The Dorsky’s most recent exhibition gives the word “supervision” a new meaning.
SUNY New Paltz will be expanding their horizons starting Saturday, April 13 with the opening of the “Fields of Vision” exhibition, featuring works by New Paltz art faculty.
Running through Sunday, June 23, the exhibition will occupy multiple spaces in the Dorsky, including the Morgan Anderson Gallery, the Howard Greenberg Family Gallery and the Corridor Gallery.
Guest Curator Carl Van Brunt, owner of Beacon’s Van Brunt Gallery, was invited to choose and install pieces because of his commercial gallery experience. Van Brunt said one of his favorite parts of curating this show was meeting and interacting with all the exhibiting artists.
“I loved meeting the faculty and having smart, wonderful conversations with them,” he said. “They’re very inspiring. I’m also interested in the overall balance of the show and how it demonstrates that the faculty is composed of vibrant, engaged artists.”
Exhibiting artist and art Professor Kathy Goodell will be showing two photographs, a drawing and a large lens sculpture suspended from the ceiling, which will allow the other works in the gallery to be reflected in it.
“I think the suspended lens relates to perception and how we visualize things throughout our lives,” Goodell said. “It reminds me of how things come into and out of focus, and it symbolizes consciousness and transformation.”
Art Professor Robin Arnold will be exhibiting works made by oil on canvas, charcoal, graphite and pastels on paper.
The pieces being shown come from three different series of ongoing works — “Botany 808,” “Wall Garden” and “Dark/Matters,” including one large painting titled Midnight Sun from “Botany 808,” a large drawing called Countdown from “Dark/Matters” and a grouping of small drawings from “Wall Garden.”
Arnold said although her works have stylistic differences, they are connected in some respects, because a simple form discovered in one of the drawings might be seen in a more developed, complex image in another series.
Likewise, Arnold described working with Van Brunt as an “enjoyable experience.”
“I appreciate the thoughtfulness and care [Van Brunt] has brought to this project, and the challenges he faced dealing with such a diverse group of artists,” Arnold said.
Although Van Brunt expressed facing difficulties pertaining to “choosing and placing work in such a way that the best aspect of each individual artist comes to the floor,” he said the show’s material is diverse in that “some works are aimed at your heart and some are aimed at your mind.”
Goodell said she is excited to see other faculty members’ work that she isn’t familiar with, and seeing how some works have changed over the years.
“We don’t have these very often,” she said. “We see each other and talk to each other, but we don’t actually get to view each other’s work. I also think it’s a good thing that the students see what the faculty does. They know we have a say, but they don’t always know what we do.”