Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art to open two ‘Art and the River’ exhibitions in September

The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz will present the final two exhibitions in its six-month “Art and the River” series, the college’s contribution to the Hudson River Quadricentennial, this September.

“The Hudson River: A Great American Treasure” by Greg Miller and “Inscription” by Philippine Hoegen and Carolien Stikker will open Sept. 19 and run through Nov. 29. An opening reception will be held for both shows from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.

“Visitors can expect to see striking visual images that portray the Hudson River and its impact on the region,” said Sara Pasti, the Neil C. Trager Director of the museum. “The artists behind ‘The Hudson River’ and ‘Inscription’ invested a great deal of time exploring the region in order to create their beautiful and haunting images.”

“The Hudson River: A Great American Treasure” is the second Art and the River project show by Orange County, N.Y.-based photographer Greg Miller. This exhibition presents 20 recent color photographs of Hudson Valley landscapes by Miller, whose panoramic photograph of the Hudson River is on display at the museum through Dec. 13. His latest photographs depict views of the river and its valleys from New York City’s George Washington Bridge to the river’s small upstate tributaries.

For “Inscription,” the Dorsky Museum commissioned Amsterdam artists Philippine Hoegen and Carolien Stikker to produce a short film about the river. The artists, who work together and maintain solo careers, visited the campus in May and June of 2009 to explore the Hudson River and its tributaries. During that time, they made film, videotape and digital audio recordings under the working title “Riverbank.”

There are four works in the exhibition: a video projection, “Crossing;” a slide and video projection installation, “Smoke no smoke;” and hybrid photographic videos, “Untitled.” They will debut their works in September. In addition, a book, titled “Superstructure,” will be published by the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and SUNY Press to coincide with the exhibition.

An artists’ lecture for “Inscription” is set for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the campus’s Lecture Center, room 102.

Running concurrently with these exhibitions are “The Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th-century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society” and “Panorama of the Hudson River,” which remain on display through Dec. 13, 2009. “The Hudson River to Niagara Falls” was made possible with a $143,449 Federal grant from Congressman and New Paltz alumnus Maurice Hinchey (’68, ’70g) and the support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Additional funding for this and other “Art & The River” exhibitions was provided by M&T Bank; Jacobowitz & Gubits; Timely Signs of Kingston Inc.; the Friends of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art; and the State University of New York at New Paltz. Additional funding for “Inscription” was provided through an exchange residency sponsored by the Ulster County Quadricentennial Committee.

Among Art & The River’s extensive Hudson-related educational programs, The Dorsky Museum is sponsoring an academic symposium organized by New Paltz Art History professor Dr. Kerry Dean Carso. The event, “Revisiting the Hudson: Nineteenth-Century Landscape Painting in Context,” takes place on Nov. 7, 2009.

Suggested admission to The Dorsky Museum is $5. For event details, reservations, accessibility, or directions, visit www.newpaltz.edu/museum or call (845) 257-3844. The Dorsky Museum is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.