Alison Saar: Crepuscular Blue

The Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is proud to present Alison Saar: Crepuscular Blue, Prints and Sculpture by Alison Saar, from The Collections Of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation in the 511 Gallery at PNCA’s Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design from September 7 through October 14, 2017. This exhibition is part of the Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Series in cooperation with the MA in Print Media program at PNCA. Saar will present a lecture on September 19 at 6:30pm. 

Alison Saar was born and raised in Laurel Canyon, California. Growing up the daughter of renowned artist Betye Saar and painter/conservator Richard Saar, played a crucial role in her formative years, as well as in the development of her artistic career. Saar received her BA in studio art and art history in 1978 from Scripps College, Claremont, California.

She went on to earn her MFA from Otis-Parsons Institute (now Otis College of Art and Design). She has received three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1984, 1985, and 1988), and was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1989, the Flintridge Foundation Award for Visual Artists in 2000, the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award in 1998, and the Joan Mitchell Artist in Residence in 2013. In 2012, the United States Artists Program named Saar one of 50 USA fellows.

More recently, Alison Saar revealed a new public work in Downtown Los Angeles, CA in 2015 titled Embodied. Commissioned by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the 12 foot tall sculpture is located in front of the Hall of Justice at the corner of Temple Street and Spring Street. 

This exhibition is curated by Paul Mullowney, Master Printer, who runs Mullowney Printing in the Mission District of San Francisco. A multi-faceted print studio, Mullowney Printing focuses on publishing and printing of etchings, woodcut, photogravure, direct gravure, screen print and letterpress editions by leading contemporary artists. The studio also runs community workshops internships, and public exhibitions.

The Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series
The Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series presents an annual curated exhibition from the dynamic and expansive collection of more than 9,000 contemporary prints of Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation at the Pacific Northwest College of Art 511 Gallery. The series brings an invited artist in connection to the exhibition to engage with PNCA students, faculty, and the public through lectures, studio visits, and collaborations with the MFA in Print Media program. In addition to the Exhibition and Visiting Artist Series, selections from the Collection will be lent to the PNCA Object Library to be studied by students and faculty on a regular rotating basis.

Center for Contemporary Art & Culture
The Center for Contemporary Art & Culture is a platform for cultural production including exhibition, lecture, performance, and publication. Housed within Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), the Center throws open its doors to the greater public to foster conversation and community.

Pacfic Northwest College of Art
Pacific Northwest College of Art empowers artists and designers to reimagine what art and design can do in the world. Founded in 1909 as the Museum Art School in Portland, Oregon, PNCA offers ten art and design Bachelor of Fine Art programs, six graduate programs including Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts programs within the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies, a Post-Baccalaureate program, and Continuing Education courses for artists and designers of all ages. pnca.edu