Contemporary Perceptions: Zeuxis Still Life Painting
September 5-October 1, 2011; September 15 Reception
Zeuxis, an association of 25 painters and guests, explores the role of perception in contemporary still life painting. The emphasis is on sensibility and the part it plays in shaping individual expression. Contemporary still life painting evokes the nature of object. Artists gather sensations with their eyes and codify them with their minds. Each painting is a reconstruction in color and light of this interaction between seeing, feeling and understanding. The theme allows each artist a way of translating onto canvas an individual sensibility.

Blair Academy Faculty Show Featuring Nina Yuen
October 3-29, 2011; October 6 Reception
This year’s show features the work of Nina Yuen, director of video studies at Blair, who approaches video as a tactile medium. She notes that her “seductively honest and visually striking narratives weave elements of her personal relationships with found stories and appropriated personae.” Nina adds, “My films are unabashedly romantic and quietly profound assemblages of performance, spoken monologue, soundtrack and montage, which create a flux of vivid imagery and feeling.” Her films have been shown at exhibitions in Amsterdam, Brazil and Spain, as well as in Miami, Florida, and Portland, Oregon.

Mayumi Sarai: Wood Sculpture
October 31-December 3, 2011; November 3 Reception
Japanese-born artist Mayumi Sarai exhibits her intensively carved wood sculpture. She notes that the organic form of her abstract work “often refers to beauty of nature and power of life.” She adds, “The meaning of what I make often develops spontaneously through the combination of memory and the act of creating. With simple chisels and hand saws, my approach to wood is very traditional and time-consuming. Through this labor intensive work, I like to show the quiet beauty of nature and the power of life in a contemporary, visual language.”

Vicki Diamond/Jeanine Erickson
December 5-16, 2011; January 2-7, 2012; December 8 Reception
This show brings together the multimedia creative works of local artists Jeanine Erickson and Vicki Diamond. Glass, geodes, fossils, metal, gourds, alpaca and llama fiber, goat skins, stone, cement and beeswax are included among the natural elements with which the artists work to create beautiful pieces that express the fluidity of nature and the universality of simple form.

Christine Mayes ’03: Cyclical Time
January 9-February 4, 2012; January 12 Reception
In this show, artist and fashion designer Christine Mayes (Blair Class of 2003) highlights the amalgamation of the study of painting and the execution of design. Her body of work is always inspired by complex systems ranging from city grids, human anatomy and process in minimalist art. She said, “My multi-disciplinary approach to my career and body of work adds dimension to the undertone of the show. There will be a sense of timelessness, or ‘returning’ to a place.” All proceeds from this show benefit ECPAT International in the fight against child trafficking, prostitution and pornography.

Christine Hartman
February 6-March 3, 2012; February 10 Reception
Hartman’s seemingly ordinary subjects – still life and figures – are not copied representations but reconstructions of a complex visual world. The underlying geometry in the paintings, seen in the drawings, exposes the scaffolding and careful planning by the artist and builds the tension in these remarkable paintings. Hartman’s works create an interplay of space and form that push and pull you to arrive at her chosen destination – a sense of presence in an extraordinary world.

Tony Serio: Cityscapes and Hudson River Greenway Landscapes
March 5-April 21, 2012; March 29 Reception
This show consists of Northern Manhattan cityscapes and landscapes. The cityscapes focus on the relationship between architecture and the area’s unique urban design, while the Hudson River Greenway landscapes highlight the city park’s integration of recreational areas with the West Side Highway along the river. The exhibition includes the “plein air” paintings which serve as studies for visually compelling compositions which integrate architecture, landscape and the cultural vitality of the area.

Annual Student Art Exhibition
April 23-May 12, 2012; April 26 Reception

Young Alumni Show
May 14-June 10, 2012; June 9 Reception
This group exhibition features the art of five Blair alumni, including Natessa Amin ’06 (painting), Meredith Habermann ’04 (ceramics), Hannah Kirkpatrick ’07 (glass), Henry Kozinski ’07 (film) and Justin Lubliner ’05 (photography). All of these young artists are committed to exploring their individuality and connection to the world as they work in various media.