2009 – 2010 Visiting Artists
Phillis Bramsom
Sept. 3, 2009 (lecture & exhibit)
Chicago painter, Phyllis Bramson, infuses her work with parody strategies, arbitrariness and ephemeral counteractions about love and affectionate feelings in a hostile world. Often burlesque-like and erotically hypersensitive, the images meander between a physical and mental existence that juxtaposes the nonsensical with the profoundly meaningful. The work becomes a site for sexual discourse often pushed into a precarious state, a state where one can get lost in a tangle of fear, desire and intoxication. Bramson is currently Associate Professor of Painting at the University of Illinois, Chicago and has exhibited her work widely. She is represented in the collections of The Art Institute of Chicago, The Hirshorn Museum, Washington DC, The Milwaukee Art Museum and the Museé de Toulon, France.
Jason Lee
Sept. 17, 2009 (resident faculty, lecture & exhibit)
Jason Lee is currently an Assistant Professor of Sculpture and Foundations Coordinator in the Division of Art and Design at West Virginia University in Morgantown. A multi media sculptor and installation artist, Lee incorporates a wide variety of materials and techniques into his oddly humorous constructions and presentations. In some of his most recent work he utilizes custom fabricated light boxes as well as cast plastic ducks and extruded foam fences to create his vision of the ideal landscape. Writer Dan Tranberg describes Lee’s work as “Colorful and visually engaging, Lee’s tightly conceived and impeccably executed installation offers a view of nature that’s bound to make you think twice about what constitutes a perfect summer day-and why.”
Dr. Janice Simon
Oct. 8, 2009 (art history lecture)
Dr. Janice Simon is an Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Art History Department at the University of Georgia. She has been honored with numerous teaching awards including the University’s most prestigious distinction, the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship. Her work focuses on the art of the United States from colonial times through World War II. She was granted the Ph.D. from the University of Michigan with Great Distinction, her M.A. from the same institution, and her B.A. from SUNY/Buffalo summa cum laude, all in Art History. Her dissertation on the most important art periodical of pre-Civil War America, “The Crayon (1855-1861): The Voice of Nature in Criticism, Poetry, and the Fine Arts,” is widely cited.
Tim McFarlane
Oct. 15, 2009 (lecture & exhibit)
Philadelphia artist Tim McFarlane’s paintings reflect an interest in the ambiguities and chaos inherent in passing time. They are not definitive statements or attempts to capture moments. Rather, they exist in a state of formation, even as they are finished pieces. In recent paintings, McFarlane employs a loosened, wet-on-wet technique to produce networks of sometimes dense, layered fields of color in his compositions. This technique allows for a wide spectrum of color and brushstroke complexity from one layer to another, creating shifts in depth without the use of traditional perspective. McFarlane received his studio art degree from Tyler School of Art, Temple University and is represented by Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Nancy Skolos
Nov. 5, 2009 (lecture)
Nancy Skolos is a Professor in the Department of Graphic Design at RISD since 1989. As half of the graphic design partnership Skolos/Wedell, Nancy Skolos is known internationally for work that integrates photography, type, and design in often “illusory” compositions. Skolos/Wedell pieces are included in the graphic design collections of many of the world’s major museums. In 2003 AIGA/Boston recognized Skolos’s contributions to the field, as well as her “ethical, generous and good-natured presence in [the design] community,” with its biannual Fellows Award. Nancy has also co-authored the book, Type, image, Message: a Graphic Design Layout Workshop. In 1998 she became an elected member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. Skolos has won many awards with her work including Silver Prize in Toyama and Bronze Prize in Lahti Poster Biennials.
Nicola Lopez
Jan. 21, 2010 (lecture & exhibit)
Nicola Lopéz’s energetic prints and print-based installations present abstractions of urban landscapes. Architectural references are not specific, but rather reflect the evolution that a built environment undergoes. In the accretion of imagery and physical material, a history and structure are built in her work that reflects the layers of architecture, history, technology and topography that make up the world depicted. Lopez has been exhibiting her work since 1999 and is represented by Caren Golden Fine Art, New York. She has had additional solo exhibitions at the LACS Gallery at Stony Brook University; the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo and Taller de Manuel, both in Cusco, Peru and two group exhibitions at P.S.1 including Greater New York 2005. She has her MFA and BA from Columbia University. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Hassan Elahi
March 11, 2010 (Deem Lecture)
Hasan Elahi is an interdisciplinary artist whose work examines issues of surveillance, simulated time, transport systems, borders and frontiers. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions at venues such as the Centre Georges Pompidou, Sundance Film Festival, Kassel Kulturbahnhof, The Hermitage, and at the Venice Biennale. Elahi recently was invited to speak about his work at the Tate Modern, Einstein Forum, and at the American Association of Artificial Intelligence. His awards include grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, a Ford Foundation/Phillip Morris National Fellowship, and an artist grant from the Asociacion Artetik Berrikuntzara in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain. His work is frequently in the media and has been covered by The New York Times, Forbes, Wired, CNN, ABC, CBS, NPR, Al Jazeera, and has appeared on The Colbert Report. He is an assistant professor at San Jose State University. He is also 2009 Resident Faculty and Nancy G. MacGrath Endowed Chair at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Basia Irland
April 8, 2010 (lecture & residency)
Basia Irland is a sculptor and installation artist, a poet and book artist, and an activist in water issues. She received her BFA from University of Illinois in 1968, and her MFA from the University of Massachusetts in 1974. She was a Canadian landed immigrant from 1969-1985, when she joined the faculty of the Department of Art and Art History at the University of New Mexico. Grants and awards from a number of agencies and foundations have recognized the interdisciplinary nature of her work and its impacts in fields other than art.
