Schweinfurth’s annual “Made in NY” features diversity of mediums, topics
AUBURN, NY (March 19, 2024) – The artworks in “Made in NY 2024” at Schweinfurth Art Center represent a diverse set of mediums: a foam sheep covered in printed pink fabrics, a painting of a rural road partially covered with water, and a moody night photograph of a diner, its lighted sign beckoning people to come inside, for example.
“The pieces represent a vast array of talent,” said Donna Lamb, executive director of the Auburn art center. “Jurors Bill Hastings and Juan Perdiguero selected 70 artworks from the hundreds of New York State artists who applied.”
“Made in NY 2024” opens at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, with a free opening reception. Prize winners will be announced at 3 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through April 27 at the Schweinfurth, located at 205 Genesee St., Auburn.
Paintings represent the largest percentage of artworks in the show, with sculptures and photographs tied for second. The pieces also reflect a diversity of topics.
Caitlin Marx of Oswego created “Behind Every Great Man,” the fabric-covered sheep and a matching fabric-covered suit and briefcase, to symbolize women who have had their professional success taken credit for or stolen by men in their field. “It creates the symbolic comparison between men taking women’s accomplishments like humans take the wool and hide of sheep,” she said.
“When working together on projects with male peers, it is often assumed that the work I did was done by them instead,” Marx continued. “Or during critiques it feels as though no matter what I say, if a male student restates my comments, he will always receive more positive feedback from professors and peers.”
She said she has received positive feedback, typically from women who find her work relatable. But she has also received negative feedback, especially when addressing such topics as taboos around menstruation, family trauma, and depression.
“When I presented ‘Behind Every Great Man’ during critique, I saw some of my male peers roll their eyes and quickly lose interest when I started to talk about my concept,” she said. That reaction has only reinforced her determination to pursue her art in those areas.
Ithaca artist Joy Adams’ painting “Forty Days” reflects an internal struggle. A native of Britain who became a U.S. citizen, she often returns to cultural differences she feels and observes. Her current series, “The Road to Nowhere,” takes a personal approach.
“I’m focusing on how the old world constantly makes way for the new,” the octogenarian said. “My own aging process has allowed me to become intensely aware that change is certain.”
“Forty Days” shows a road in need of repair, wet from a recent rain and full of reflections. “Ominous clouds, rendered in black, blue and yellow, suggest a bleak forecast,” Adams said. “But that sharp slice of light piercing the gray is a hopeful sign.”
The dystopian architectural models and landscapes of Oneonta artist Jamie Banes often reflect societal and political discord. “I think of them as snapshots of our present reality, symbolizing the turbulence and uncertainty of our time,” he said. “They present narratives on topics spanning from climate change to consumer culture to wealth distribution and the politics that coincide with each.”
Banes has two pieces in “Made in NY 2024:” “Diminished Reach” and “Plot Loss.” Both are assembled from found and collected materials and are based on observations he made on recent visits to the inland deserts of Southern California.
“I recall the stark difference in landscape between affluent desert communities and their desolate surroundings, and the unsettling beauty of industrial structures in the form of massive transmission lines and aqueducts hazily appearing, then fading again against the merciless terrain,” he said.
“These pieces are expressions of perceived or imagined safety in what feels like a very perilous time to be living,” he added. “The brutal nature of the desert is a fitting metaphor for the difficult challenges we face on a range of issues ahead.”
Honeoye Falls artist Paul Bergwall submitted “The Highland Diner, Rochester NY,” a moody night shot of the diner, located at 960 Clinton Ave. South in Rochester.
“My gift was never drawing or painting,” he said. “Photography allowed me to arrange my subjects in a frame that was never blank. A blank paper or canvas is paralyzing. A camera allowed me freedom to be creative in a medium that is magic.”
Bergwall began his career in photography, working mostly in the dark making other photographers look good. He worked in commercial labs, photo studios, and Eastman Kodak, before earning an education degree and teaching photography and art at Minerva DeLand school in Fairport NY.
“Highland Diner” is one piece in his longtime series that began during COVID, when he started posting a picture a day taken during his walks. That morphed into his current series, called “Ain’t Talkin’, Just Walkin,’” in which he branches outside Honeoye Falls and takes a photo of a place along the way or a self-portrait.
“The Highland Diner was on one of my walks in Rochester,” he said. “Initially shot during the daytime, the pictures screamed at me to go back at night. When the voice is that loud, I listen.”
Bergwall is drawn to capturing echoes of the past. “I love buildings that tell a story: old movie theatre marquees, barber shops, ghost signs, store front churches,” he said. “That diner is out of step with our present day and deserves to be celebrated.”
“Made in NY 2024” is on display from March 23 to April 27, 2024. Also on display are “Expanded Vision: Two Centuries of Paintings from the Cayuga Museum Collection” and “The Way I See It: Finding Beauty in Unexpected Places,” a solo exhibit of artist Eric Shute’s watercolor paintings.
The exhibits are sponsored, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Governor’s Office and the New York State Legislature.
If you go …
WHAT: “Made in NY 2024,” an exhibit featuring New York State artists
WHERE: Schweinfurth Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn
WHEN: March 23 to April 27, 2024
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays
OPENING: 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 23, with free admission
COST: $10 per person; Schweinfurth members, participating artists, and children 12 and under are free. Also available are $15 joint admission tickets for the Schweinfurth and Cayuga Museum of History & Art.
ALSO ON DISPLAY: “Expanded Vision: Two Centuries of Paintings from the Cayuga Museum Collection” and “The Way I See It: Finding Beauty in Unexpected Places,” a solo exhibit of artist Eric Shute’s watercolor paintings
Participating Artists:
Joy Adams of Trumansburg; “Forty Days”
Jerry Alonzo of Geneseo; “No Words”
Kathy Armstrong of Rochester, “Rust & Rivets”
|Katherine Baca-Bielinis of Honeoye Falls; “Fortress”
Patricia Bacon of Lyons; “Forever Yours”
Jamie Banes of Oneonta; “Diminished Reach” and “Plot Loss”
Stephen Barber of Brooklyn; “Narcissus”
Cyndy Barbone of Greenwich; “It’s MY Body”
Brian Batista of Phoenicia; “Color Bar”
Marna Bell of Syracuse; “DÉJÀ VU 2”
Paul Bergwall of Honeoye Falls; “The Highland Diner, Rochester, NY”
Roger Bisbing of New Paltz; “Interview, COVID”
Lydia Boddie-Rice of Rochester; “Abundance”
Kathleen Bolin of Pittsford; “Bedazzled”
Jody Borhani-D’Amico of Fishkill; “Fixing”
Paul Brandwein of Rochester; “Out of the Blue II”
Ariel Bullion Ecklund of Ithaca; “Renewal Ceremony”
Nancy Callahan of Gilbertsville; “Specimen 382”
Stephen Carlson of Syracuse; “The Deep” and “What Almost Was”
Fernando Carpaneda of Freeport; “The Son of Man”
Stephen Carpenter of North Bay; “Etude in Orange Hues – Spiral Frequencies”
Chris Charles of Rochester; “American Crow”
Eunsuh Choi of Rochester; “Housed Barrier VIII”
Sage Churchill-Foster of Walworth; “As the Crow Flies” and “Scarlet Hood Specimen”
Susan Cohen of New York City; “Bouquet”
Bob Conge of Wayland; “A Man Ray Night”
Greg Cost of New Hartford; “Lindy”
Nicholas Daniluk of Ithaca; “Second Repose”
Tielin Ding of New York City; “Into the Wild”
Sharon Draghi of Harrison; “Domestic”
Benjamin Entner of Rochester; “Costanza”
Lori Farist of Endwell; “Emergence”
Kathleen Friedrich of Trumansburg; “Pond”
Alan Garry of Sleepy Hollow; “Monrovia 1.1”
Robert Glisson of Syracuse; “On the Way Home”
Kristy Guenther of Rochester; “Forest Fungi”
Lindsey Guile of Poughkeepsie; “Comfortable”
Jennifer Hecker of Brockport; “Swirligig #1”
Dale Inglett of Pittsford; “Forest Floor, As Fleeting”
Jeffrey Kell of Rush; “Self-Portrait with Camo”
Sandra Kirker of Binghamton; “Wetland Reflections”
John Kosboth of Ontario; “Square Moon”
Claudia Lambdin of Auburn; “Root Chakra”
Mark Larsen of Norwich; “Divi Tree”
Amber Lia-Kloppel of Ithaca; “Susanna Pointed” and “Renaissance (Reconstruction)
Mauro Marinelli of Spencer; “Awnings NAZARE”
Caitlin Marx of Oswego; “Behind Every Great Man”
Elizabeth McMahon of Freeville” Flight” and “Flux”
Kathleen Miles of New York City; “Blue Bloom”
Gabriella Mirabelli of Croton on Hudson; “Cold Water”
Robert Morgan of Petersburg; “Covid Camping”
Kyle Mort of North Syracuse; “The Modern Age”
Willie Osterman of Rochester; “Maple” and “Masking Portrait”
Amanda Parry Oglesbee of Wellsville; “Alma Pond”
Paul Pearce of Mattydale; “You’re not welcome”
Mitchell Poon of Brooklyn; “Bok Choy Birdies”
Jaroslava Prihodova of Cortland; “Article One”
Nancy Ridenour of Ithaca; “November Still Life”
Romilly Rinck of New York; “Lernaean Hydra”
Daniel Rothenberg of Pittsford; “Natury”
Carmen Schaefer of Rochester; “Androgyny”
Zachary Schulman of Brooklyn; “Norris Thompson”
Gregory Williams of Olmstedville; “Losing Ground”|
Gary L. Wolfe of Kenmore; “01010100 01000001”
James Young of Syracuse; “Reef”
Stefan Zoller of Henrietta; “Diluvian No. 21”