May 25 – Aug. 4, 2013

Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) is an American printmaking workshop renowned for its ongoing commitment to innovative approaches and techniques in contemporary printmaking. The Pressing Print exhibition highlights the recent decade of print works created by 20th century masters of American Art (Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Helen Frankenthaler) and emerging artists (Zachary Wollard, Amy Cutler, and Tam Van Tran). The artists were selected to collaborate at Universal under the direction of Master Printer Bill Goldston. With an emphasis on experimentation, the artists and printmakers were given total freedom to realize their work. New techniques, such as pigmented ink-jet printing and dimensional construction have been mixed with traditional printmaking techniques. The 52 works in this exhibition demonstrate ULAE’s role as an exceptional and transformative force in contemporary art.

This exhibition is organized by the Syracuse University Art Galleries.

Image credit: Jane Hammond, The Wonderfulness of Downtown, 1997, lithograph and silkscreen in 39 colors with collage on Kasuiri, Nepalese, and Cortlea text, 59.25 x 62 inches. Courtesy of Universal Limited Art Editions.

A Film by Peter Fischli & David Weiss

July 2 - September 1, 2013

Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss have collaborated on kinetic installations since 1979. All of their work to date, whether in photography, film, drawing, or sculpture, has demonstrated a deep interest in the mechanisms that animate the universe of objects.

Fischli and Weiss remove these things that surround us from their contexts in our daily lives, and then restructure their relationships to one another. The artists aim neither to glorify nor to alienate these common objects, but merely to create new references in which they might be considered.

THE WAY THINGS GO - without narration or interviews - simply records the self-destructing performance of Fischli's and Weiss' most ambitious construction: 100 feet of physical interactions, chemical reactions, and precisely crafted chaos worthy of Rube Goldberg or Alfred Hitchcock.

Courtesy of Icarus Films.

August 10 - October 13, 2013

The exhibition The Art of Conservation(ism): Works from the Permanent Collection explores the idea of conservation from dual vantage points; from artists who produce work addressing environmental issues to the care museums take of their collections. The museum holds a significant number of prints by Earl H. Reed (American, 1863 – 1931) and photographs by Clyde Butcher (American, b. 1942). Reed dedicated himself to the protection and preservation of the Sand Dunes of Northern Indiana through words and images. Butcher’s deep appreciation for the Florida Everglades has inspired him to work for the restoration and preservation of the environment. The museum carries on the conservation mission with a commitment to preserving and caring for the artwork in our collection, safekeeping these and many other unique resources for future generations.

Image credit: Earl H. Reed, The Wreck, c. 1915. Etching, 10 x 8 inches. Permanent collection of Foosaner Art Museum, Florida Institute of Technology.

October 18, 2013 - January 19, 2014

Theodore Waddell’s Western landscapes are a merging of his love of painting and the Montana and Idaho plains where he lives and works as a cattle rancher. His style is distinctly contemporary but walks the line between abstraction and realism. Lush, dense surfaces echo the color plays Waddell observes in his real life: the great expanses of land and sky populated by the cattle and horses he reveres. Often there is no horizon, offering the viewer an immersion similar to standing in his vast, open space.

Image credit: Theodore Waddell, Pass Creek Reds #2, 2005. Oil on canvas, 54 x 60 inches. Courtesy of the artist..

January 25 - March 16, 2014

Inciteful Clay offers an unparalleled overview of an emergent movement in contemporary ceramics dedicated to social commentary. Artists have long used their creations as powerful vehicles to confront society with major problems of the day, expanding from paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs to installations and electronic media over the last century. Social concern has also become an area of increasing interest in contemporary craft.

Featured artists in the exhibition include Akio Takemori, Toby Buonagurio, Nuala Creed, Michelle Erickson, Anne Potter, Ehren Tool, Richard Shaw, and Paula Winokur. Among the specific topics they address are the social consequences of war, the impact of declining moral values on children, capital punishment, consumerism, and global warming.

A Program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, and The National Endowment for the Arts.

Image credit: Adrianne Crance, Artillery Field, 2005. Slipcast and glazed ceramic, each flower, 10 x 10 x 10 inches. Courtesy of the artist.