"Por Oaxaca" opens Satuday, May 24, at Insitute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Por Oaxaca
May 24—June 21, 2014.
Reception: Sat., May 24, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Catalina Barroso-Luque

Por Oaxaca is the end stage of the Postal Art Project organized and curated by the Mexican artist, Catalina Barroso-Luque, who sent a seemingly straightforward photograph taken in Oaxaca, Mexico to a selection of local and international artists in China, Mexico, England and Connecticut and asked them to respond.

The show features works by Phil Lique, Kevin Van Aelst, Isabelle Gressel, Ivan Mendez Vela, Panachai Chaijaratat, Maria Lara Whelpley, Susan McCaslin, Martin Roberts, Justin Rodier, and Sophie Aston.

Artwork by Phil Lique

The responses received were unexpected and varied. The apparent diversity of works stemming from the same image brings out issues of cultural tourism, analog vs. digital technology, image-media mediation over our engagement with reality, cultural aesthetics, and the prevalence of a western hegemony over contemporary artistic production.

Also on view, in the Main Reading Room, is a display of Postales Mestizas, by Catalina Barroso-Luque. The artist has fashioned these small-scale works out of collaged, collected post-cards and other found images, and her own discarded photo-prints. They are an intuitive recycling of the artist's physical and mental imagery that aims to bring into question the boundaries between personal and collective memory.

"Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here, Part Two" reception this Sat. at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here, Part Two
Through May 3, 2014.
Reception: Sat., Apr. 5, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

On March 5th 2007, a car bomb was exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad bookselling. More than 30 people were killed and over 100 were wounded. In response to this attack upon a cultural treasure of the Iraqi people, the poet and bookseller Beau Beausoleil founded the al-Mutanabbi Street Project which to date has assembled 130 broadsides by letterpress artists, 260 artist books, and a literary anthology Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here with contributions by over 125 writers from around the world.

Also included, on special loan from the artist, is a book by Daniel Heyman, Sing With A Lovely Voice, hand-printed from woodblocks based on watercolors drawn during interviews which were part of a fact-gathering mission concerning torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq.

This is the second of two exhibitions curated by Stephen Vincent Kobasa out of this larger collection. There will be a panel discussion on books in a time of terror on Sat., Apr. 5, at noon.

"Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here" exhibit opens Sat., Mar. 1, at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here
Mar. 1—May 3, 2014.
Reception: Sat., Mar. 1, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

On March 5th 2007, a car bomb was exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad bookselling. More than 30 people were killed and over 100 were wounded. In response to this attack upon a cultural treasure of the Iraqi people, the poet and bookseller Beau Beausoleil founded the al-Mutanabbi Street Project which to date has assembled 130 broadsides by letterpress artists, 260 artist books, and a literary anthology Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here with contributions by over 125 writers from around the world.

Beau Beausoleil and Andrea Hassiba: "Until It Is In Flame"

Out of this larger collection, Stephen Vincent Kobasa has curated two exhibitions of material which will go on display consecutively for one month periods between March 1 and May 3.

There will be readings from the anthology during the opening reception on Saturday., Mar. 1, and a panel discussion on books in a time of terror on Sat., Apr. 5, at noon.

Woodcut show opens at Institute Library in New Haven Sat., Jan. 11

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
In Relief: A Small History of the Woodcut
Jan. 11¬—Feb. 8, 2014.
Reception: Sat., Jan. 11, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

In Relief is curated by master printer James Reed from his own collection. The show of woodcut prints will be on view from Jan. 11 through Feb. 8 at the Institute Library. There will be an opening reception on Sat., Jan. 8, from noon—2 p.m.

Emil Orlik: "Die Naherin"

According to printmaker Fritz Eichenberg (1901-90), "The woodcut deserves the most honored place in the history of the print, since it is the most ancient, the most direct and—by virtue of its great simplicity—easily the most democratic medium of graphic multiplication and artistic expression."

Reception Saturday for new Institute Library group show

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
From the Archive of Unrealized Dreams: Unmade Projects
Dec. 7—28, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Dec. 7, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Curated by Martha Lewis, From the Archive of Unrealized Dreams: Unmade Projects will be on view at the Institute Library from Dec. 7—28. There is an opening reception on Sat., Dec. 7, from noon til 2 p.m.

Practicing artists spend a good deal of time coming up with unrealized ideas, filling in applications for grants and awards and public works installations. Many of these end up being preserved in their filing systems, to remain forever in storage. This is an exhibition of the best of these failed proposals, with each artist represented by a succinct project description, a model or sketch and the accompanying rejection letter.

Photograph by Meredith Miller

Participating artists are Pamela Cardwell, Robert Zott, Giada Crispiels, Joe Saccio, Michael Quirk, Cora Glasser, Ted Salmon, Alan Neider and IAI (Miriam Peterson, Nathan Rich, Nicholas McDermott, Dierdre McDermott and Benjamin Smoot).

Wait for the "Punchline": Opening reception Sat. at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Punchline
Nov. 9—27, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Nov. 9, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Curated by Kevin Daly, Punchline explores the use of humor in abstraction through the work of 13 artists who employ playful processes or formal languages. The exhibition is less self-consciously concerned with relevance and criticality than with the presence of the whimsical.

Karen Schifano: "Pirate"

The show features works by Stephen Westfall, Andrew Small, Suzan Shutan, Karen Schifano, Grant Wiggins, Richard Roth, Taro Suzuki, Insook Hwang, Sue Post, Roland Orepuk, Andy Cunningham, Inna Babaeva and Cary Smith.

Punchline is on view from Nov. 9—27. There is an opening reception Sat., Nov. 9, from noon to 2 p.m.

"Crossing the Line" opens at Institute Library this Saturday

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Crossing the Line: A Collection of Drawings
Oct. 5—26, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Oct. 5, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Curated by Stephen Vincent Kobasa, Crossing the Line features works by Anna Held Audette, McCrady Axon, Joan Backes, Dave Bassine, Riley Brewster, Pamela Cardwell, Jan Cunningham, William DeLottie, Kate Ten Eyck, Teresa Fortsch, Laura Gardner, David Livingston, Lenny Moskowitz, Perry Obee, Ronnie Rysz, Kelly Schmidt, Jean Scott, Rick Shaefer and Anita Soos.

Laura Gardner: "Lily"

Head to Institute Library for opening of "Head" Sat., Sept. 7

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Head
Sept. 7—28, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Sept. 7, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Curated by Jeff Ostergren, Head explores the manifold meanings and multiple possibilities of the word "head"—figurative, psychological, metaphoric, sexual, structural, mechanical, geographic are to be put forth and explored in a space which itself has a curious formal resemblance to a head. In a library, no less, the content of which all derives from a head and goes into other heads. Heads produce things. Ideas, products, experiences, moments, emotions. Heads are where things come from.

Joe Brittain: "Tantalus"

The exhibit features works by Lani Asuncion, Joe Brittain, Cal Crawford, Georgia Dickie, Cheryl Donegan, Stacie Johnson, Roy Lichtenstein, David Livingston, Laura Marsh and Christopher Michlig.

Saturday reception for "Dressing Up" at Institute Library in New Haven

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Dressing Up: Recent Works by Alan Neider
Aug. 3—24, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Aug. 3, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Finding inspiration in fashion and glamour, Alan Neider's work examines what constitutes adornment while looking closely at the beauty, boldness and whimsy of jewelry. There will be an opening reception for Dressing Up at the institute Library on Sat., Aug. 3, from noon—2 p.m.

Alan Neider: Drawings (details)

Opening reception for "Diversions" at Institute Library Sat., June 29

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Diversions
Jun. 29—Jul. 27, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Jun. 29, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Diversions, an exhibition curated by Aimée Burg. The featured artists are Liza Buzytsky, Frank De León Jones, Annie Ewaskio, Sarah Lassise, Simone Meltesen and Lizzy Sise. There will be an opening reception for Diversions at the institute Library on Sat., Jun. 29, from noon—2 p.m.

Humans live in the world, but are we of the world? The Romantic longing to connect to nature is sometimes so insistent that our presence in the natural world becomes desperate, uncanny, transgressive. Diversions explores the tension of humans inserted into the natural and forcing upon it their own human-nature. Figures are faceless, bodies disproportionate and at times simply implied. These actions suggest a narrative of utopian landscapes pushed to the surreal by our presence. The disruption ranges from awkward nostalgia to the introduction (and consequences) of nature overthrown. Diversions deals with the oldest of tropes: the joyous perfection of a paradise, and the dreadful premonition that its residents will destroy it.

Saturday opening for "Strange Natures" show at Institute Library in New Haven

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Strange Natures
May 18—Jun. 15, 2013.
Reception: Sat., May 18, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Strange Natures, an exhibition curated by Clint Jukkala, will be on view at the Institute Library from May 18 through Jun. 15, 2013. There will be a reception on Sat., May 18, from noon—2 p.m. The show features work by Melissa Brown, Fritz Horstman, Joseph Smolinski, Anahita Vossoughi, and the collaborative team of Johannes DeYoung and Natalie Westbrook.

Taking landscape imagery and natural forms as their subjects, these artists present images that are far from everyday and familiar. Instead, they reveal strange worlds filled with aberrant forms, odd behaviors and unusual occurrences.

Johannes DeYoung and Natalie Westbrook: "Diamond Head"

Reception for "War Books" at Institute Library Saturday, March 16

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
War's Books: Collages by Qasim Sabti
Mar. 9—30, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Mar. 16, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

War's Books, an exhibition of collages by Qasim Sabti, will be on view at the Institute Library from Mar. 9—30. There will be a reception on Sat., Mar. 16, from noon—2 p.m.

Sabti, an Iraqi artist, fashioned the works from the war-damaged remains of a Baghdad library.

Qasim Sabti: "Untitled"

Reception for Brad Horrigan photo show rescheduled to this Saturday, February 16

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Photographs by Brad Horrigan: Bittersweet: Dying in the Nicaraguan Sugar Fields
Feb. 9—23, 2013.
Rescheduled Reception: Sat., Feb. 16, 5—7 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

The reception for Brad Horrigan's photography show of life, work and death in Nicaraguan sugar fields, originally scheduled for this past Saturday but postponed because of the snow, will instead be held this Sat., Feb. 16, from 5—7 p.m.

Reception Saturday at Institute Library for Nicaraguan photographs of Brad Horrigan

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Photographs by Brad Horrigan: Bittersweet: Dying in the Nicaraguan Sugar Fields
Feb. 9—23, 2013.
Reception: Sat., Feb. 9, 5—7 p.m.

Press release from Stephen Vincent Kobasa

Bittersweet: Dying in the Nicaraguan Sugar Fields, an exhibition of photographs by Brad Horrigan, will be on view at the Institute Library from Feb. 9—23. There will be a reception on Sat., Feb. 9, from 5—7 p.m.

Photograph by Brad Horrigan

"About Paper" opens Saturday at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
About Paper: 8 Sculptural Forms
Nov. 17—Dec. 15, 2012.
Reception: Sat., Nov. 17, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Institute Library

A new show opens this Saturday at Institute Library in New Haven. About Paper was curated by Howard el-Yasin. Exhibiting artists are Meg Bloom, Giada Crispels, Ryan Cyr, Jennifer Davies, Nancy Eisenfeld, Howard el-Yasin, Susan McCaslin and Noel Sardalla.

There will be an opening reception on Sat., Nov. 17, from noon—4 p.m.

Meredith Miller: detail from "Untitled"

Saturday opening reception for "Making Room" at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045 
Making Room: Ten Interpretations
Oct. 6—Nov. 3, 2012.
Reception: Sat., Oct. 6, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Institute Library

Ten contemporary artists integrate their work into a 186 year-old space, emphasizing historic integrity while exploring new connections. The artwork exists between two and three dimensions, is site-specific and responds to the issues of material ingenuity, color, architecture and reductivist aesthetics. Making Room was curated by Suzan Shutan.

Exhibiting artists are Richard Bottwin (NY), Melanie Carr (CT), Kevin Daly (CT), Robert Gregson (CT), Adam Lister (VA), Faber Lorne (CT), Debra Ramsay (NY), Karen Schifano (NY, see image), Paul Theriault (CT) and Jill Vasileff (CA). The show will be on display from Oct. 6 through Nov. 3. There will be an artists' reception on Sat., Oct. 6, from noon to 2 p.m.

Showing of drawings and texts opens Saturday at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Lined Up: Drawings and Texts
June 30—July 28, 2012.
Greeting of the Artists: Sat., June 30, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release

Curated by Stephen Vincent Kobasa, Lined Up opens this Saturday in the gallery at Institute Library on Chapel Street.


The participating artists are: Ethan Boisvert (Web), Emilia Dubicki (Web), Larissa Hall (Web), Kevin Harty, Jilaine Jones (Web), Nathan Lewis (Web), Willard Lustenader (Web), Larry Morelli (see image, Web), Tim Nikiforuk (Web), John O'Donnell (Web), Jeff Slomba (Web), Thomas Stavovy (Web), Jodiann Strimiska (Web) and Barry Svigals (Web).

There will be an opening reception on Sat., May 19, from noon—2 p.m.

Group show opens Saturday at Institute Library in New Haven

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Family Haunts
May 19—June 16, 2012.
Opening Reception: Sat., May 19, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release

Curated by Joy Pepe, Family Haunts considers the beckoning of ancestry and perceptions of present day relations through the paintings, prints, photographs, drawings and assemblages of artists. The veils of memory, the desire to commemorate, and the need for identity compel these works of art into being. These nine artists siphon the particulars of familial connection into a visual scrapbook of our collective history.

The participating artists are: Silas Finch (Web), Stephen Grossman (Web), Mary Lesser (Web), Nathan Lewis (Web), Irene K. Miller (Web), Meredith Miller (Web), Kevin van Aelst (Web) and Thuan Vu (Web).

There will be an opening reception on Sat., May 19, from noon—2 p.m.

(Image is Stephen Grossman's "Marilyn Bridesmaid.")

Saturday panel discussion to close "Material Measure" show at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Material Measure: Use and Reinvention of Maps
Through May 5, 2012.
"Maps Made Strange," Panel discussion: Sat., May 5, 12:30—2 p.m.

Press release

Please join Material Measure curator Fritz Horstman and a panel of five special guests May 5 to close our current exhibition with a discussion of maps and their relationships to place, knowledge, and art.

The Panelists

Connie Brown paints one-of-a-kind wall maps on canvas and globes for private clients, organizations, and companies. In her Durham, Connecticut studio, she maps travel routes and treks, private properties, lives, campuses, towns, and environmental regions.

Leila Daw received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. She taught for almost thirty years at different colleges, including the Massachusetts College of Art. Her work is often based on maps and is exhibited in many public and private institutions.

Martha W. Lewis received her MFA from Yale. Her work is multidisciplinary and inhabits the realm of plans, experiments, and models. Among her source materials are engineering manuals, statistical data, spiritual diagrams, Google Earth searches, and all manner of maps.

Stace Maples is the GIS Specialist for Yale University's Map Collection at Sterling Memorial Library and provides support to the Yale research community in capturing and making sense of the "where" of their subjects.

Jeannette Redensek's PhD in Art History from the Graduate Center for the City University of New York was based on the history of the scientification of architecture and city planning in early twentieth-century Germany. She is currently a researcher at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Bethany, Connecticut.

Fritz Horstman (Moderator) received his MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). His work is exhibited and is in public and private collections around this country, Canada, Asia, and Europe. Material Measure was Hortsman's first foray into curating. He lives and works in Bethany, Connecticut.

The participating artists in the Material Measure show are: Leila Daw (Web), Billy Friebele (Web), Mike Iacovone (Web), Martha Lewis (Web), Larissa Nowicki (Web), Gerald Saladyga (Web), Karin Schaefer (Web) and Kevin Van Aelst (Web).

There will be a greeting of the artists on Sat., Apr. 7, from noon—2 p.m.

Saturday greeting of artists at Institute Library "Material Measure" show

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
Material Measure: Use and Reinvention of Maps
Apr. 7—May 5, 2012.
Greeting of the Artists: Sat., Apr. 7, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release

The artists brought together in Material Measure, which is curated by Fritz Horstman, share an interest in maps. Each artist approaches the subject uniquely, employing different aspects of our cultural understanding of the cartographical form. The artists combine the factual knowledge we expect of maps with the non-empirical knowledge of a place—the feeling of a particular location—that rarely is expressed in more traditional maps.

Using a variety of materials, these artists chart and represent lived, imagined, or observed experiences of the land through their creative use of maps. The collective effect bridges forms of knowledge based in the dialectically opposed schools of idealism and materialism, presenting the option of a third way of thinking, which takes information from both views simultaneously.

The participating artists are: Leila Daw (Web), Billy Friebele (Web), Mike Iacovone (Web), Martha Lewis (Web), Larissa Nowicki (Web), Gerald Saladyga (Web), Karin Schaefer (Web) and Kevin Van Aelst (Web).

There will be a greeting of the artists on Sat., Apr. 7, from noon—2 p.m.

(Image by Leila Daw: "Ancient City in the Sky.")