UAlbany Art Museum Presents 'After School Special: The 2011 Alumni Show'

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 27, 2011) -- After School Special is a major exhibition of the work of UAlbany alumni artists currently on display at the Art Museum. Featuring 72 artists, the exhibition occupies the entire facility and includes all media: painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and works on paper. The exhibit runs through Saturday, Dec. 10. Based on a long-standing record of success among its graduates in the visual arts field, the exhibition highlights the individual accomplishments of working alumni artists.

After School Special is curated by Ken Johnson, '78, a freelance critic, who writes regularly for the New York Times. He hosted an opening reception and wine testing on Friday, Oct. 14. "The beauty, originality and exuberant energy of the works in After School Special eloquently testify to what an extraordinarily productive incubator of artist talent the University at Albany has been for more than four decades," said Johnson.

Johnson, who recently penned Art You Experienced? How Psychedelic Consciousness Transformed Modern Art (2011), will return to campus for a lecture and book signing on Monday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. as part of the New York State Writers Institute's visiting writers series.

Smarmageddon (2010) by Michael Oatman, M.F.A. '92

More than 100 works comprise the exhibition and reflect the technical mastery and visual complexity which are hallmarks of the UAlbany art program. From Michael Oatman's large-scale virtuoso collage culled from hundreds of vintage encyclopedia and magazine illustrations to Ben Godward's towering fluorescent polyurethane foam sculpture that doubles as beer dispenser, or Israel Hershberg 's intimate Italian landscape oil paintings, After School Special promises a visual feast for museum-goers of every aesthetic inclination.

Also featured are Sandra Scolnik's allegorical and psychologically-charged self-portraits, Dawn Clements's large-scale idiosyncratic ink drawing of a skewed domestic interior, Judith Braun's delicate symmetrical graphite drawings, Luca Buvoli 's wall-mounted sculptures of translucent shards that reference the Futurist Manifesto of 1909, and acclaimed filmmaker David Shapiro's trenchant parody of the graduate critique process featuring UAlbany art students and faculty.

From 28 to 72 years-old, the alumni artists in After School Special live across the U.S. and as far away as New Zealand. Many teach at colleges and universities across the country including Georgetown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, Parsons The New School for Design, and The College of St. Rose. They are the recipients of numerous honors such as Fulbright Scholar and Guggenheim Fellowships and residencies at select programs such as Yaddo and Skowhegan. UAlbany artists have shown in exhibitions world-wide including the Venice Biennale; the Whitney Biennial; and the Gwangju Biennale, as well as at such venerable institutions as the Tel Aviv Museum of Art; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art; The Jewish Museum of New York; National Museum of Women in the Arts; Brooklyn Museum of Art; and MoMA PS1.

The Alumni Artists:

Serdar Arat, Justin Baker, Donald Bartholomay, Liz Blum, Andrew Boardman, Roberto Bocci, Judith Braun, Luca Buvoli, Christian Carson, Brian Caverly, James Charlton, Brian Cirmo, Dawn Clements, Gigi Cohen, Colleen Cox, Page Darrow, Linda Dennis, Sara Di Donato, Alex Dunwoodie, Nancy Engel, Benjamin Entner, Anthony Faiola, Abraham Ferraro, Maryann Ficker, Tara Fracalossi, Randall Friedman, J.C. Garrett, Michael Gaynes, Rakefet Gilad, Ben Godward, Allen Grindle, Gwen Gugell, John Hampshire, Israel Hershberg, Doug Holst, Aaron Holz, Judith Hugentobler, Kim Hugo, Marta Jaremko, Peter Jogo, Gayle Johnson, Larry Kagan, Adrienne Klein, Thomas Lail, Jude Lewis, P. Lipman, Phil Lonergan, Ingrid Ludt, Mark Miller, Sanford Mirling, Gerri Moore, Brant Moorefield, Lillian Mulero, Gail Nadeau, Michael Oatman, Matthew Peebles, Steven Perkins, Ken Ragsdale, Tom Richard, G.G. Roberts, Lou Schellenberg, Michael Schuetz, Sandra Scolnik, David Shapiro, Rebecca Shepard, Jackie Skrzynski, Bruce Stiglich, Susan Stuart, Jake Winiski, Ann Wolf, Michele Wright, and Allen Yates.

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