Ken Johnson, Leading Voice in Contemporary Art, Returns to UAlbany

ALBANY, N.Y. - Oct. 12, 2011 -- Ken Johnson ’78, a New York Times art critic and a leading voice in contemporary art, returns to campus for a series of events and to share his views on the art world with students, alumni and the campus community. On Friday afternoon, October 14, Johnson will be honored at UAlbany’s annual “Reaching Higher, Achieving More” event, kicking off Fallbany, the University’s fall festival weekend. He will speak about his career path and accomplishments, and will be on hand after the presentation to sign copies of his latest book, Are You Experienced?: How Psychedelic Consciousness Transformed Modern Art (2011). The book explores the ways in which 1960s drug culture brought a shift in the meaning and purpose of art.

UAlbany alumnus and New York Times art critic Ken Johnson '78 is guest curator of After School Special: The 2011 Alumni Show.

He is also the guest curator of After School Special: The 2011 Alumni Show, an exhibition of the individual accomplishments of working alumni artists. The exhibit opens October 14 at the University Art Museum.  Johnson is expected to attend the exhibition’s opening reception, scheduled for 5 - 7 p.m. that evening at the museum.

Johnson, who earned a master’s degree in studio art from UAlbany, is a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where he teaches the writing of art criticism.

The noted art critic returns to UAlbany November 7, when he is a guest of the New York State Writers Institute and the University Art Museum. He will give a reading from his new book at 7 p.m. that evening at the museum, located in the Fine Arts Building on the main campus, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany.

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