Friday, September 6–Sunday, December 8, 2013
New exhibition curated by John Ravenal features works by seventeen Wesleyan University artists and looks back at four decades in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Center for the Arts
Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
Wesleyan University
283 Washington Terrace
Middletown, CT
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Center for the Arts, The Alumni Show II will be on view in Wesleyan University’s Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery from Friday, September 6 through Sunday, December 8, 2013. Organized by guest curator John Ravenal ’81, P’15, the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, the exhibition features work that spans a broad range of contemporary practice and media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, installation art, video art, performance, and films. The Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery is located at 283 Washington Terrace on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown, Connecticut. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 5pm. Gallery admission is free.
The Alumni Show II looks back at four decades of Wesleyan artists. Building on The Alumni Show held in November and December 2003 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the CFA, this exhibition features an entirely new selection of seventeen alumni artists. The artists featured in The Alumni Show II are Ian Boyden ’95, Stephanie Calvert ’08, Rutherford Chang ’02, Nicolas Collins ’76 MA ’79, Renée Green ’81, Raphael Griswold ’06, John Hatleberg ’79, Gabriela Herman ’03, Elsie Kagan ’99, Liz Magic Laser ’03, Danielle Mysliwiec ’98, Ed Osborn ’87, Juliana Romano ’04, Aki Sasamoto ’04, Arturo Vidich ’03, Stephanie Washburn ’03, and Ben Weiner ’03.
The public is invited to attend the Opening Reception on Tuesday, September 10, from 5 to 7pm. The opening reception is free, and will be followed at 7:30pm by Centrifugal March, a free performance/installation by Aki Sasamoto ’04 in Art Studio North.
Three films by Liz Magic Laser ’03—Distressed (2009), Mine (2009), and Flight (2011)—will be shown at a free screening on Thursday, October 17 at 7pm at the Powell Family Cinema in the Center for Film Studies, located at 301 Washington Terrace on the Wesleyan campus.
There will be a Homecoming/Family Weekend Reception on Saturday, November 2 from 2 to 4pm, with a talk at 2:30pm by guest curator John Ravenal. Special gallery hours on November 2 will be from noon to 6pm, with the free event “We Buy White Albums” by Rutherford Chang ’02 taking place from 2 to 6pm. The public will be able to browse a collection of over 750 first-pressings of The Beatles’ “The White Album” (1968), and sell copies to Mr. Chang. He usually pays up to $20 per copy, and also happily accepts donations of copies of the album. He has also created a new version of the album—which visitors can play in the gallery—by layering recordings from 100 albums in his collection over one another.
The exhibition will be closed from Wednesday, November 20 through Monday, November 25 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
A commemorative catalogue will be available for $15. The 52-page catalogue includes an essay by John Ravenal, foreword by President Michael S. Roth ’78, artists’ statements, and color illustrations of their works. Funders of the catalogue include Jeffrey Deitch ’74, The LeWitt Collection, Glenn Ligon ’82, and David Redden ’70 and Sotheby’s.
The Alumni Show was held in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery from November 1 through December 7, 2003 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Center for the Arts. The exhibition was curated by Nina Felshin, and featured works by Desirée Alvarez ’85, Abby Carter ’83, Jem Cohen ’84, Ellen Driscoll ’74, Vincent Fecteau ’92, Lyle Ashton Harris ’88, Rachel Harrison ’89, Dana Hoey ’89, Jonathan Horowitz ’87, Kate Howard ’90, Michael Joo ’88, Glenn Ligon ’82, James Longley ’94, Anissa Mack ’92, Melissa Marks ’87, Robert Marshall ’82, Christopher Russell ’83, Wade Saunders ’71, Keith Sklar ’80, Karin Stack ’88, Mark Steinmetz ’82, Melissa Stern ’80, Philip Trager ’56, Marion Wilson ’83, Carrie Yamaoka ’79, Jody Zellen ’83, and Brenda Zlamany ’81.
