New York Silver: Metal faculty, alumni fuel MCNY exhibition
Silver-plated bronze, cast and fabricated.
Two SUNY New Paltz faculty members and four alumni are exhibiting original work at the Museum of the City of New York’s New York Silver, Then and Now exhibition, which opened this summer and will remain on view through June 2018.
Silver, forged, raised, repousséd and chased.
The exhibition collects works of art created for a modern audience by 25 contemporary artists, silversmiths and designers, six of whom have direct ties to the top-rated SUNY New Paltz Metal Program:
- Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, professor and head of the Metal Program
- Michael Gayk, assistant professor of metal and digital design & fabrication
- Erin Daily ’04g (Metal)
- Jonathan Wahl ’95g (Metal)
- Brian Weissman ’04g (Metal)
- Preston Jones ’10 (Visual Arts)
New York Silver, Then and Now presents pieces by these artists in juxtaposition with historic objects pulled from the Museum of the City of New York’s collection, putting the modern-day in dialogue with an inspiring lineage and offering visitors a timeline snapshot of the craft of metalsmithing.
“This exhibition is not just your grandmother’s silver,” said guest curator Jeannine Falino. “It is a one of a kind dialogue taking place between treasures of centuries past and 25 cutting-edge artists, designers and silversmiths. In addition, the show explores the timeless attraction between people and silver, asking and answering why this precious metal has played such an integral role in the history of American life.”
That such a large percentage of the art on display at this exhibition has roots at SUNY New Paltz is another validation of the strength of the Metal Program here: it one of the largest and most respected graduate metal programs in the nation, with an exceptional faculty and a community of alumni who are making meaningful contributions to arts communities around the globe.