Flourish: Alumni Works on Paper

For Immediate Release

Darlene Gillan, Director of Communications
tel. 617 879 7050
e. darlene.gillan@massart.edu

Bakalar & Paine Galleries at Massachusetts College of Art and Design
June 6-July 9, 2011
Reception: Thursday, June 9, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Boston, MA: Flourish: Alumni Works on Paper is the first juried alumni exhibition to be held in the Bakalar & Paine Galleries at MassArt. Showcasing the breadth of talent and excellence embodied by MassArt's artists and designers, this exhibition features the work of 64 international artists working in a range of disciplines.

Flourish highlights the wide range of work by MassArt's diverse alumni and includes painting, collage, interactive sculpture, photography, performance, fashion and graphic design. For example Tereza Swanda's work begins with physical engagement and dialogue between the artist and viewer resulting in layered translucent site-specific collages. Swanda will be at the opening reception (Thursday, June 9, 6:00–8:00 p.m.) connecting with the public while documenting each personalized interaction; for the duration of the exhibition she will leave a trace of this encounter in the gallery as a continuation of her Bodies Reform series. Claire Beckett's large-scale photographs were made at military training sites in the U.S. that mimic foreign war zones and include specific architectural references, representative costumes and objects, as well as American soldiers and civilians playing roles as Iraqis and Afghans. Her work explores how Americans interact with and understand their place in the world. Chuck Brouillette culls imagery and characters from comics and pop culture, creating digital illustrations that envision traditional superheroes as classic Hollywood film celebrities, who step into the 3rd dimension as living, breathing, and fame-seeking beings. Stacy Scibelli sews wearable interactive sculptures-soft machines that facilitate basic interactions and elicit awkwardness or communal awareness between participants. Through her sculptures, she explores the space between people, both literal and metaphorical, and the power dynamics of distance between individuals. Squares, rectangles and trapezoids become architectural forms in Gabriel Phipps' paintings; the geometric units that reverberate throughout the work are at once solid and ephemeral, synthetic and organic, and fictitious and real.

The artists in the exhibition are: Scott Alario, Elizabeth Alexander, Lizbeth Anderson, Johnny Arguedas, Kristy Asaro, Brenton Barnes, Claire Beckett, Susan Blatt, Jen Bradley, Kelley Brannon, Chuck Brouillette, Emily Brozyna, Kyle Bryant, Bruce Campbell, Lana Z. Caplan, Caleb Charland, Christine Collins, Corey Corcoran, Leah De Prizio, Jess Dugan, Pat Falco, Alex Farrell, Jeff Fichera, Christian Flynn, Jessica Gath, Ania Gilmore, Emily Goodale, Hannah Goodwin, Lucy Grover, Karen Hendrickson-Santospago, Mary Huges, Lauren Kalman, Heidi Kayser, Joshua Keay, Isaiah King, Bara Kirkpatrick Jichova, Robert Knight, Regina Kokoszka, Kay Kopper, Adam Lampton, Surendra Lawoti, Sebastien Leclercq, Courtney Lockemer, John Magnifico, Bryan Martello, Julie Martini, Laurel McMechan, Kevin Morosini, Dana Mueller, Bruce Myren, Ashley Norman, Zoe Perry-Wood, Gabriel Phipps, Eric Saline, Dana Salvo, Stacy Scibelli, Ji-eun Shim, Candice Smith Corby, Dawn Southworth, Tereza Swanda, John Thompson, Dylan Vitone, Eileen Wagner.

MassArt was honored to have Tammy Dayton, Creative Director, Moth Design; Michelle Lamunière, John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Assistant Curator of Photography, Harvard Art Museum; and Edward Saywell, Chair of Contemporary Art and Director of the Linde Family Wing, Museum of Fine Arts; to serve as our selection committee.

High resolution images available upon request.

Exhibitions at the college are free and open to the public. For current information, please log onto MassArt.edu, email galleryinfo@massart.edu, or call the automated information line at 617-879-7333.

Gallery Hours: Thursday through Saturday, Noon–6:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Noon–8:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public. Handicapped accessible.
Address: 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MBTA: Green "E" line.
Information: 617 879 7333 or MassArt.edu

Massachusetts College of Art and Design is one of the top colleges of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1873, MassArt has a legacy of leadership as the only independent public college of art and design in the country and the nation's first art school to grant a degree. The college offers a comprehensive range of baccalaureate and graduate degrees in art and design, all taught by world-class faculty, along with continuing education and youth programs designed to encourage individual creativity. Whether at home in Boston or on the other side of the globe, the artists and designers of MassArt are dedicated to making a difference in their communities and around the world. For more information, visit MassArt.edu.