New York Academy of Art

N Y A A
111 Franklin Street
New York, NY 10013
212.966.0300

HOMECOMING

Jean-Pierre Roy, Passage on the Prairie, 2007, oil on linen, 44 x 78"

An exhibition of recent drawings, paintings and sculpture
by the fellows of the New York Academy of Art
in celebration of the institution's 25th anniversary.

November 15 - December 11, 2007
Viewing hours: 1-7 pm daily

NEW YORK ACADEMY OF ART
Lawrence and Josephine C. Wilkinson Hall
111 Franklin Street (between Church Street & West Broadway), New York City

Homecoming, welcoming back of former residents and alumni, is an autumnal tradition in schools around the world. It seems the perfect title for an exhibition that brings back some of our most outstanding graduates to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the New York Academy of Art. While nostalgic images of games, parades, and glory all come to mind, so do the more complex emotions of returning home to the place we started. As we view the vastly diverse works in this exhibition by the first nineteen Post-Graduate Fellows of the Academy, as we revel in some good-ol' team spirit, we might also sense that although we came from the same place we are now marching to different drummers. There are drastically distorted bodies, slashing strokes of paint, odd combinations of objects, and narratives possible only in dreams. Where are the common lessons learned? Where are the techniques of the masters and the true-as-life anatomy we so pride ourselves on? They are exactly where they belong: at the foundations of the Fellows' practice. Look again and we will see them. They may not always reside in the flavor of these objects, for the fruits of labor here are as varied and as individualistic as contemporary art itself - it's a "tutti-frutti" affair. So, if not on the surface, the lessons of our careful training may reveal themselves in the love of craft and the sincerity invested in the object. The Academy may have helped to instill in these artists the desire to make something tangible, objects that truly look like something, out of nothing. With our help, they have learned to look backward while still moving forward. The students have returned. They now show us why it is important to study art making through clay, ink, and paint still. These young artists carry the Academy with them. Our Fellows have used their lessons well, forgetting, in a way, what they were supposed to do in order to find their true paths - paths that started with us and lead out into the world.

- Catherine Howe

To see the exhibit click here.