By Ben Mislow
The UAlbany Art Museum recently updated its gallery, opening a new exhibition on Feb. 4.
“Affinities and Outliers: Highlights from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections,” curated by Director and Chief Curator Corinna Ripps Schaming and Associate Curator Olga Dekalo, showcases over 200 works of art that the University has acquired over many years.
The collection includes drawings, paintings, photography, prints and sculptures done by over 50 artists including well-known artists such as Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden and Mary Ellen Mark. Work by lesser-known artists such as Carroll Cloar, Hilda Katz and Selina Trieff is also on display in the new exhibit.
“The museum and the museum staff manages and oversees the collection,” said Education and Public Engagement Coordinator Berly Brown. “We thought it would be a good opportunity to highlight a lot of the work that we do have, and present a fresh look at our collections through new affinities and narratives among the many temporary and modern artists.”
Many pieces in the exhibition were pulled from the Collection Studies room that is open to UAlbany students.
“We have a new Collections Studies space and it was in the process of setting that up and
being more formal about drawing upon the collection as a resource,” said Exhibition and Publication Designer Gil Gentle. “In the process of setting that space up, they were like ‘Wow there are all these hidden gems in the collection and things that we and the public would be into seeing.’”
The overall goal of the new exhibitions is to support the museum’s duty of bringing new knowledge and relevance to the UAlbany community and public.
“Affinities and Outliers: Highlights from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections” will be on display in the UAlbany Art Museum until April 4. For more information on the exhibition, visit https://www.albany.edu/university-art-museum/exhibitions/affinities-and-outliers.