005, Neil Welliver considered printmaking an integral part of his artistic activity. He regularly produced unique graphic works, most significantly a series of woodcuts using traditional Japanese methods in collaboration with the noted printmaker Shige Tsukaguchi. Neil Welliver: The Prints provides an overview of the artist’s prolific career, assembling the earlier images of wildlife in the Maine woods with his more recent depictions of landscape.
top: Welliver, Little Marsh, 1987 bottom: Welliver, Flotsam-Allagash, 1995, Two Trout & Reflection, 1994 cover: Welliver, Trout and Reflected Tree, 1985
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
Domenic J. Iacono Director, SUArt Galleries 2013 begins with two very different examinations of art. In our main galleries we will present the work of Neil Welliver, a late 20th century landscape artist whose chief subjects were nature and the wild. His paintings, prints and drawings were explorations of that world and his designs were unique portrayals of what he found. Neil Welliver: The Prints explores his observations of the country around Lincolnville, Maine from 1973 until 2000. His images are filled with the natural beauty of the region as seen throughout the day and the year. Brilliant sunsets are juxtaposed with stormy afternoons, early spring or midsummer scenes are compared with winter snows. Welliver also captures the wildlife of the region, especially the waterfowl so common to the forests of Maine. The show begins in late January and presents work from the Alexandre Gallery in New York City that represented him for years. This winter the Galleries is also presenting a show developed by the Advanced Curatorship class in the Graduate Program in Museum Studies as part of their educational training. Under the guidance of Professor Edward (Teddy) Aiken the students have organized Nouveau Risqué: A Perspective on Women and Progress, that investigates the impact work, recreational activities and independent living had on women during the turn of the 19th to 20th century. The exhibition will feature color lithographic posters from the Arts and Crafts movement, accompanied by examples of furniture, lamps, vases, clothing and other accessories. Nouveau Risqué is the result of a collaborative effort between the SUArt Galleries, the Special Collections Research Center at Bird Library, The Stickley Museum, Dalton’s American Decorative Arts, the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection and Research Center, the Cortland County Historical Society, and the students in Professor Aiken’s Advanced Curatorship course. We’ll end the academic year with our annual Master of Fine Arts exhibition that displays the work of 2013 graduate students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts. This exhibition showcases the multiple disciplines practiced by these ‘artists in the making’ and J. Hugo D’Alési [Centenaire de la Lithographie], 1897 from Maîtres de l’Affiche, volume II, plate 66
much of the work presented is very compelling.
3
t I 4
EXHIBITION At the Palitz Gallery we just opened an exhibition that looks at the work of eight Upstate New York artists who are former or current editors of the arts journal Stone Canoe. According to curator Ruth Applehof, the Executive Director of Guild Hall of East Hampton (Syracuse University ’65, G ’74, G’80, G’89), these editor/artists have all gained considerable prominence in their field and the work chosen for this installation demonstrates a broad range of aesthetic choices made everyday by these artists. Making Their Mark: Eight Artists from Stone Canoe runs through February 7. A few days later we open an exhibition from Light Work called 40 Years/40 Artists. The forty pictures in this exhibition represent each year that Light Work has been supporting artists (1973–2013.) They stand in for the hundreds of other artists who have participated in Light Work’s Artist-inResidence, exhibition, publishing, and grant programs. Light Work is an alternative arts organization run by artists for the benefit and support of other artists. Working in collaboration with Community Darkrooms at Syracuse University, Light Work has concentrated on supporting emerging and under-recognized artists, giving them the opportunity to create new work, and then making that work part of the ongoing dialogue about contemporary art. After the Light Work show we will be exhibiting the winning entries from the 2012 Wynn Newhouse Foundation competition. Last year’s Awards exhibition displayed the work of Barton Benes, Mark Parsons, Sunaura Taylor and Christine Sun Kim. The awards were created to draw attention to the achievements of artists of excellence who happen to have disabilities. Wynn Newhouse was a prominent and avid art collector who lost functional use of one hand in an industrial accident as a young man. By midlife, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Newhouse conceived The Wynn Newhouse Awards in 2005 as a program to provide grants to talented fine artists with disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Top artists, curators, and critics shared Wynn’s belief that many disabled people have unique insights and skills that can enhance their ability to create exciting art. Wynn passed away in 2010. At the Warehouse Gallery in downtown Syracuse we are presenting the work of ecoarttech until February 9, 2013. Founded in 2005 by Rochester based artists Leila Nadir and Cary Peppermint, ecoarttech is an art/theory collaborative that explores environmental issues. This exhibition, wilderness 24/7, begins at the Warehouse Gallery where the artists have set up an ‘urban campsite’ that is also a participatory lab for Central New York hikers that examines both Syracuse’s immediate urban neighborhoods and contemporary ecological existence in the midst of networked environments. Later in the semester we’ll be presenting Authentic Syracuse, a work developed by London-based artist Ben Faga. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Faga attended the University of Minnesota before receiving his MA in Design at the Royal College of Art in London. The Windows Project at the Warehouse will display work by Rebecca Soderholm who recently had a solo exhibition at the 511 Gallery in New York City.
Charles Gatewood Human Pincushion, New York State Fair, 1976
tion_slides/american_in_venice_slides/Images/33.jpg http://travex.syr.edu/images/exhibition_slides/american_in_venice_slides/ Images/33.jpg EXHIBITIONS
OPENING THE CRATE Exploring TRAVEX: the Syracuse University Art Galleries Traveling Exhibition Program The SUArt Galleries Traveling Exhibition Program has provided affordable exhibitions to small and medium museums and university art galleries for nearly two decades. Throughout this time, our collections have travelled to select museums and galleries throughout the nation. We’ve also traveled a number of shows to Italy as a part of the Syracuse University Abroad program, where they were on view in Florence. Typically, the SUArt Galleries staff generates exhibitions from Syracuse University’s permanent art collection, focusing on works of art on paper, demonstrating exceptional strength in pieces from the 20th century. Print shows have examined the work of James McNeill Whistler, Georges Rouault, and the German Expressionist movement. Other exhibitions have studied artist portraits and self-portraits, early 20th century images of New York City subways and skyscrapers and 20th century masters of photography. More recently, we have begun to offer traveling exhibitions that include art from private lenders. These exhibitions have first been presented in our Syracuse galleries, and then offered to other institutions, such as the exhibitions Pressing Print: Universal Limited Art Editions 2000-2010 and Karl Schrag: Memories and Premonitions. This winter Drawn to Paint: The Art of Jerome Witkin will be traveling to the Palmer Museum of Art in University Park, PA. Later, in April, an exhibition culled from our permanent collection, An American in Venice: James McNeill Whistler and His Legacy, will be on view at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art in Manhattan, KS. This summer, Pressing Print can be seen at the Foosaner Art Museum in Melbourne, FL. top: Karl Schrag, Evening Fragrance of Gardens, 1963 botton: James McNeill Whistler, The Palaces, 1879
To learn more, visit travex.syr.edu
5
6
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES
CALENDAR Ben Shahn and The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti Collecting Focus: New Prints and Photographs
Shaffer Art Building, Main Campus
January 24 – March 17, 2013 Neil Welliver: Prints Nouveau Risqué: A Perspective on Women and Progress Opening Reception Thursday, January 24, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. April 4 – May 12, 2013
MFA 2013 Opening Reception Thursday, April 4, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
350 West Fayette Street Downtown Syracuse
Through February 9, 2013 ecoarttech: Wilderness 24/7 February 28 – May 12, 2013 Ben Faga: Authentic Syracuse Windows Project: Rebecca Soderholm: Crescendoe Opening Reception: Thursday, February 28, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Through February 7, 2013
Making their Mark: Syracuse University Lubin House 11 East 61st Street, NYC
Palitz Gallery
Louise and Bernard
2013 SPRING
Through May 12, 2013 Permanent Collection Exhibitions
The Warehouse Gallery
SUArt Galleries
6
Eight Artists from Stone Canoe February 11 – April 11, 2013
40 Artists / 40 Years
Selections from the Light Work Collection April 15 – June 13, 2013 2012 Wynn Newhouse Awards Exhibition
LECTURES, PROGRAMS & EVENTS
7
LUNCHTIME LECTURES Wednesdays starting at 12:15 p.m. including: January 30: Gallery talk for Nouveau Risqué: A Perspective on Women and Progress February 6: Assitant Director Andrew Saluti tours Neil Welliver: Prints February 13: Curator David Prince explores the Permanent Collection
For programming & event information facebook.com/ SUArtGalleries
FEATURED LECTURE: The Print Revolution presented by Elizabeth Fowler, Ph.D. for the exhibition Nouveau Risqué: A Perspective on Women and Progress Saturday, February 9, 2:00 p.m. 121 Shaffer Auditorium
Interactive family programming designed for children 5–10
Gallery tour and activity February 16 and 17, 2:00 P.M. Relief Printmaking Workshop March 9 and 10, 2:00 p.m.
THE SUArt FILM SERIES The Desert of Forbidden Art Directed by Tchavdar Georgiev and Amanda Pope
Sunday, February 3rd, 2:00 p.m. Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC The SUArt Galleries was pleased to launch the SUArt Film Series with the presentation of the documentary film Portrait of Wally, which premiered November 4th. Award winning director of the film Andrew Shea introduced the film and entertained questions after the screening.
8
EDUCATION
MUSEUM AS MENTOR By Kaitlyn Spina Senior at Manlius Pebble Hill High School, Jamesville, New York
Above: Kaitlyn presents her SUArt Kids program The Art of the Mosaic based on Ben Shahn’s iconic mural The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti. Children and parents were invited to make their own mosiacs in the SUArt Galleries community studio.
Starting out at the gallery, I did not know what to expect. While I enjoyed creating art and researching artists that intrigued me, I did not know what working in an art gallery would involve. On my first day, an exhibition of the artist Robert Stackhouse was in the process of being taken down. The show consisted of his large-scale drawings and sculptures, so many hands were needed to pack the pieces up. I was nervous at first, but my worries quickly disappeared as Director Domenic Iacono and Assistant Director Andrew Saluti started to show me the basics of art handling and the process of taking down an exhibition. In the next few months, I was taught so much about how an art gallery operates, including all of the steps that go into opening a new exhibition, how to frame and unframe pieces, how to install artworks, how to do inventory, and where and how to properly store a piece of art and record its location. I have also been given opportunities to help out during weekend events like SUArt Kids classes. Volunteering at the Syracuse University Art Gallery has taught me that there is so much more to art than actually creating a drawing or sculpture or learning about a famous artist. However, I believe that one of the best qualities of the gallery is the people who work there. While I was uncertain and tentative when I first arrived, I was immediately welcomed warmly by the faculty and students who work there, and they made me feel like I belong. They have always been patient and eager to teach me about new artists, processes, and tasks, and it truly has been a perfect learning environment for me as a high school student with a love for art.
EDUCATION
the PALITZ ART SCHOLARS The Syracuse University Art Galleries is pleased to announce the 2012 Louise and Bernard Palitz Art Scholars, Chelsea Airey and Sara Belisle. Both students are enrolled in the Graduate Museum Studies Program in the School of Art and Design and are graduate assistants at the SUArt Galleries. The Palitz Scholars are chosen for their dedication to the field of museum work, as well as their academic progress while at Syracuse. The Louise and Bernard Palitz Art Scholars are named for Louise Beringer Palitz (SU ’44) and her husband Bernard who have continually given support to the SUArt Galleries activities and programs. More than 25 years ago, the Palitz’s made their first gifts to the University Art Collection and since that time have supported our activities in numerous ways. Whether it has been a gift to help underwrite the publication of a catalog, funds to help us operate the gallery in New York City that bears their name, or as the major sponsor of our 2008 Michelangelo exhibition, Mr. and Mrs. Palitz have been very generous to us. In 2011, they established a scholarship to support deserving graduate students in Art History or Museum Studies at Syracuse. Sara Belisle has begun her second year working as a Graduate Assistant at the SUArt Galleries and is concurrently pursuing a master’s degree in Museum Studies as well as a Certificate of Advanced Study in Cultural Heritage Preservation. Originally from Bangor, Maine, she received her B.F.A. in Letterpress and Bookbinding from Montserrat College of Art located in Beverly, MA. At Syracuse University, she has a graduate assistantship with the SUArt Galleries working as an Assistant Preparator. Her duties include preparing artwork that will be on display at the SUArt Galleries and on loan to other institutions as well as completing the campus wide inventory of art on campus. Sara has also worked on installations and exhibition design work for the Design Gallery at the Warehouse and at XL Projects. Chelsea Airey, a native of Indianapolis, completed her undergraduate degree at Franklin College and pursued a graduate degree in Composition from Indiana University Purdue University- Indianapolis (IUPUI) before enrolling at Syracuse. Currently, she is enrolled in the Museum Studies Graduate Program, and is a member of SU’s Future Professoriate Program, while serving as a Registrar’s Assistant at SUArt Galleries. Her duties include preparing artwork that will be on loan as part of the Traveling Exhibitions Program and recording information about recent additions to the permanent collection. Two recent summer internships at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art have provided Chelsea with additional practical experience.
9
10
COLLECTION
RECENT ACQUISITIONS The University Art Collection grew a little larger and great deal deeper with the recent acquisition of several important paintings and works on paper. This past October we received a gift of Dutch old master paintings from Abbe and Lloyd Hascoe (SU ’78, SU ’81) along with three Art Nouveau drawings. The paintings are by Joost van Geel and Adriaen van Ostade, both 17th century artists known for their religious and genre paintings. Christ Healing Peter’s Mother-in-law was long considered by scholars to be a late work by Gabriel Metsu (also a 17th century Dutch artist and possible teacher to van Geel.) One of only twenty known works by the hand of this Dutch master, other paintings by van Geel are in such museums as the Hermitage and the Rijksmuseum.
Adriaen van Ostade, The Slaughtered Pig, c1640
Joost van Geel, Christ Healing Peter’s Mother-in-law, 17th c.
The Adriaen van Ostade painting is called The Slaughtered Pig and has been the subject of debate by scholars who disagree about its authorship. Recently attributed to Adriaen, the painting has often been considered the work of his younger brother, Isack van Ostade. Both brothers are important painters who have works in the art collections at the National Gallery, the Hermitage, the Louvre, and the Rijksmuseum.
COLLECTION These paintings and their authorship will challenge our students in years to come and promise to be the subject of many term papers for our fine arts and art history faculty. While the Art Nouveau drawings do not present any challenges of authorship, they were created by the capable hand of Alphonse Mucha, the pieces will offer our students different curatorial challenges: Were these drawings studies for his poster designs or paintings? What is the provenance or history of ownership for these drawings? Are the drawings representations of specific people? The addition of these works, and others like them, enhance the educational potential of the Art Galleries. We are indebted to Abbe and Lloyd Hascoe for their generosity and vision.
John Valentino Saudi, Snake Dance. 1985
Cyprian Msafiri, Mganga, 1989
Another important addition to the Art Collection recently came to us from the Maryknoll Sisters and specifically Sister Jean Pruitt. In 1972, after several years serving the wider population of Dar es Salaam and Tanzania, Sister Jean helped found the art school that became known as Nyumba ya Sanaa (House of Art.) The school has been home to several notable African artists including George Lilanga, Henry Likonde, Edward Kiiza and others. Sister Jean was looking for a permanent home to house a collection of art assembled over a thirty-year period and after a visit to Syracuse and the Art Galleries she thought we would be a perfect home for nearly 175 pieces of art. A primary goal for Sister Jean was to make the collection accessible to students, especially area inner city school children. With that in mind, we have been working to engage students in the Syracuse city school district in a project that will help us present a portion of the collection in our main campus galleries next year. More will follow about this exciting program next in our newsletter. In addition to Sister Jean, I want to thank Harley Lewin of McCarter & English, LLP (legal advisor to Sister Jean,) Kheli Willetts of the Community Folk Art Center and Angel Broadnax of Strategic Initiatives at the College of Visual Performing Arts for their participation in this project. Hassan Fidelis untitled [Makonde, Hunger figure], c 1990
11
Shaffer Art Building Syracuse University Syracuse, NY 13244 E. suart@syr.edu P. 315.443.4097 F. 315.443.9225
G A L L E RY
THE WAREHOUSE GALLERY
international contemporary art center visit us online at
suart.syr.edu a member of
A CHANGING
LANDSCAPE Ben Shahn, detail, The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, 1967