'Daylight' exhibit showcases professor-alum artwork

The current exhibit of alumni artwork at the LeRoy Neiman Gallery forces one to conceptualize how 12 creative minds could share a single room. The exhibit features the drawings, paintings, photographs, video installations, and sculptures of twelve Columbia School of the Arts alumni from 1997-2008 who currently teach in the visual arts department.

One would expect a menagerie-like ambience in an exhibit that seeks to represent such a broad range of media, yet minimalist selections along with other media from the artists’ studios adorn the walls in a yin-yang-like balance. Viewers can interact with each artist’s piece on the wall, sampling art forms like a varieties of cheese. While the selections allow the viewer to sense the distinct character and message of each artist, one must wonder if the artists feel adequately represented as they provide such a scant sampling of themselves.

Ultimately, however, rather than focusing on the intensive process of each artist, the exhibit emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the program. Abstract paintings by Francesca Di Mattio, Garth Weiser, and Corinne Jones share space with the digital canvases of video artists Brendan Harman and Mads Lynnerup. A “three-dimensional painting” by Martin Basher—composed of a fluorescent light and Venetian blinds—leans towards a sculpture in the center of the room by professor Hilary Harnischfeger.

Curator Emma Balazs, director of academic administration for the visual arts program, relied on the artists to choose the work they wished to show the community. Kai McBride, an artist in the exhibition and current photography professor, described the exhibit as an incentive for the artists to organize their work for reception. “It gave me a chance to give a critical eye to the photographs that I had just finished making,” he said.

For an administrative assistant for the visual arts program, the exhibit was “a way for students to get to know their professors before taking drawing or painting classes with them.” Professor Gregory Amenoff refuted this notion that an artist’s practice directly correlates to the way he teaches. He was pleased with the show simply as a display of Columbia work to commence the school year.

Unfortunately, the gallery is located in the often-overlooked side of the main hallway where students bustle to classes on the higher floors. Only printmakers walking between studios and students working on last-minute scheduling glitches with administrators usually traverse the gallery.

Olga Fostiy, BC ’11, saw the show and commented that it reminded her of the New Museum or MoMA “since it was such a mixture of media.” She enjoyed the artists’ wall text that allowed her to more fully understand the concepts behind each work.

"Daylight: Visual Arts Alumni Exhibition" will be on view at the LeRoy Neiman Gallery in Dodge Hall through September 30.