Art: 2009 in Review

During 2009, dozens of exhibitions appeared at local venues. The exhibition slate featured a star-studded show at the Everson Museum of Art, a series of well-done retrospective exhibits, and an array of group and solo shows.

At the Everson, Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales
drew large crowds, attracted attention beyond Syracuse and delighted
viewers able to see paintings by Cezanne and Revoir, Turner and Manet,
among others. The exhibition, circulating in only five U.S. cities
during the current tour, succeeded on many fronts, including the web of
partnerships necessary to put on such a show. 

Elsewhere, retrospectives were a major trend locally. SUArt Galleries, for example, displayed a large selection of John Wood’s images, with the photos divided into two shows: Quiet Protest and On the Edge of Meaning. The exhibits documented how Wood moved away from straight-up photography, using collage, drawing and mixed-media techniques. Community Folk Art Center
presented a slew of Elizabeth’s Catlett’s works including sculptures,
color and black-and-white prints, pieces done 30 years ago and two
years ago. 

And there were other retrospective exhibitions: ArtRage’s tribute to Milton Rogovin’s documentary photography; Edgewood Gallery’s 20-year retrospective celebrating ties with more than 50 artists who have shown their work at the gallery; and 50/50: Nancy Jurs
at the Everson, which encompassed sculptures evoking samurai warriors,
an installation designed like a chessboard, and dozens of other pieces. 

Several local exhibits had a distinctly international flavor. At the Light Work Gallery,
Admas Habteslasif’s images presented a different side of Eritrea, an
East African nation; he focused largely on city streets and everyday
life instead of war and strife. ArtRage showcased paintings done in
bold colors by Jafeth Gomez Ledesma, a Colombian artist. Point of Contact
continued to display cutting-edge work; the gallery asked seven artists
from various countries to interpret Jorge Louis Borges’ poem, “El
Golem.” 

As usual, group shows were a constant on the local art calendar. Auburn’s Schweinfurth Art Memorial Center scored with two annual exhibits, Made in New York and Art = Quilts = Art, as well as an exhibition of collages and assemblages. Elements at Delavan Art Gallery featured works by artists Lynette Blake, Amy Haven and Jim Van Hoven. Limestone Art and Framing Gallery
did a nice job arranging Gail Hoffman’s miniatures and Ann Welles’
multimedia pieces; their artworks were interesting in themselves and
also played off each other. 

Light Work again built an exhibition around its grants
program for Central New York artists. The show centered on 2009 grant
recipients Karen Brummund, Stephen Shaner and Laura Adams Guth. Their
subjects varied greatly, ranging from architecture to a horrific
massacre in El Salvador to dolls.  

In addition to solo shows already mentioned, numerous
one-artist exhibits appeared at local venues. They included Alyson
Shotz’s exhibition at the Warehouse Gallery; Mary Giehl’s one-woman show at Onondaga Community College’s Gallery at the Ann Felton Multicultural Center; and Peter Michel’s sculptures, seen at the Wilson Art Gallery at Le Moyne College. Marco Maggi’s work was displayed at two venues, Point of Contact and the Warehouse. In Utica, Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute showed James Freeman’s paintings of scenes in 19th-century Italy. Tyler Art Gallery at SUNY Oswego hosted Kara Walker’s Emancipation Proclamation. 

Once again, non-gallery venues, such as
restaurants, libraries and churches, presented many exhibitions. In
fact, these shows almost make up a second circuit. During 2009, Jim
Budrakey had his photos on display at Mundy Branch Library, Amy Bartell showed Archeological Memoir at the North McBride Street bookstore Lavender Inkwell, and Wendy Harris’ paintings were displayed at the Burnet Avenue restaurant Sparky Town. Deborah Walsh’s paintings of cars, motorcycles and other subjects were hung at the Westcott Community Center. Downtown’s Central Library at the Galleries of Syracuse presented Elana Levy’s photos of Cuba, Berlin and Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

Finally, Doug DuBois, a local photographer with an impressive body of work, finished All the Days and Nights,
a series of images he took of his family over 25 years. The book,
published this year by Aperture, presents 62 large-format color
photographs.