Exhibition to feature work of faculty, student artists

A new exhibition, titled Making the Connection: Skidmore Art Students and Their Professors, opens Saturday, April 5, at Feast Gallery in Saratoga Springs. The exhibition will showcase the rich web of artistic influence that shapes and inspires Skidmore studio-art students and their faculty.

Curated by gallery intern Danielle Starr '08 with the support of gallery director Leigh Ollman '02, the exhibition will be on view through April 27. The opening reception, from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 5, will feature live music performed by the Skidmore student group Grace Over Glass.

Making the Connection will present artwork from both Skidmore masters and newcomers, shown side by side. The six faculty artists and 10 art majors participating are graphic design artist Deborah Hall, with students Brian Farris and Karli Hendrickson; fiber artist Margo Mensing, with students Morgan Rougeau and Stephanie Terao; painter Deborah Morris with students Nicholas Green and Ally Wolf; painter Peter Stake with students Jessie Edelman and Madison Li; and ceramicist Regis Brodie and his former student, ceramicist Leslie Ferst '76, with her students Teddy Kunhardt and Peter Sheldon. The latter group, Starr points out, is notable for "showing three generations of ceramics students."

The works on view span a wide range of artistic media: computer-designed graphics and images; drawings in pen, pencil, and watercolor; embroidery; ceramics; and paintings on wood and canvas.

Although the show's student curator is majoring in French, she learned firsthand about the vibrant connections that instruct and inspire artists through her art history and studio art minor, which included numerous courses with Brodie. For her gallery internship project, "Leigh let me get my hands on every aspect of this show," says Starr, who even wrote and produced the exhibition's brochure. Overall, "working with the students and professors has been one of the highlights of the show for me; their enthusiasm and motivation has given me constant energy throughout the entire project," says Starr.

"Danielle did a lot of the work, identifying which students and which professors to invite to submit works, talking to her peers and picking out pieces for the show," says Ollman. Her day job as grants administrator for the Saratoga County Arts Council has acquainted her with many regional artists, an acquaintance that helped inspire the gallery's theme of spotlighting both established and emerging artists in all mediums. Says Ollman, "showing student work was always part of the plan for dialogue among artists at different stages of their work and careers."

Feast Gallery is located on the corner of Grand Avenue and Beekman Street, above The Local Pub & Teahouse in the Beekman Street Arts District.

To sample the sounds of Grace Over Glass, an alternative soul band featuring piano, African drum, and guitar, click here.

(Featured in photo: Danielle Starr '08, left, and Leigh Ollman '02)