Press Releases
April 2, 2012
University Art Museum to Host 2012 Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region Juried Exhibition
On view June 28 through September 8, 2012
Show-and-Tell: Wednesday, July 18, 7:00
Artists from the 2012 Mohawk Hudson Regional share their influences in an unconventional format. Expect the unexpected! Hosted by Sarah LaDuke, Producer at WAMC, Northeast Public Radio
Free and open to the public
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ALBANY, NY--- Founded in 1936, this annual exhibition is among the longest-running regionals in the country and provides a leading benchmark for contemporary art activity in the Upper Hudson Valley and Adirondack regions. The exhibition is collaboratively sponsored by the University Art Museum, University at Albany, the Albany Institute of History & Art, and The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls.
The University at Albany Art Museum is honored to present the 76th annual Regional, an exhibition that reflects the socially engaged perspective of this year’s juror, Nato Thompson, Chief Curator at the New York–based public arts institution Creative Time. Thompson is considered one of today’s leading young curators with a specific interest in the intersection of art, politics, and space. His thoughtful and dynamic selections for the 2012 Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region feature artwork in a range of media including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, video, digital media, and installation. According to Janet Riker, Director of the University Art Museum, “Nato brought to the jurying process a distinct and illuminating point of view. The Regional is not about “the best,” it is about what is of interest to the curator at a particular moment in history. The art world today is a pluralistic environment, with many different voices and viewpoints. It’s always exciting to see how a juror crafts an exhibition that reflects what he or she feels is of particular import.”
Since January 2007, Nato Thompson has organized major projects for Creative Time such as Democracy in America: The National Campaign (2008), Paul Chan’s acclaimed Waiting for Godot in New Orleans (2007), and Mike Nelson’s A Psychic Vacuum. Previous to Creative Time, he worked as Curator at MASS MoCA where he completed numerous large-scale exhibitions such as The Interventionists: Art in the Social Sphere (2004), a survey of political art of the 1990s with a catalogue distributed by MIT Press. His writings have appeared in numerous publications including BookForum, Art Journal, tema celeste, Parkett, Cabinet, and The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest. The College Art Association awarded him for distinguished writing in Art Journal in 2004. He recently edited Living as Form: Socially Engaged Art from 1991-2011 (Creative Time and MIT Press 2012), which provides the first global portrait of a complex and not easily defined genre of cultural production. His new book Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the Age of Cultural Production is forthcoming from Melville House in summer 2012. Thompson holds a B.A. in Political Theory from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The 2012 Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region Juried Exhibition features 63 works by 30 artists. Chosen from over1,400 entries by over 300 artists, the exhibition reflects the expansive range of issues and subject matter that contemporary artists are dealing with both in the Capital Region and in the larger art world.
This year cash awards and gift certificates totaling $5,350 will be awarded to artists at the opening reception on June 28th. Over 20 area businesses and individuals have contributed, demonstrating their on-going support for the exhibition, and for the visual arts and artists in the Capital Region. Juror’s Award sponsors include: Albany Center Gallery Board of Directors, Alvaraz Dental, Anonymous, Austin & Co., Inc., Carrie Haddad Gallery, Marijo Dougherty and Norman Bauman, Ann Marie Franke, Mayor Gerald D. Jennings, Jkdorganarts, Renaissance Corporation, Picotte Companies, Spectrum 8 Theatres/New World Bistro Bar, Swyer Companies, Times Union, Gift Certificate sponsors include: A. Grindle Custom Framing, Arlene’s Artist Materials, Clement Frame Shop & Art Gallery, and McGreevy ProLab. In-Kind support includes; Gary David Gold Photography and New York Press & Graphics.
The museum is grateful to the following for their support of the exhibition and catalogue: UAlbany Office of the President, the UAlbany Office of the Provost, Accent Furniture, Carol Bullard, The Community Foundation for the Capital Region’s Nancy Hyatt Liddle Fund for the Arts, The M&T Charitable Foundation, William H. and Stephanie B. Swire, the UAlbany Alumni Association, University Auxiliary Services, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
2012 Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region: Amanda Bengle, Queensbury Colin Boyd, Troy; Allen Bryan, Saugerties; Bennett Campbell, Albany; Paul Champman, Hudson Falls; Yaminay Nasir Chaudri, Niskayuna; Mandi Coburn, Rotterdam; Peter Crabtree, North Bennington; Chris DeMarco, Albany; Abraham Ferraro, Albany; Sarah Fuhrman, Latham; Mimi Czajka Graminski, Poughkeepsie; Sarah Haze, Albany; David Hopkins, Albany; William Jaeger, Albany; Pooh Kaye, Worcester; Tatana Kellner, Kingston; Ingrid Ludt, Clifton Park; Warren MacMillan, Albany; Nathan Meltz, Troy; Mark McCarty, Troy; Sanford Mirling, Troy; Gina Occhiogrosso, Troy; Philip J. Palmieri, Loudonville; Penny Perkins, Delmar; Linda Pinkans, Niskayuna; Alana Sparrow, Cohoes; Pamela Wallace, Germantown; Sandra Wilmer, Delmar; and Allen Yates, Greenwich.
For more information, call (518), 442-4035.
MUSEUM SUMMER HOURS: Tuesday - Saturday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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Media contact: Naomi Lewis, Exhibition & Outreach Coordinator, nlewis@albany.edu