The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art has purchased two artworks, “Grove Trophy Border Plate,” by Holly Hughes and “Strapat,” by Stephen Niccolls, for its permanent collection from the exhibition Worlds of Wonder: Hudson Valley Artists 2014. The exhibition is on display at the museum through Sunday, Nov. 9.
Curated by Ian Berry, the Dayton Director of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Worlds of Wonder is a group exhibition of 16 artists living in Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties. The exhibit focuses on the laboratory-like environment of the artist studio and the exploration and curiosity that is at the heart of many artistic practices.
The purchases are made possible through the Dorsky’s Hudson Valley Artists Annual Purchase Award program, as well as through the generosity of the participating artists. The Purchase Award program, supported by funding from the Alice and Horace Chandler Art Acquisition Fund, enriches The Dorsky’s holdings in contemporary art for future study and exhibition.
About Holly Hughes
Hughes, an artist based in Columbia County and New York City, explores “coded” forms found in nature, heraldry and the traditions of ceramics and textiles in the creation of her paintings, prints, and maiolica plates. She is a full professor at the Rhode Island School of Design and holds a BFA from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
About Stephen Niccolls
Niccolls is a Kingston-based artist who works primarily in oil paint, collage, and drawing media. His artworks frequently reference structures and other characteristics often found in vernacular architecture, such as the color and surface qualities of masonry, stone, rusted or scuffed metal, stucco or weathered wood. Niccolls holds a MFA from the University of Massachusetts and teaches at Marist College.
About the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art
The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, located at SUNY New Paltz, is fast gaining wide recognition as the premier public showplace for exhibition, education, and cultural scholarship about the Hudson Valley region’s art and artists from yesterday and today. With more than 9,000 square feet of exhibition space distributed over six galleries, the Dorsky Museum is one of the largest museums within the SUNY system. The Dorsky was officially dedicated on Oct. 20, 2001. Since then it has presented over one hundred exhibitions, including commissions, collection-based projects, and in-depth studies of Hudson Valley artists including Robert Morris, Alice Neel, Judy Pfaff, and Carolee Schneemann, and international artists that include Seydou Keita and Ushio Shinohara.
For more information about The Dorsky Museum and its programs, visit http://www.newpaltz.edu/museum or call (845) 257-3844.
