Fred Wilson - 2016 | College of Arts

Fred Wilson - 2016

University of Guelph,College of Arts
and the School of Fine Art and Music present the

10th annual Dasha Shenkman Lecture in Contemporary Art

poster for fred wilson

 

LOOKING THROUGH GLASS DARKLY: EXHIBITION PROJECTS and SCULPTURE by FRED WILSON

Wednesday March 23, 2016, 6:00pm

War Memorial Hall, University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario

Admission Free - Everyone Welcome!  
Free parking in P23/24 and P19 after 5:00 pm

Fred Wilson will present a lecture highlighting his museum installations of the past 25 years. Wilson is known internationally for works which infiltrate museum structures and art historical canons through the medium of display. For the 2016 Dasha Shenkman Lecture, he will also discuss his recent sculptures in bronze and glass, which investigate the symbolism and meaning of the color black. In these works, inspired by historic design, art, and literature, Wilson creates both baroque and simple forms that speak to contemporary times.

Fred Wilson is a conceptual artist whose practice includes painting, sculpture and photography. He is known for his sculptures in glass and for his site-specific installations in collaboration with museums and cultural institutions throughout North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He received his B.F.A. from the State University of New York, Purchase in 1976, and was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Maryland Institute College of Art, MD (2013), Skidmore College, NY (2009), and Northwestern University, IL (2007). Wilson’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions and retrospectives worldwide, including, amongst others, the critically acclaimed Mining the Museum: An Installation by Fred Wilson sponsored by the Contemporary Museum in collaboration with The Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore (1992–1993) and Fred Wilson, Objects and Installations 1979–2000 which traveled to eight different venues nationally from 2001-2004. In 2003, Wilson represented the United States at the 50th Venice Biennale with the solo exhibition, Fred Wilson: Speak of Me as I Am.  In 2008, Wilson was named to the Board of Trustees of the Whitney Museum of Art, New York as well as to the Board of Trustees of the American Academy in Rome.  His many accolades include the prestigious MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant (1999), among others. Wilson’s work can be found in numerous public collections worldwide, including The Art Institute of Chicago; the Baltimore Museum of Art; the Brooklyn Museum of Art; Cleveland Museum of Art; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; The Hood Museum, New Hampshire; The Tate Modern, London; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Institute of Jamaica, Kingston; The Jewish Museum, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; The Seattle Art Museum; and The Whitney Museum of American Art.

Fred Wilson lives and works in New York City, where he is represented by The Pace Gallery.

The annual Dasha Shenkman Lecture was established in 2007 and is made possible through the support of Dasha Shenkman, OBE, a Canadian art collector and philanthropist who lives in the United Kingdom.

MFA Open Studio 2016

Please also plan to join us for the MFA Open Studios before and after the lecture:

3:00-5:00 p.m. and 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Blackwood Hall, Firehall, Alexander Hall, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

The MFA students in the School of Fine Art and Music at the University of Guelph are pleased to welcome the public to their annual Open Studios, offering a rare inside look at the development of new work within the hothouse environment of an art program and a chance to chat with artists about their work in progress.

Open Studios 2016 features work by graduate candidates:Paul MacIntyre; Peter Denton; Steven Beckly; Ambera Wellmann; Amanda Boulos; Larissa Tiggelers; Shannon Garden-Smith; Patrick Cruz; Jean-Marc Perin; Erika Dueck; John Haney; Simon M. Benedict; Kevin Murphy; Hiba Abdallah.

Click here for the 2016 MFA Open Studios Brochure.

We will also showcase work by our fourth year Specialized Studio undergraduates:Sonali Menezes; Jordan Pedersen; Merlin Hunt; Kenneth Jeffrey; Chris Withenshaw; Kelly Zantingh; Erika Farfaras; Alison Postma; Elana Shvalbe; Emma Welch; Katie Cheung; Emma Green; Andrew Mandaliti; Christina Smith; Linh Thai; Lindsay Sisson.

The University of Guelph offers a two year Master of Fine Arts Degree that combines intensive studio concentration with seminars in theory and pedagogy. Exceptionally committed graduate faculty and limited student enrolment result in a community that is intensely involved in contemporary art and its discourse. A consistently excellent program of visiting artists, critics and curators extends this community.

Alumni from Guelph's MFA program include Derek Sullivan, Kristan Horton, Katie Bethune-Leaman, Martin Golland, Melanie Authier, Zin Taylor and David Urban.

  • A free bus will leave Mercer Union (1286 Bloor Street West) in Toronto at 2:00 p.m. and leave Guelph to return to Toronto at 8:30 p.m.  Reserve a seat on this bus - http://shenkman.eventbrite.ca
  • A free shuttle service between Open Studio buildings is available between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.   Volunteers will provide directions and guided tours.

Press contact:
Sandra Sabatini, sabatini@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120 x53869
Erika Dueck and Paul MacIntyre, Graduate Open Studios Student Coordinators, openstudiosmfa@gmail.com
John Kissick, Faculty Coordinator, jkissick@uoguelph.ca   519-824-4120 x53191