Students partner with Spring Street Gallery to launch exhibition

Inspired by a bold artistic movement in late 1950s New York City, Skidmore college students Rebecca Green ’16 and Max Seiler ’15 are collaborating with Spring Street Gallery to present “Shared Spaces: A Collaboration,” an exhibition designed to break down the traditional barriers between colleges and thei   r surrounding communities. The goal is to provide new opportunities and audiences for students to exhibit their work. The show is scheduled Feb. 27 to April 10 at Spring Street Gallery, 110 Spring St., Saratoga Springs. An opening reception is planned from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the gallery.

“Our inspiration comes from learning about galleries on 10th Street in New York City during the 1950s that supported and exhibited unrepresented artists, something we are trying to emulate by exhibiting our friends and collaborating with Spring Street,” said Seiler, a sociology major who is also a visual artist.  Co-curator Green, also a visual artist and sociology major, believes that students are eager to find new outlets for their work. “All of a sudden it gets to be the point when people are starting to call themselves artists, but that label only exists in the context of the college, and I think a lot of students are beginning to think about what the next step is, where do they go from here, and how do they become artists. Getting work shown is a pretty good start to that process,” she said.

In addition to Seiler and Green, fellow Skidmore students Rebecca Baruc ’15, Samantha Berman ’15, Victoria Byrnes ’15, Juan Correa Cardozo ’16, Megan Duffy ’15, Matthew Gellman ’15, Aria Goodman ’15, Julian Klein ’15, Annie Kleinbaum ’15, Alexandra Kohl ’15, Layla Muchnik ’15, Whitney Packer ’15, Devin Sullivan ’15, will have work in the show.

 “Shared Spaces: A Collaboration” also features artwork and ephemera from Brata Gallery, the Tenth Street art co-operative founded by Nicholas Krushenick and his brother John in the late 1950s. Many of the artists in the exhibit, including Krushenick, Yayoi Kusama, George Sugarman, Mark DiSuvero and others, went on to worldwide fame after their beginnings at Brata Gallery.  “It’s awesome we are able to exhibit student work downtown, but we are also honored to be showing work alongside amazing artists from a time we deeply connect with. Krushenick had a drive to exhibit his work and we do as well,” said Seiler.

Painter Nicholas Krushenick is the subject of a major retrospective at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, on display through Aug. 16. Seiler and Greene drew inspiration from the exhibit, learning about the rich history of the Tenth Street Galleries and Krushenick.

“This exhibit is an exciting juxtaposition of historic 1950s artwork and brand-new pieces by students and artists who are just coming into their own,” said Maureen Sager, executive director of Spring Street Gallery.  “The spirit of these two curators perfectly echoes those young upstarts in the 50s. We’re so glad to show work by our next generation of artists.”

Spring Street Gallery is an award-winning not-for-profit art and performance space that promotes the arts as a means of social and civic engagement.