Press Releases
August 2004
Selected Works from the Pierogi FlatfilesOn view at the University Art Museum
September 28 through November 14, 2004
Opening Reception: September 28, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Art & Culture Talks (ACT): September 28, 4:15 – 4:45 PM, Joe Amrhein and Susan J. Swenson
Free and open to the public
ALBANY, NY--- Selected Works from the Pierogi Flatfiles, curated by Joe Amrhein of Pierogi 2000, an innovative gallery in Brooklyn, NY, will open on September 28 with a reception 5:00 to 7:00 PM and continue through November 14. The exhibition in the museum's West Gallery will showcase a wide range of contemporary drawing and other two-dimensional works on paper. Works will be numbered to correspond to drawers in several flatfiles—allowing visitors to delve into the files and explore a particular artist's complete portfolio or browse through the work of over 200 artists from around the world.
In addition to Amrhein's selections, the exhibition will include work by fourteen alumni artists from the University at Albany's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program. Liz Blum, Judith Braun, Christian Carson, Brian Cirmo, Sara DiDonato, Laura Frare, Matthew Hamilton, Andrea Hersh, Mark W. Miller, Richard Moninski, Michael Schuetz, Bruce Stiglich, Nicholas Warner, and Michele Wright were selected by a three-member review panel that included Ian Berry, Curator, The T ang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College: Janet Riker , Director and Corinna Ripps Schaming, Associate Director/Curator of the University Art Museum
In 1996, Joe Amrhein developed the concept for an exhibition of traveling file chests that would make artwork available to broad audience of dealers, critics, collectors, and the general public. Since that time, the Pierogi flatfiles have grown to include the work of over 700 artists, and have traveled all over the world to venues including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria. “The opportunity to browse at will through this wide-ranging and exciting body of new work is a very special art experience. I'm a big fan of the way the flatfiles break down the usual museum-audience relationship and delighted that we could bring them to Albany ,” said museum director Janet Riker . For more information on the Pierogi Flatfiles, see: www.pierogi2000.com .
Prior to the exhibition reception on September 28, the museum's acclaimed program, Art & Culture Talks (ACT), continues with a discussion by Joe Amrhein, Director, Pierogi 2000 and Susan J. Swenson, Director, Pierogi Press. Amrhein and Swenson will review their roles in the evolution of Pierogi 2000, the Flatfiles and Pierogi Press, and explore the impact these projects have had on the contemporary art world. The program, from 4:15-4:45PM, is free and the public is welcome.
Museum Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 10 AM – 5 PM; Saturday, Sunday, noon – 4 PM.
For further information or visual materials, please call 518.442.4035 or visit our website at http://www.albany.edu/museum