Two Sculptors Examine NatureThe Esther Massry Gallery at The College of Saint Rose presents “States of Matter,” by New York City artists Lee Boroson and Kirsten Hassenfeld who are known for their large-scale installations and environments that fluctuate between nature, decoration and fine art, landscape and fictional nature.Gallery Reception: Friday, October 1, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Artists' Talks: Friday, October 1, 7:00 p.m. Saint Joseph AuditoriumLEE BOROSON & KIRSTEN HASSENFELD
STATES OF MATTER
September 19 October 31, 2010Lee Boroson Since 1994, Lee Boroson has been recognized for his inflatable sculptures that refer to architecture, science and nature. His suspended, sewn nylon forms filled with air are light and whimsical, representing elemental forces like water, ice, smoke. Smaller related works complete the environment such as a waterfall, ice flow and Koi pond. Together, the sculptures create an allegorical narrative by casting a cultural lense on what is perceived “natural”.
For Boroson, “Landscape is a construct, a very particular point of reference to view the natural world.” He states, “In creating these works, I face the impossible task of capturing natural phenomena that are visually “real” yet substantively ineffable, transient or evanescent...Their configurations are always in flux.” Boroson holds a deep interest in the Hudson River School painters and their attempt to capture nature. But his interests lie in issues of denial, appropriation and ownership as they relate to representation and current environmental concerns.
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Kirsten Hassenfeld frames the tension between the decorative and fine arts as a parallel to the concept of nature. The artist states, “I have long been disturbed by the obstinacy of matter. What we hope is permanent (art) is always in jeopardy of falling apart, while what we hope will degrade or disappear (trash) seems to hang on forever.” In response to this dilemma, Hassenfeld employs found objects as raw material. Her forms are drawn from the decorative arts, constructed from small ornamental and utilitarian objects found in thrift stores, gutters and junk drawers. Assorted buttons, bottle-caps, spools, crockery, napkin rings, glassware are piled one atop the other, or suspended in the air to reveal complex symmetrical forms, reminiscent of historic tabletop ornaments or a floating, vaporous city in the sky. Hassenfeld’s quirky “Blue ware” constructions of paper and acrylic medium recall centuries old Delft and Chinese porcelain traded by the Dutch.
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Gallery Hours:Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday Noon-4 p.m. Open: First Friday, October 1, 5-9 p.m. Closed: October 11, Columbus Day
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Lee Boroson was born in Stamford, Conn., in 1963. He attended the Philadelphia College of Art and received his bachelor of fine arts degree from the State University of New York, New Paltz. In 1989, he received his master of fine arts degree from Indiana University, Bloomington and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture that same year. Solo exhibitions include Sara Meltzer Gallery (Chelsea) New York, N.Y.; Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Pierogi, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, Mass.; Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, Va.; Hallwalls contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, N.Y. Boroson is the recipient of two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Artist Grants (2005, 1997); the New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Grant (2000). He has received residency fellowships at Sculpture Space, Utica, N.Y.; Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, Mass.; Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, N.J.; Bemis Foundation, Omaha, Neb.; Centre d’ Art Contemporanie d’ Herblay, Paris, France. His work has been reviewed in numerous publications including The Village Voice and Sculpture magazine.
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Kirsten Hassenfeld was born in Albany and raised in Delmar, N.Y. She received a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994. She went on to receive her master of fine arts degree from the University of Arizona–Tucson, in 1998. Recent exhibitions include “A Meticulous Ferment” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine (2010); “Dans la Lune” at Smack-Mellon, Brooklyn, N.Y. (2009) and the Rice Gallery, Rice University, Houston, Tex. (2007); “Objects of Virtue” Bellwether Gallery, New York, N.Y. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions throughout the Northeast, including the Robert Hull Fleming Museum, University of Vermont; Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art; Jewish Museum; PS1 Contemporary Art Center and the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. She has held residencies in New York City at Dieu Donne Papermill, the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Smack Mellon Artist Studio Program and the Bemis Center for the Arts, Omaha, Neb. Hassenfeld was awarded a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation (2006) and was recently commissioned to create a “Percent for Art” project for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
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