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Eugene Speicher, Mary Reid Kelley, and 1980s Style exhibitions to open at The Dorsky Museum on Feb. 8

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NEW PALTZ – On Saturday, Feb. 8, from 5-7 p.m., the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz will host a public reception for the opening of its three exhibitions of the spring season: Along His Own Lines: A Retrospective of New York Realist Eugene Speicher, Mary Reid Kelley: Working Objects and Videos, and 1980s Style: Image and Design in The Dorsky Museum Collection.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONS
Along His Own Lines: A Retrospective of New York Realist Eugene Speicher
Called “America’s greatest living painter” by Esquire magazine in 1936, Eugene Speicher (1883-1962) was one of the foremost realists of his generation. He was closely associated with George Bellows, Robert Henri, Leon Kroll, and Rockwell Kent. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue, which explore this important American artist who was also a preeminent figure in the noted Woodstock Art Colony, seek to reevaluate Speicher’s place in the canon of early twentieth-century American art.

The retrospective exhibition features 39 paintings and 35 drawings and works on paper. Notable paintings in the exhibition include Speicher’s famous portrait of Georgia O’Keefe as a young student at the Arts Students League, New York, 1908. Institutional lenders to the exhibition include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Organized by Valerie Ann Leeds, Ph.D., independent curator and scholar, Along His Own Lines is the first museum exhibition devoted to Speicher in nearly 50 years.

Exhibition related programs include:

  • Saturday, Feb. 8, 4 p.m. – Exhibition tour by curator Valerie Ann Leeds
  • Saturday, April 12, 1 p.m. – Panel discussion at Woodstock Artists Association and Museum, 28 Tinker Street, Woodstock, N.Y.
  • Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m. – Exhibition Gallery Tour
  • Sunday, June 1, 2 p.m. – “Remembering Eugene Speicher” panel discussion

 

Mary Reid Kelley: Working Objects and Videos
This exhibition is the first museum exhibition devoted to the finely crafted and researched costumes, objects, furniture, and drawings that Mary Reid Kelley (b. 1979), a winner of the Rome Prize and subject of PBS’s series Art21, created for her acclaimed high definition videos—”You Make Me Iliad” (2010), “The Syphilis of Sisyphus” (2011), and “Priapus Agonistes” (2013). In addition to the these three videos, developed in collaboration with Patrick Kelley, the exhibition includes found objects and costumes, furniture ensembles, drawings, and nearly 100 other props that have been enhanced by the artist. Shown together, the working objects and videos reveal the inventive process by which Reid Kelley has fused live performance, drawing, sculpture, costume design, and digital media. Organized by Daniel Belasco, the Dorsky Museum’s curator of exhibitions and programs, the exhibition will fully immerse the viewer in an artist’s unique vision.

Exhibition related programs include:

  • Sunday, March 2, 2 p.m. – Artists’ tour of the exhibition with Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley

1980s Style: Image and Design in The Dorsky Museum Collection
The 1980s had a look all its own. 1980s Style includes prints, photographs, and jewelry from the collection of The Dorsky Museum that exemplify the stark geometries and vibrant colors of the decade. The exhibition asks to what extent are bold shapes, bright colors, asymmetry, and cartoonish figuration the visual and formal manifestations of emotional turmoil and artistic activism? Featuring work by Tina Barney, Richard Bosman, Frank Gillette, Lisa Gralnick, Barbara Kasten, George McNeil, Judy Pfaff, Andy Warhol, and others, the exhibition is curated by Daniel Belasco, with assistance from curatorial intern Rachel Beaudoin.

Exhibition-related programs include:

  • Sunday, April 6, 2 p.m. – Gallery Talk with artists Ann Lovett and Stephen Ladin

Both Along His Own Lines and Mary Reid Kelley are accompanied by richly illustrated, catalogues presenting new scholarship and information. The exhibition catalogues are distributed by the State University of New York Press, and will be available for purchase online at www.sunypress.edu.

Funding for The Dorsky’s exhibitions and programs is provided by the Friends of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and the State University of New York at New Paltz. Additional major funding for the Along His Own Lines exhibition catalogue is provided by the New York State Museum and by the Anonymous Fund of the Community Foundation of Dutchess County, Arthur A. Anderson, Jim and Mary Ottaway, and Marjorie N. Shelley. Support for the Mary Reid Kelley exhibition catalogue is provided through a partnership with the University Art Museum, University of Albany, State University of New York.

ABOUT EUGENE SPEICHER
Born in Buffalo, N.Y, in 1883, Eugene Speicher began his art education by taking night classes at the Albright Art School while he worked during the day. He moved to New York in 1907 and began attending the Art Students League where he studied with William Merritt Chase. In 1909, Speicher took life classes with Robert Henri. Through Henri, Speicher also became acquainted with George Bellows, with whom he became close, and with Rockwell Kent, Edward Hopper, and a coterie of realist artists who were working in New York at this time. Speicher was named an Associate of the National Academy in 1912 and an Academician in 1925. From 1911, Speicher began to receive a steady stream of significant awards and his work was acquired by many major art museums for their permanent collections. He split his time between Manhattan and Woodstock, N.Y, where he became an important and popular figure in the art colony. He died in 1962 and the following year was given a memorial exhibition at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, where Speicher bequeathed his paintings and drawings.

ABOUT MARY REID KELLEY
Known for her evocative videos, Mary Reid Kelley (b. 1979) has exhibited in solo shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2013), Art House Austin (2013), Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York (2011 and 2009), Suzanne Vielmetter Gallery, Los Angeles (2010 and 2013), Pilar Corrias, London (2011), and Salina Art Center, Kansas (2012). Group shows include SITE Santa Fe’s Eighth International Biennial, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, and Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany. She was featured in the sixth season of PBS’ series Art21. Her works has been praised in the New York Times, ArtForum, Frieze, Los Angeles Times, and Art in America. She holds a MFA from Yale University School of Art and a BA from St. Olaf’s College. She lives and works in Olivebridge, N.Y.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
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 artists including Robert Morris, Alice Neel, Judy Pfaff, and Carolee Schneemann.

For more information about The Dorsky Museum, as well as detailed information about the above exhibitions and their related programs, visit www.newpaltz.edu/museum, or call (845) 257-3844.