News & Events at the Art Department
Fall 2005
The Art Department is going through a period of growth in faculty, facilities, and programs. In the last few years our faculty has increased from eleven to sixteen, and the number of our studio art and art history majors has doubled in the last five years. We have a new graduate program in Combined Media designed for students who work across media boundaries and the faculty-initiated art history major is on the cusp of becoming a departmental major. This fall marks the 20th anniversary of our MFA program which coincided with a lively alumni show in the University Museum that brought together alumni from the past fifteen years. Boor Sculpture Studio, our new sculpture facility, opened in 2001 to critical acclaim and room renovations in the Fine Arts Building have reinvigorated our studio programs there. Our alumni continue to make us proud with recent accomplishments in both the fine arts and art history. Here is a more detailed account of these developments:
New Faculty
Leona Christie, Assistant Professor in Printmaking, was hired in the fall of 2003 to teach printmaking in both digital and traditional processes. She received her BS in Studio Art form the University of Wisconsin and her MFA from the University of Washington. Her etchings, drawings and animations have been exhibited widely in America and abroad, including at Pierogi 2000 (NY), the Drawing Center (NY), and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. She has also been awarded artist residencies at Yaddo and the McDowell Colony amongst others.
Yvette Mattern, Assistant Professor of Video, joined in 2004 as a joint hire with Music. Her primary department is the Art Department and she will be developing a curriculum in video, performance and installation. She received her MFA from Columbia University in the film division. She has exhibited and performed her works widely in Europe and America, most recently at the Riga National Opera House, and the Museo Art Contemporanea in Rome Italy.
Three Mediterranean Archaeologists from the former Classics Department have joined the Art Department, where they will continue to contribute to the Art History major as well as maintaining the major in Greek and Roman Civilization with a concentration in Mediterranean Archaeology. Distinguished Service Professor Paul Wallace, who has just retired but still teaches courses in Greek and Egyptian Archaeology, is a specialist in Greek and Cypriot archaeology. Professor John Overbeck specializes in Greek archaeology, especially the material culture of the ancient Aegean. Associate Professor Michael Werner, in addition to serving as the Archaeologist of the City of Albany, is a specialist in Roman archaeology and when he is not teaching at UAlbany he is conducting an archaeological dig at the ancient Roman Legionary Base at Viminaciuum, on the Danube River in present-day Serbia. UAlbany students have the opportunity to work on this dig with Professor Werner during the summer.
Facilities
The Boor Sculpture Studio, our new 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art sculpture facility opened in 2001. The Society of American Registered Architects awarded the building a certificate of distinction in 2004. The Boor Sculpture Studio was built with generous support from Terri Boor, a long time Albany resident, sculptor, and benefactor of the Art Department.
The Moklesa Shah Woodshop in the Fine Arts Building is scheduled to open in the spring of 2005. The shop will be fully outfitted with high quality woodworking equipment and tools that will accommodate graduate and undergraduate art students in the Fine Arts Building. The room renovation and equipment purchase was made possible by the generous gift from Moklesa Shah, an alumna in painting.
The Digital Lab Classroom, a 20-seat computer classroom, opened in the fall of 2004. The classroom was built with support from Apple Computer and is a state-of-the-art imaging studio for fine art digital printing and interactive media authoring. Hardware includes Apple G5 and G4 computers, several specialized scanners and color-management peripherals, and a 44" Epson archival pigment inkjet printer. This new facility will be utilized by students throughout the Art Department curriculum.
A 1500 square foot renovated room on the second floor of Fine Arts now serves as a critique and exhibition space. Graduate student critiques, ad hoc installation projects, undergraduate class shows, and the annual Seniors Exhibition and Reception are all held in this new facility.
Programs
Professor Danny Goodwin, professor of digital media heads the new Combined Media Program. The program fosters interdisciplinary studio work; students work in at least two studio concentrations selected from: digital imaging, video, printmaking, painting, drawing, photography and sculpture. The first student in the program graduated in the spring of 2005. There are typically two to three Combined Media MFA students each year.
Faculty News
Roberta Bernstein has received a grant from the Wildenstein Institute to support research on a book and catalogue raisonné on Jasper Johns.
Phyllis Galembo had a one-person exhibition of photographs titled Magic Mystery and Masquerade at the Albany Institute of History and Art, September 7th through December 7th.
Danny Goodwin is a 2005 Artists' Fellowship in Computer Arts recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)
Mark Greenwold had his work included in the 2004 Site Santa Fe Biennial which was curated by Robert Storr.
Edward Mayer is the recipient of the Outstanding Sculpture Educator Award for 2005-2006 presented by the International Sculpture Center. Recent work is scheduled for a solo exhibition at the Zabriskie Gallery, NYC, November 1 - December 10.
John Overbeck read a paper entitled Kea and Aegina at a Middle Helladic Pottery and Synchronisms workshop sponsored by the University of Salzburg, this past fall.
Marja Vallila showed her new work this fall in a one person exhibition at the Virginia Zabriskie Gallery in New York City.
Alumni News
Andrew Boardman, MFA in painting 1990, founded MANOVERBOARD, a design firm located in Brooklyn, NY that provides Web and print design, and Internet-related consulting services. His firm has designed many web sites including Barneys New York, Generation Investment Management, as well as our Art Department web site (fall 2004).
Chris Cassidy, MFA Sculpture 2004, has been appointed to the faculty at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
Brian Caverly, BA in sculpture 2000, received a 2004 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award presented by the International Sculpture Center.
Dawn Clements, MFA in painting 1989, will have a one person show of her drawings at Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn in coordination with Feigen Gallery in New York City in November 2004.
Sarah Di Donato, MFA Painting 2002, has been appointed to the Faculty at SUNY Brockport. She will oversee the painting and drawing areas.
Aaron Holz, MFA in painting 2001, recently joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln as an Assistant Professor in painting and drawing.
Andrea Hersh, MFA in painting 2000, will have a solo exhibition at Boreas Gallery in Brooklyn, New York in May 2005. She was also a 2004 recipient of an Artist Fellowship in Painting from the New York Foundation of the Arts.
Michael Meads, MFA in painting 1990, had a one person show of photographs at Clamp Art in New York City in 2004.
Michael Oatman, MFA Painting 1989, had a solo exhibition at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College as part of their "Opener" series. His show, titled "A lifetime of Service and a Mile of Thread" ran from June 25th through September 11th 2005.
Chris Oliver, MFA Sculpture 2005, received a 2005 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award presented by the International Sculpture Center.
Darice Polo, MFA in painting 1999, joined the Art Department at Kent State University in the fall of 2004. She is an Assistant Professor of Art and the coordinator of the drawing program.
Jansson Stegner, MFA in painting 2001, had a one-person exhibition at Mike Weiss Gallery in New York City in the spring of 2005.
Sandy Scolnik, MFA in painting 1997, will exhibit work in a solo show at CRG Gallery in New York City in the spring of 2005. She also received a 2004 Artist Fellowship in Painting from the New York Foundation in the Arts.
Allen Yates, MFA in painting 1999, showed several of his video works in a group exhibition at Jack the Pelican Presents Gallery this past October 2004. He was also a recipient of a 2004 Artist Fellowship in Video from the New York Foundation in the Arts.
