Colorful, eclectic installations on display at Penn College gallery
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Delivering a dose of color and curiosity to The Gallery at Penn College are artist Abraham Ferraro’s mailable sculptures and interactive installations.
The exhibition, titled “Every Which Way,” will run March 19 through April 18 in the gallery, on the third floor of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library.
A closing reception will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, featuring a gallery talk by the artist at 5:30 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.
Ferraro’s exhibition will showcase four bodies of work: “Directions,” “The Old Albany Post Office,” “Touch” and “Light Switch.”
“Directions” is an ever-growing series of mailable sculptures complete with addresses, postage, shipping labels and installation directions. The series currently contains over 125 pieces and is site-specific, reacting to the architecture of each gallery.
“Directions” interprets the evolution all artists experience as their work morphs and changes over time; in this case, the dates and addresses lead the viewer through the artist’s evolution of form, color and conceptualization of mail art.
“The Old Albany Post Office” features wall-mounted works exploring the use of laser-cut postage stickers. The series references nostalgia and replacement of old analog processes with more modern technologies.
“Touch” is a series based on artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ 1979-80 performance entitled “Touch Sanitation,” for which she thanked and shook the hands of 8,500 New York City sanitation workers.
Ferraro’s “Light Switch” series includes interactive installations that allow the viewer to make “art,” or in some cases, declare the work “not art.”
An interdisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture, installation and performance, Ferraro earned a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in sculpture and a Master of Arts from the State University of New York at Albany. He attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts with dual concentration in photography and sculpture from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Ferraro is the shop supervisor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Ferraro’s award-winning work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is included in collections at Albany Institute of History & Art, Washington & Jefferson College, SUNY Fredonia, and University at Albany’s University Art Museum. In addition to visiting artist residencies and lectures, he has been published in Climbing Magazine, Hyperdrawing: Beyond the Lines of Contemporary Art, and 365 Artists 365 Days.
The Gallery at Penn College is open 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Mondays and Saturdays.
In addition to serving as an educational resource for Penn College students and a cultural asset to the college and community, The Gallery at Penn College is dedicated to promoting art appreciation through exhibitions of contemporary art.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free at 800-367-9222.
The exhibition, titled “Every Which Way,” will run March 19 through April 18 in the gallery, on the third floor of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library.
A closing reception will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, featuring a gallery talk by the artist at 5:30 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.
Ferraro’s exhibition will showcase four bodies of work: “Directions,” “The Old Albany Post Office,” “Touch” and “Light Switch.”“Directions” is an ever-growing series of mailable sculptures complete with addresses, postage, shipping labels and installation directions. The series currently contains over 125 pieces and is site-specific, reacting to the architecture of each gallery.
“Directions” interprets the evolution all artists experience as their work morphs and changes over time; in this case, the dates and addresses lead the viewer through the artist’s evolution of form, color and conceptualization of mail art.
“The Old Albany Post Office” features wall-mounted works exploring the use of laser-cut postage stickers. The series references nostalgia and replacement of old analog processes with more modern technologies.
“Touch” is a series based on artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ 1979-80 performance entitled “Touch Sanitation,” for which she thanked and shook the hands of 8,500 New York City sanitation workers.
Ferraro’s “Light Switch” series includes interactive installations that allow the viewer to make “art,” or in some cases, declare the work “not art.”
An interdisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture, installation and performance, Ferraro earned a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in sculpture and a Master of Arts from the State University of New York at Albany. He attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts with dual concentration in photography and sculpture from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Ferraro is the shop supervisor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Ferraro’s award-winning work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is included in collections at Albany Institute of History & Art, Washington & Jefferson College, SUNY Fredonia, and University at Albany’s University Art Museum. In addition to visiting artist residencies and lectures, he has been published in Climbing Magazine, Hyperdrawing: Beyond the Lines of Contemporary Art, and 365 Artists 365 Days.
The Gallery at Penn College is open 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Mondays and Saturdays.
In addition to serving as an educational resource for Penn College students and a cultural asset to the college and community, The Gallery at Penn College is dedicated to promoting art appreciation through exhibitions of contemporary art.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free at 800-367-9222.
