All Over Albany

The new Screenprint Biennial is on display

That fun installation hanging from the ceiling is a work called "Sistema" by Sheila Goloborotko. It's screenprinted, hand-cut mylar.

We got a chance to stop by the 2018 Screenprint Biennial that just opened at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus. Blurbage:

The 2018 Screenprint Biennial seeks to showcase a range of screenprint-based art applications, from framed editioned prints to installation, sculpture, video, ephemera, and posters. This exhibition will in no way seek to act as a survey or "who's-who" of screenprinting, but will assemble an exhibition that is consistent in highlighting artists who utilize adventurous, relevant, and passionate takes on the screenprinted medium.

The exhibit is curated by Nathan Meltz. It's on display through December 14.

The opening reception is today (Friday) from 6-8 pm.

And the Screenprint Symposium this Saturday, November 3. It includes a juror's tour, discussions, an open portfolio sessions. Tickets are $20 ahead, $25 day of, $10 for students with valid ID (that includes admission, morning snacks, and lunch).

Steamroller Print Day
To go along with the Screenprint Biennial, there's a "Streamroller Print Day" November 10 at the armory building next door. "Participants will ink and print oversized, hand-carved woodblocks under the drum of a 2-ton steamroller."

Screenprint Biennial 2018

The 2018 Screeprint Biennial will be at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus November 1-December 14. Event blurbage:

The Screenprint Biennial 2018 seeks to showcase a range of screenprint-based art applications, from framed, editioned prints to installation, sculpture, video, ephemera, and posters. This exhibition isn't meant to act as a survey or "who's who" of screenprinting, but to assemble artists who utilize adventurous, relevant, and passionate takes on the screenprinted medium. The works chosen are part of screenprint's rich lineage, drawing on the history of this versatile medium, while at the same time pointing to a future where technology, politics, and expression are pushed through mesh by a squeegee onto the world of ideas.

"The work in this year's biennial exhibition continually exceed my expectations in the way so many elements come together to create compelling, important, and timely narratives," says founder and juror Nathan Meltz. "These art pieces also draw upon a depth of expression, and open windows into creative worlds."

From large-scale installations from artists Sheila Goloborotko, Tonja Torgerson, Tatiana Potts, to smaller-scale three-dimensional works by Olivia Fredericks and experimentation with augmented reality from Mark Hosford, the show will expand the definition of the word "screenprint."

In addition to the Opalka Gallery showing off the works of art and design, there will also be a handful of events to go along with the Screeprint Biennial.

And, yep, one of them involves making prints with a two-ton steamroller...

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There's another PechaKucha night at the Opalka Gallery this week

The local PechaKucha series returns to the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus this Friday. Here's the lineup of short talks:

+ Judith Braun: "What Good is my Cake if I Can't Eat It?"
+ Dr. David Green: "Hood Vestiges: A Southern Love Story"
+ David VanLuven: "Local Politics: The Good, Bad, and The What the Heck?"
+ Mark McCarty: "How I came to photograph my wife in the shower"
+ Chris Harrold: "Mom, I wanna be an artist OR Reclaiming my creative self"
+ Julie Casper Roth: "Ghosted in the Grave"
+ Daniel Nester: "God Save My Queen: One Bohemian's Rhapsody"
+ Susan Petrie: "100-Mile Home"
+ Maddi LaVallee: "Make Me a Sandwich"
+ Steve Lomnes: "smARTs: What is "Intelligence:" and how has this fundamental idea changed over time?"

PechaKucha? It's a format in which the speaker gets to talk along with 20 slides, each slide only on display for 20 seconds. (Each talk is just short of 7 minutes total.) So, it moves quickly and it forces people to get right to the point.

Snacks -- with drinks from Druthers -- start at 6:30 pm this Friday, September 21. The talks start at 7 pm. These events have been popular in the past, so it's worth showing up a little early to make sure you get a seat.

photo via Opalka Gallery Facebook

Opalka Gallery 2018 fall season

The upcoming season at the gallery includes a "living room" concert with John Vanderslice.

The next season at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus starts up at the end of August. And it includes all sorts of exhibits, talks, shows, and other experiences.

Here's a quick look at the schedule...

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Diversity in The Creative Economy and The Instagram Aesthetic at the Opalka Gallery

The 40th Annual Photo Regional will also be on display through April 21.

Two events coming up at the Opalka Gallery that look interesting...

April 11: Diversity in The Creative Economy
It's the first an Open Forum series at the gallery. The event "will feature a discussion about diversity in the Capital Region's creative economy moderated by Ada Harper, creator of 518Blk.com. Confirmed panelists include Dale Davidson, owner of Umana Restaurant and Wine Bar, Ashleigh Kinsey, CEO of AK Design Digital Media Services & Consulting, Bhawin Suchak Executive Director of Youth FX, DJ Trumastr, founder of Beat*Shot Productions, and Hana van der Kolk, Troy-based touring choreographer and performance artist." Wednesday, April 11 at 6 pm -- free

April 21: Supper Club: The Instagram Aesthetic
It's a discussion about how social media is changing the art of photography + dinner. "Join us for delicious local cuisine as we ponder the role social media plays in the world of contemporary art. Gallery staff and artists from the Photo Regional exhibition will lead a conversation over cocktails and drinks provided by Tara Kitchen, owned by Sage alum Aneesa Waheed." (Space is limited and registration is required -- there's still space, as we confirmed with the gallery today.) Saturday, April 21 at 6 pm -- $35 / $65 for two

The Opalka Gallery is on the Sage Albany campus on New Scotland Ave, just up the street from Albany Med and Albany Law.

See also: Amy Biancolli's recent article about the gallery's new director, Judie Gilmore, and her ideas/goals for its future.

40th Annual Photo Regional at Opalka Gallery

The 40th Annual Photo Regional -- titled Effects That Aren't Special -- opened this week at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus.

This year's exhibition, which rotates among venues in the area, was curated by Tim Davis, a professor of photography at Bard Collage. It highlights the photo work of more than 15 artists from the region. Blurbage:

Effects That Aren't Special is a way to describe the sense that photography is a tool for describing the everyday in a way that we never easily acclimate to. Special effects are aesthetic tools that grab us, but almost always feel like filigree or decoration, abandoning our attention.

The artists in this show employ optical, conceptual, or essential effects that we never get used to and that move to heart of the matter, defining the work rather than selling it to us. The show features generous selections from each artist, as well as a catalog with an essay by the curator.

There's an opening reception Friday (March 15) from 6-8 pm.

The exhibit will be on display through April 21. Admission is free.

Opalka Gallery 2018 spring season

The lineup of events includes a screening of, and discussion about, the highly-praised documentary Dawson City: Frozen Time. The doc is about a huge trove of silent films, many thought to be lost, that were literally unearthed in Alaska.

The spring 2018 schedule at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus starts up next week with the opening of Practice What You Teach: Sage College Art+Design Faculty Show.

And from there, the gallery has a series of events lined up -- exhibits, talks, screenings, discussions -- each month through May.

Here's a quick look at the schedule...

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Upstate Collage Night back at the Opalka Gallery

A different sort of Friday night: The Upstate Collage Night series will be back at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus this Friday, December 1. It's from 6:30-9 pm and it's free. Blurbage:

Upstate Collage Night is an evening of ephemera featuring a refined collection of vintage magazines to cut up and remix. It is hosted by Caroline Corrigan and Ira Marcks; two people dedicated to creating good things in UPSTNY.

Upcoming Collage Nights are open to the public and sponsored by your kind donations. No need to bring supplies, we have all the art supplies, snacks to eat, craft beer to drink, and cool people to meet.

You might already know Caroline Corrigan from her design work and the Half Moon Market, and Ira Marcks from his work as an illustrator and his many comics workshops.

While you're there, you can also check out the Paper Is Part of the Picture exhibit, which closes December 15.

photo via Opalka Gallery Facebook

PechaKucha is back at Opalka Gallery this week

The Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus is hosting another PechaKucha night this Friday. The announced lineup:

+ Doug Bartow, designer, "Craft x Beer x Design"

+ Caroline Barrett

+ John Chaplin, dog-lover, "To Breed or Not to Breed"

+ Frida Foberg, architect, "Why are we eating together?"

+ Andrea Hersh, artist, "Get Out of the Studio"

+ Kristen Holler

+ Rob O'Neil, photographer, The College of St. Rose, "The Sublime Highway Rest Stop"

+ James Preller, children's book author, "The Red Thread"

+Alana Sparrow

+ Joe Ullman, can't fight, "Big Ring Advice"

+ Jennifer Wilkerson, designer, "The Best Design Job Ever"

PechaKucha? It's a format in which the speaker talk along with 20 slides, each slide only on display for 20 seconds. (Each talk is just short of 7 minutes total.) So, it moves quickly and it forces people to get right to the point.

The event starts Friday, October 27 at 6:30 with snacks and drinks. Talks start at 7 pm. It's free to attend.

Paper Is Part of the Picture at the Opalka Gallery

If you have any design nerd interests -- papers, vintage posters, typefaces, the business of design, and so on -- the current exhibit at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus is worth a quick stop.

Paper Is Part of the Picture chronicles the evolution of the promotional materials for the 100+ years of the Strathmore Paper Company. Blurbage:

The company, founded in 1892 and now owned by Mohawk, pioneered the notion of paper as an essential visual and tactile aspect of a printed piece, rather than a simple commodity. It did so by embracing artists and designers as collaborators. Strathmore's paper promotions reflect the changing trends in American graphic design across the 20th century from Arts & Crafts to the digital era.

The headquarters of Mohawk Fine Papers is in Cohoes, as you know. The materials in the exhibit are from the Strathmore archive.

There's a curator's talk with Paul Shaw about the exhibit October 26 at 6:30 pm. And on November 3 at 6:30 pm there's a tour with Chris Harrold, VP and creative director at Mohawk. Both are free.

The exhibit is on display through December 15.

Luba Lukova
If you're interested in this exhibit, there's a good chance you'd also be interested in an AIGA Upstate New York event at the Opalka Gallery October 17 with Luba Lukova, creator of "arguably some of the most iconic and indelible imagery in the realm of contemporary poster design."

The talk is at 6:30 pm Tuesday. Tickets are $20 / free for students with ID.

Opalka Gallery 2017 fall season

The schedule includes a talk by Carl Sprague, a concept illustrator on Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel and art director for other Anderson films.

The scheduled for the fall season of events at Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus is out. It includes artist talks, films, and a handful of interactive activities.

Here's a quick look at the schedule...

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PechaKucha returns to the Opalka Gallery

The local PechaKucha series is returning to the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus February 10. The lineup:

+ Jill Adams: "My writing practice helped me when my mother died."
+ Shawn Allan
+ John Chaplin: "Building in Wood"
+ Michael Chrisner
+ David Hochfelder & Ann Pfau: "98 Acres in Albany"
+ Natasha Holmes on her art
+ Jim MacNaughton & Nate Wilson, on their experiences of seeing the band DISCHARGE on their disastrous 1986 tour
+ Libby Post:"Advocacy: Now More than Ever"
+ Dan Smith
+ Joe Ullman
+ Lisa Vines on her collection of shopping lists
+ Charmaine Wijeyesinghe: "Looking at the How of Racial Identity"

PechaKucha? It's a format in which the speaker gets to talk along with 20 slides, each slide only on display for 20 seconds. (Each talk is just short of 7 minutes total.) So, it moves quickly and it forces people to get right to the point.

The event is Friday, February 10, snacks at 6:30 pm, talks start at 7 pm. It's free and open to the public.

Sage advertises on AOA.

Siona Benjamin: Beyond Borders at Opalka Gallery

We took a few minutes to check out the exhibit currently on display at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus: Siona Benjamin: Beyond Borders. The works are engaging and interesting, touching on topics of identity and multiculturalism.

From the statement at the head of the exhibit:

Siona Benjamin combines imagery from her Mumbai origins with global social issues to illustrate cultural, religious, and feminist narratives. Her life is a mosaic -- a Bene Israel woman, raised in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim India, educated in Catholic and Zoroastrian schools, and now living in the United States -- and so is her art. Inspired by traditions as diverse as Indian miniature painting, Byzantine icons, illuminated manuscripts, and American Pop Art, she attempts to create a dialogue between the ancient and the modern as she transitions between worlds.

With degrees in both painting and theater set design, she weaves themes of identity and place, belonging and being outcast, into her varied works and forces us to reflect on myth and reality. Her use of blue in portraits represents her view of herself as "a Jewish woman of color, of being the other, of being transcultural, of belonging everywhere and nowhere at the same time."

There is/was (depending on when you're reading this) an opening event Thursday evening starting at 5 pm with a talk by Benjamin. A reception from 6-8 pm follows. It's free to attend. There's also a curators tour September 29 at 5:30 pm.

There are a few other quick pics of the exhibit after the jump if you're curious.

The exhibit is on display through October 9.

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Upstate Collage Night at Opalka Gallery

Could be something different and fun: Upstate Collage Night will be at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus April 1. What is this night of collage? Blurbage:

Upstate Collage Night is an evening of ephemera featuring a refined collection of vintage magazines to cut up and remix. It is hosted by Caroline Corrigan and Ira Marcks; two people dedicated to creating good things in UPSTNY. ...

They are open to the public and sponsored by your kind donations. No need to bring supplies, we have all the art supplies, snacks to eat, craft beer to drink, and cool people to meet.

You might already know Corrigan from Fort Orange General Store, and Marcks from his cartooning workshops and projects. Here are photos from a previous collage night.

The event at the Opalka Gallery starts at 6 pm on Friday, April 1. It's free to attend.

We hear Corrigan and Marcks are also interested in bringing collage parties to other venues. Here's booking info.

photo via Upstate Collage Night FB

PechaKucha returns to the Opalka Gallery

The local PechaKucha series is back at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus February 26.

PechaKucha? It's a format in which the speaker gets to talk along with 20 slides, each slide only on display for 20 seconds. (Each talk is just short of 7 minutes total.) So, it moves quickly and it forces people to get right to the point.

The lineup looks interesting this time around. It includes people such as artists, writers, and brewmaster talking about subjects that include pre-Civil War baseball, film, improvisation, and healthcare. There's a quick listing after the jump.

The event at the Opalka Gallery is Friday, February 26 starting at 6:30 pm. There will be snacks from Druthers, and then the talks start at 7 pm. It's free.

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PechaKucha is back at the Opalka Gallery

The local PechaKucha series returns to the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus this Friday.

The lineup (so far) posted includes short talks on topics such as addictive games, designing experiencing, the fertile void (or something), popular poetry, parallels between video games and art, and what happens when you take away the games. The lineup with some blurbage is after the jump.

What is this PechaKucha? It's a presentation form in which the speaker gets to display 20 slides, each for only 20 seconds. So it's very fast paced.

The event is Friday, October 16 starting at 6:30 pm. It's free, and there will be beverages from Druthers.

Also, while you're there, you can check out the Opalka Gallery's exhibit From Concept to Console: Art & Aesthetics in Video Game Design.

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Opalka Gallery 2015 fall season

Here's the slate of events for this fall at Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus. One of the things that caught our eye about the lineup is that it includes a bunch of events about video games.

Without any further ado....

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