Past Events

Spring 2024

January 23 through February 24, 2024

Setting the Stage: The Work of Carl Sprague

First Friday, Feb 2: Reception and Tour
Tour the exhibition with the artist at 5:30pm
Reception: 6:30 to 8:00pm, music provided by Alan Thomson Jazz Trio

Join us for a tour of the exhibition with the artist, followed by a reception coinciding with Albany’s First Friday.

SAT January 27, 2:00pm Puppet Show: The Very Late Christmas Present

During the Prague Spring of 1968, Carl Sprague’s father smuggled a puppet theater and a dozen marionettes through the Iron Curtain in a rented VW Beetle. Here in the US, his grandmother, Maria Krofta, spent a year restoring it before revealing it to her astonished grandchildren, including Carl, one Christmas. Sprague will perform a play he wrote about the family marionette theater, called “The Very Late Christmas Present,” in the gallery on January 27.

THURS February 8, 6:30pm ONLINE Panel Discussion: Art on Stage & Screen
Carl Sprague and Colleagues

Large stage and screen productions require many artists to bring stories to life. Join us for an online conversation about how art and design plays a role in film and theater projects.

Panelists:

• Carl Sprague, art director & concept artist, has worked in the art departments of more than 40 films, which between them have a combined total of 35 Oscar nominations.
• Dan Courchaine has been a working scenic artist for over 30 years. His work can be seen on stage and screen both large and small. A few examples of his work can be seen on screen in Jumanji, The Cider House Rules, The Departed, American Hustle, and Crisis in Six Scenes. He has worked with Carl Sprague on a wide variety of projects for several decades.
• Deborah Newhall, costume designer
• Perry Grebin, graphic designer for films

FRI February 23, 6-9pm Supper Club

6pm cocktail hour followed by 7pm dinner

Tickets, includes food and beverage.

• $70 plus tax, per ticket
• $63 plus tax, per ticket for members

Cocktail Hour

• A selection of beer and wine and/or special mocktail

Appetizers

• Korean BBQ Chicken Skewers/ Kimchee Ranch Dipping Sauce
• Mini Veggie Gyro/ Grilled Vegetables/ Tzatziki Sauce/ Pickled Red Onion

Entrée Buffet

• Asian Cucumber Salad/ Soy/ Black Vinegar/ Sesame/ Torn Basil/ Chili Crunch Oil
• Jamaican Jerk Chicken/ Local Farm Raised Chicken Roasted Bone-In
• Vegetable Curry Stew/ Sweet Potatoes/ Tomato/ Chickpea/ Red Onion/ Cashew Yogurt
• Steamed Basmati Rice Pilaf
• Lime & Chile Roasted Baby Potatoes/ Fresh Herbs/ Roasted Garlic/ Fried Shallots

Dessert

• Michigan Cherry Crumb Cake

Chef Humble is Brandon Schatko, a private chef based in the Capital Region and the Adirondacks. He focuses his menu on seasonal and intuitively inspired creations.

Enjoy an evening of art, delicious local cuisine, and lively conversation.
Link to purchase tickets

FALL 2023

 

Séance: Photographs by Shannon Taggart

October 31 through December 9

 

 

 

 

 

Events

Friday, November 3: Talk and Reception

5:30pm: Shannon Taggart will present a talk on her work in the gallery lecture hall 6:30pm to 8:00pm: Artist’s reception in the gallery

Saturday, November 4: Conversation

2:00pm: Conversation between Shannon Taggart and Dr. Ann D. Braude, Director of Women’s Studies in Religion at Harvard Divinity School 

Friday, November 17: PechaKucha

6:30pm snacks, 7:00pm talks.

PechaKucha is a slide show of 20 images, each auto-advancing after 20 seconds. Short talks about anything by interesting people. Beer provided by Druthers. Snacks by Honest Weight Food Coop

 

FRI, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.

Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company at Opalka

 

ESDC dancers perform in the Séance exhibition.  Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company will be at Opalka for a site-specific performance in response to the current exhibition, Seance: Photographs by Shannon Taggart.

 

 

FRI Sept. 1 First Friday. 6pm to 9pm, Celebrate First Friday, Pop-Up Beer Garden

FRI Sept. 8, 6pm to 9pm, Opening Reception, in conjunction with Pop-Up Beer Garden, Alliance for Creative Economy night
6:30pm:  Performance by Aarati Akkapeddi 

FRI Sept. 15, 6pm to 9pm, Pop-Up Beer Garden, Student Appreciation night   

Sat., Sept. 30 Panel: 2:00pm To Be-Named Panel Discussion
With exhibition curator Krista Caballero and panelists Jean-Marc Superville Sovak and Sayo’:klʌ Kindness Williams

FRI, Oct 6, Gallery open 5pm to 8pm, First Friday
6:00pm:  Performance by Aarati Akkapeddi 

 

 

SPRING 2023

 

Sage Art+Design BFA Exhibition

Reception May 5, 5- 8pm

May 5 through June 2, 2023

Annual Showcase featuring senior work from the Sage College Art+Design BFA Program.

 

 

 

 

March 7, 2023 through April 22, 2023

UP SOUTH: Reflections on the Great Migration by ransome

In collaboration with Black Dimensions in Art, Inc., Opalka Gallery is pleased to present a new solo exhibition from the artist ransome. Over a sixty-year period, Black people left behind poverty and Jim Crow in search of new lives in the North, Midwest, and West. In new paintings, installation, and sculpture, he reflects on this defining moment in America’s history and the ways in which his work is interwoven with this historic narrative.

Exhibition Event

FRI, March 17th
6:00-8:00pm
OPENING RECEPTION and TOUR at 5:30

SAT, April 15
1:00-2:30pm
Family Art Day with artist Maya Lewis

TUES, April 18
6:30pm
Virtual Book Club Discussion: Isabel Wilkerson’s “The Warmth of Other Suns”
Opalka’s first-ever book club! Join us!
Save the date, and return for the link.

SAT, March 25th
12:00-1:00pm
Rapp Road: A Story of Migration
Learn the story of Rapp Road Community Historic District, as told by Pastor Clarence Samuel Johnson accompanied by the Macedonia Baptist Church Gospel Choir.

THURS, March 30th  Artist Talk: ransome
4- 5pm Navigating a Studio Art Career – The artist ransome will work with participants toward understanding the process of establishing and maintaining a studio art career.

ART@APL Event

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART AT APL ARTIST TALK: Anya Ulinich

Note: This talk, originally scheduled for 2/22, was rescheduled to 3/25 due to weather.
SAT. March 25, 2023, 2pm
NOTE: This event meets at the Pine Hills Library
517 Western Avenue, Albany
Large Meeting Room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibition events for exCHANGE: Teaching and Mentorship in Creative Practice
Russell Sage College, Department of Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition 2023

TOUR & RECEPTION
FRI, February 17, 6:00-7:30pm  Music by Alan Thomson Trio
Come early for a tour given by participating faculty at 5:30pm, reception at 6:00pm

(VIRTUAL) POETRY READING
THURS, February 9, 6:30pm 
Professor Melody Davis & Larry Moore, publisher, Broadstone Books, present Broadstone poets: Philip Brady, Sara Cahill Marron, Michael Joyce, and Mervyn Taylor

PECHAKUCHA NIGHT
FRI, February 10, 6:30- 8:30pm
Snacks at 6:30pm; Presentations start at 7:00pm
Sponsored by Druthers

THURS, February 9, 6:30pm
(VIRTUAL) POETRY READING

Professor Melody Davis & Larry Moore, publisher, Broadstone Books, present Broadstone poets: Philip Brady, Sara Cahill Marron, Michael Joyce, and Mervyn Taylor

THURS, January 5, 6:00pm

Sarah Sweeney: A Conversation with My Deepfake Dad

FALL 2022

FRI, November 11, 2022, 6:00-8:00pm

Some Bodies: Subject, Object, & Identity in Nursing, Medicine, & Art

Opening Reception

Some Bodies: Subject, Object, and Identity in Nursing, Medicine, and Art 

Corinne Botz, Clarity Haynes, Oliver Herring, Kaisu Koski, Gracelee Lawrence, Lisa Nilsson, Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Sarah Sweeney, & Armando Veve

For more on this exhibition please see Exhibitions.

TUES, November 15, 2022, 6:00pm

A conversation with author Rachel E. Gross and artist Armando Veve:

Visual inspiration for Rachel E. Gross’s Vagina Obscura

 

 

 

 

Gross and Veve will discuss how they co-created a world that zooms in on the organs of the female (and nonbinary) body as uniquely active, dynamic, and regenerative. A visionary journey into anatomy and time. Armando Veve is an illustrator working in Philadelphia. His drawings have been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, Spectrum, and the Society of Illustrators in NY. He was named an ADC Young Gun by The One Club for Creativity and selected to the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Armando Veve is an illustrator working in Philadelphia. His drawings have been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, Spectrum, and the Society of Illustrators in NY. He was named an ADC Young Gun by The One Club for Creativity and selected to the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

A special selection of Veve’s artwork will also be on display at the gallery as part of the upcoming Some Bodies exhibit.

This program is co-sponsored by the Opalka Gallery and The Women’s Institute at Russell Sage College.

 

Celebrate Opalka!

FRI, October 21, 6pm to 9pm

Join us to celebrate 20 years of Opalka Gallery & its benefactors
Chet & Karen Opalka, their founding & ongoing support for the Gallery,
& their vision of a thriving, collaborative regional arts community.

Eclectic food and drinks+Live Performances+Art+Good and Gracious Vibes

Panel Discussion: Composing Acts of Resistance

FRI, October 7, 6pm to 7:40pm

Artist Talk: Josh MacPhee

October 6, 2022, 6:30pm

Join us for this in-person artist talk with Josh MacPhee, organizer of one of our current exhibits, Graphic Liberation! Josh MacPhee is a designer, artist, and archivist. He is a founding member of both the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and Interference Archive, a public collection of cultural materials produced by social movements based in Brooklyn, NY (InterferenceArchive.org). MacPhee is the author and editor of numerous publications, including Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now and Signal: A Journal of International Political Graphics and Culture. He has organized the Celebrate People’s History poster series since 1998 and has been designing book covers for many publishers for the past decade (AntumbraDesign.org). His most recent book is An Encyclopedia of Political Record Labels (Common Notions, 2019), a compendium of information about political music and radical cultural production.

Pop-Up Beer Gardens Return!

Back by popular demand, we present three fun-filled nights, this year with a twist. Two of these events will be on the Albany campus, with the third moving to the Russell Sage campus in Troy!

September 16, 6pm-9pm, outside Opalka Gallery

Concurrent with the reception for the Screenprint Biennial and Graphic Liberation!

• Food from Meadowlark, La Capital Tacos, and O’Malley’s Oven
• Beverages from Druther’s Brewing, Schmaltz Brewing and Motor Oil Coffee
• Music from Graham Tichy and Caity Gallagher

September 23, 6pm-9pm, outside Opalka Gallery

Hispanic Heritage Night in collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Food from Oaxaquena Triqui, Grammy’s Tamales
• Beverages from Rare Form Brewing and Nine Pin Cider Works
• Music from Joe Barna’s Latin Ensemble and DJ RVMBA

September 30, 6pm to 9pm, in Sage Park on the Troy campus!

A special Troy Night Out edition of the Pop-Up Beer Garden. Sage community members can take the Sage Shuttle from Albany.

• Food from Emak and Bolio’s Albany, and more to be announced!
• Beverages from Frog Alley Brewing and Fort Orange Brewing
• Music from Frenchy and the Punk and Jules

SPRING 2022

PLEASE NOTE: Per Russell Sage College policy, visitors wear masks OR show proof of vaccination while indoors. Masks are optional for vaccinated patrons and required for unvaccinated patrons.

CLOSING EVENT

Coffee & Conversation with Dr. Robert Shane & Judith Braun

SAT, April 23, 2022, 11am

Join us for a closing conversation with Braun and art critic and curator, Dr. Robert Shane. The two will talk informally in the gallery about the humor throughout Braun’s work and its historical context. Shane recently reviewed the exhibition in the Brooklyn Rail. Dr. Robert R. Shane received his PhD in Art History and Criticism at Stony Brook University and, until recently, was the gallery program coordinator at Collar Works, Troy, NY. He was recently named Associate Curator at the University Art Museum at University at Albany. Cider donuts and coffee provided.

LIVE PERFORMANCE BY ELLEN SINOPOLI DANCE COMPANY

FRI, April 1, 7:00-8:00pm

In collaboration with Judith Braun, the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company will perform a series of site-specific dances in response to the exhibition. Braun’s larger-than-life, black and white paintings, their placement on mobile frames, and the enormous wall installations establish an environment of bold mood, and intrigue. New choreography, jazz and blues, and costumes designed by Kim Vanyo ensure an evening of surprise, humor, and drama. Tickets $24. 

EXHIBITION TOUR

ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION

Pieced Together: Collage Artists Talk About Process

MON, March 28, 7 pm to 8pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please join us for a unique opportunity to learn more about the artistic process with three regional artists from the latest Art at APL exhibition, Pieced Together. Our panel will feature collage artists Paula Drysdale Frazell, Juan Hinojosa, & Beth Humphrey.

Art at APL is curated by Opalka Gallery of the Sage College of Albany, and is generously underwritten by the Friends and Foundation of Albany Public Library. This event was recorded, watch below:

 

 

Reception: Judith Braun: My Pleasure

FRI,  MARCH 4, 5:30pm to 8:30pm

Opalka Gallery is pleased to present Judith Braun: My Pleasure, a solo exhibition of new work, on view February 22 through April 23, 2022. Fifteen paintings and a series of functional painted sculptures will be included along with two site-specific murals and one large photocopy installation from 1993. This is an in-person event; refreshments will be served outside, weather permitting.

 

 

 

THEATER & POETRY

THURS, FEB. 24, 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Stage & Stanza honors visual artist Michael Oatman and makeup artist Recinda Robinson in an evening of conversation, stories and poetry. This week, host Carol Durant is joined by actor/director Sheilah London as co-host. Watch below:

LIVE DRAWING 

SAT, FEB. 26, 12pm-4pm

Artist Judith Braun will be creating a large fingerprint wall drawing live in the gallery.

 

 

Nathaniel Donnett, Artist/Cultural Practitioner

THURS, FEB. 3, 6:30pm

Opalka Gallery welcomes artist Nathaniel Donnett for an informal lecture.

Included in Opalka’s current exhibition, “Shifting Gaze: A Reconstruction of the Black and Hispanic Body in Contemporary Art,” Nathaniel Donnett is a multi-disciplinary artist who works and lives in Houston, TX. He is currently in residency at MCLA’s Art Lab in North Adams, MA. Donnett is interested in the metaphysical and phenomenological connections between imagination and experience. His piece, “Reflect 6,” on display at Opalka, features a portrait of a young girl holding a mirror–a painting made on patched together brown paper bags. Using varied materials while juxtaposing unrelated ideas to depict the poetics in the everyday, Donnett seeks to find the nuance and meaning in the overlooked and undervalued, revealing humanity’s imaginative and practical cosmologies.

EXHIBITION TOUR

Shifting Gaze tour with collector Dr. Robert B. Feldman and Judie Gilmore

SAT, FEB. 5, 11am

Join us on the last day of this striking exhibition, Shifting Gaze: A Reconstruction of the Black & Hispanic Body in Contemporary ArtExhibitions, from the Collection of Dr. Robert B. Feldman as Dr. Feldman and Opalka Director Judie Gilmore guide you through the exhibition. Donuts and coffee will be served. $5 suggested donation.

LECTURE

Esther Adler, MoMA Curator, Drawings and Prints

TUES, FEB. 8, 4pm

Opalka Gallery and the Department of Visual & Performing Arts at Russell Sage College welcome Museum of Modern Art curator Esther Adler for a lecture on contemporary art museum display practices on Tuesday, February 8 at 4:00pm.

Esther Adler is a curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Museum of Modern Art. Her exhibition “Joseph E. Yoakum: What I Saw” is on view at MoMA through March 19, 2022, and will travel to The Menil Collection in April, having opened at the Art Institute of Chicago on June 12, 2021. Most recently, she organized “Betye Saar: The Legends of Black Girl’s Window” (with Christophe Cherix, 2019), “Charles White: A Retrospective” (with Sarah Kelly Oehler, 2018) and “Charles White — Leonardo da Vinci,” curated by David Hammons (2017). Past projects include “Dorothea Rockburne: Drawing Which Makes Itself”(2013), “American Modern: Hopper to O’Keeffe” (2013), and “Gifted: Collectors and Drawings at MoMA,” 1929–1983 (2011). Her talk at Opalka is entitled “A Dynamic Collection: Current Display Practices at The Museum of Modern Art.”  Prior to joining The Museum of Modern Art in 2005, Adler worked at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden as a graduate fellow, and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Adler holds a BA from Brandeis University, and an MA from the University of Maryland.

This lecture is free and open to the public but visitors must wear a mask and present a Sage ID or proof of vaccination in the form of a CDC card or photo of one or NY Excelsior Pass. A Q&A on the topic of careers in the museum field will follow Adler’s talk.

 

 

STUDENT EVENT

THURS. Jan 27, 5:30pm to 6:30pm SAGE STUDENTS ONLY

Behind the Scenes at Opalka–get a tour of Shifting Gaze with a behind the scenes look at how exhibitions are made–from idea to the gallery walls! Free hot chocolate! Sage ID and masks required.

 

FALL 2021

Most online events were recorded and you can watch them on our Past Online Events page.

(Virtual) Shifting Gaze Panel Discussion

WEDS, December 1, 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Join us for a virtual panel discussion led by Mennello Museum Executive Director and Shifting Gaze curator, Shannon Fitzgerald with artists Radcliffe Bailey, Nate Lewis, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, and Carlos Vega. 

 

Guided Meditation with Tara Herrick Brown of INUR Wellness

TUES, December 7, 2021 6:30pm

The theme of this guided meditation is: settling into what shows up in our lives (like it or not). We have all experienced massive transitions over the past year or more. Changes can often sway us out of our center, especially when we feel we have little choice in the matter. Anxiety, sadness and overall unease can arise when we feel askew. Let’s reconnect and align with ourselves even amid uncertainty, This is an in-person event, but if you can’t make it, you can follow along from home at this link: Tara Herrick Brown at Insight Timer

Shifting Gaze Exhibition Tour

FRI, November 26, 3pm

On the day after Thanksgiving, join gallery director Judie Gilmore for a tour of this impressive exhibition! The Albany Times Union called this show “terrific.” “There is a lot to work with and a lot to simply enjoy.”–William Jaeger in the Albany Times Union. So get out of the house and bring your out-of-town guests to Opalka! Suggested donation: $10.

Stage & Stanza Transgender Day of Remembrance

THURS, November 18, 7:00pm

In partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Stage & Stanza presents an evening to honor the memory of transgender individuals whose lives were lost in acts of transgender violence. For more information about this in-person event, please see the Stage & Stanza page.

 

THURS, November 11,  6pm

Eli Hariton, once an industrial designer, then restaurateur, and now lead interior designer at TVL Creative in Denver, CO, and recent contestant on HGTV’s Design Star: Next Generation will speak on his work and career.

Supper Club @ Opalka SOLD OUT!

SAT, November 13, 2021
6pm cocktail hour
7pm dinner and discussion

Celebrating the current exhibition highlighting the collection of Dr. Robert B. Feldman, Shifting Gaze: A Reconstruction of the Black and Hispanic Body in Contemporary Art

$50 individual / $95 couple (plus tax)
Price includes one beverage ticket per guest.
Space is limited.

DINNER PROVIDED BY TARA KITCHEN
Appetizers Moroccan brochette, orange salad shooters, potato briouats, and Kefta puffs Main Course Arugula salad, preserved lemon chicken with green olives tagine, seven-vegetable coucous with dried fruit Dessert Baklava

Enjoy delicious local cuisine, thought-provoking art, and lively conversation.

Extended gallery hours during Russell Sage College Fire Night & NYSATA Reception in the Little Gallery

FRI, November 5, 5:00 to 8:00pm

In conjunction with the RSC Art+Design Department’s Annual Fire Night, to be held behind the Administration building, and the NYSATA Teachers as Artists exhibition reception from 5 to 6:30pm in the Little Gallery in Rathbone Hall, Opalka Gallery will be open until 8pm on FRI, Nov. 11.

Shifting Gaze Opening Reception

FRI Oct. 22, 2021 5:30pm to 8:00pm

FEATURING THE ARTISTS: Nina Chanel Abney, Farley Aguilar, Radcliffe Bailey, Yoan Capote, Nathaniel Donnett, Mark Thomas Gibson, Luis Gispert, Clotilde Jiménez, Jennie C. Jones, Samuel Levi Jones, Nate Lewis, Kyle Meyer, Lavar Munroe, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ebony G. Patterson, Lamar Peterson, Wanda Raimundi-Oritz, Paul Henry Ramirez, Jamel Shabazz, Vaughn Spann, Shawn Theodore, Mickalene Thomas, Hank Willis Thomas, Carlos Vega, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Nate Young. 

For more info about this exhibition, please visit our exhibitions page.

Pop-Up Beer Gardens

FRI, Sept. 10, FRI, Sept. 17 and FRI, Oct. 1, 6pm -9pm

Join us for the return of our popular Pop-Up Beer Gardens.

Conversation with Adam Frelin

FRI, Sept. 10, 6:30

Join artist Adam Frelin outside the gallery for an outdoor, in-person tour and discussion about Frelin’s work, public art, and his recent installations, “Erratics,” the signs placed around campus, and “Summit,” the mountain on the roof of Opalka.

Outdoor Yoga with Carrie Will of Yoga Care

THURS, Sept. 16, 6pm

Mohawk Hudson Regional Exhibition Reception & Awards Ceremony

FRI, Sept. 17, 5pm-7pm

Join us for an artist’s reception and award ceremony for the Opalka artists of the Mohawk Hudson Regional Exhibition. This fall, for the first time in its 85 year history, the Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region Exhibition will be presented simultaneously in three locations: Albany Center Gallery, Opalka Gallery and Albany International Airport Gallery. Each venue had it’s own juror: Artist Alisa Sikelianos-Carter chose work for Albany Center Gallery, Tommy Gregory, Public Art Program Sr. Manager and Curator for the Port of Seattle, chose for for the Albany International Airport Gallery and Pamela Salisbury, owner and director of the Pamela Salisbury Galley in Hudson, NY, chose work for Opalka. Each venue will have their own awards reception. Albany International Airport Gallery, 3rd Floor, Main Terminal, 737 Albany Shaker Rd, Albany, NY:  THUR, Sept. 16, 6-8pm. Albany Center Gallery, 488 Broadway, Suite 107, Albany, NY: SAT, Sept. 18, 3-5pm.

SPRING 2021

Conversation@Opalka: Adam Frelin

Thurs. May 6, 2021 at 6:00pm

Adam Frelin will be on campus for this outdoor event to talk with
Opalka Director Judie Gilmore about his site-specific project, Erratics, which includes Summit, the mountain on top of the gallery. These projects will be on view through Spring of 2022. Join us for the outdoor event, rain or shine! Click here more info about this project.

Masks and distancing required on campus. COVID health form required to enter the gallery.

 

TUES, April 20, 6pm

(Virtual) Artist Lecture: Ann Le

Co-sponsored by Opalka Gallery, the Dept. of Visual & Performing Arts, and The Women’s Institute at Russell Sage College

Ann Le has always dealt with identity, culture, family history, and the duality of becoming Vietnamese-American in her work. Inspired by the cultural contexts in her life, she correlates the artificial with remembrances of generational trauma. Sentiment is vital in her works as she questions her personal experiences to construct imposing art.  She excavates her lineage by revisiting her family’s experiences by using personal and found images to reconstruct slippages in time and history. As layers of images are stacked upon one another, Le travels through time commenting on the idea of home, displacement, separation, and how we embrace and conquer loss. Tragic and Poetic composites are pieced together to unravel narratives which places her Vietnamese-American perspective into a contemporary landscape. Ann Le was born in San Diego, CA and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. 

TUES., April 6, 2021, 7pm

Virtual Opening Reception for The 43rd Annual PhotoRegional: Youth Spotlight

Join us for a Virtual opening reception as we celebrate the 32 young artists featured in this year’s Photo Regional, as well as the jurors, Khidr Joseph, a Brooklyn-based photographer and Russell Sage College alumni (class of ‘18), Jayana LaFountaine, a local professional photographer with her own business, and Anna Schupack, a student activist and photographer currently enrolled at Bard College.

WEDS, April 7, 6:30pm

Virtual Reception and Tour for Terry James Conrad: Object Permanence

For the virtual opening reception of his solo survey exhibition, Object Permanence, artist Terry James Conrad gave a virtual tour of the exhibition in conversation with Opalka Director Judie Gilmore. This event was recorded. Please see Past Online Events for the video.

THURSDAY NIGHTS

Dispatches from the Iowa Booth

For this Thursday night virtual series, starting February 11, Terry James Conrad will present artists, scientists and musicians who inspire him. All of these events were recorded. Watch them here: Past Online Events.

Schedule:

Feb. 11, 7pm, Terry James Conrad hosts Silvia Secchi, Associate Professor of Geographical & Sustainability Sciences, University of Iowa. Secchi is interested in the nexus between humans and the environment, the tools and methodologies we use to understand it, the policies we adopt to change it, and the pedagogy of teaching it.

Feb. 18, 7pm, Terry James Conrad hosts Dr. Joan Bernhard, Senior Scientist, Geology & Geophysics Department, University of Iowa. Joan M. Bernhard, Ph.D., is an oceanographer who largely studies microscopic marine protists called foraminifera. While Joan’s research concentrates on biological attributes, including cell biology and ecology, the questions she asks typically have geological and/or paleontological implications and repercussions.

Feb. 25, 7pm, Terry James Conrad hosts musician Tommy Santee Klaws. Tommy Santee Klaws has existed in some form since 2001, conjuring miniature tornadoes around Southern California. Like some of the best Los Angeles new-folky type acts, Tommy Santee Klaws understands the trick of making nostalgia work both ways; into some bright future and the virtuous, murky past.

March 4, 7pm, Terry James Conrad hosts artist Donté Hayes. Donté K. Hayes graduated summa cum laude from Kennesaw State University at Kennesaw, Georgia with a BFA in Ceramics and Printmaking with an Art History minor and received his MA and MFA with honors from the University of Iowa. He utilizes printmaking, installation, and performance to elevate the importance of his ceramic sculptures as a historical and creative base material to inform memories of the past.

March 11, 7pm, Terry James Conrad hosts Interdisciplinary artist/musician Brian Dewan. Brian Dewan is an artist who works in many media, including art, music, audio-visual performances, decorative painting, furniture design, poetry and musical instrument design. He has produced four albums of songs and concertized extensively as a solo artist, as well as having performed in various collaborations and as a sideman.

WEDS, February 17, 6:30pm

(Virtual) Artist Lecture: Terry James Conrad

Co-sponsored by Opalka and the RSC Dept. of Visual & Performing Arts

This event was recorded. Watch it here:Past Online Events. A native of New York, Terry James Conrad is a 2017 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Drawing, Printmaking and Book Arts and was the 2015-16 Grant Wood Fellow in Printmaking and has been awarded residencies at Frans Masereel Centrum (Belgium), Penland School of Craft (North Carolina), and the Vermont Studio Center. He has had solo, two-person and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Conrad is currently Assistant Professor and Program Head of Printmaking at University of Iowa and an Iowa Print Media Faculty Fellow. He previously taught at Skidmore College and assisted his partner Rachel Ziegler-Sheridan in founding the Round Lake School, which is a preschool/residency in Round Lake that follows the teaching philosophies of Reggio Emelia. Conrad is represented by Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri.

WEDS, March 17, 1pm

(Virtual) Artist Lecture: Saki Mafundikwa

Join us for this special event live from Zimbabwe as renowned graphic designer Saki Mafundikwa talks about his art and career. Co-sponsored by Opalka and the RSC Dept. of Visual & Performing Arts.This event was recorded. Watch it here:Past Online Events.

Mafundikwa is the founder and director of the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA) a design and new media training college in Harare. He has an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University. He returned home in 1998 to found ZIVA after working in New York City as a graphic designer, art director and design educator. His book, Afrikan Alphabets: the Story of Writing in Africa was published in 2004. Besides being of historical importance, it is also the first book on Afrikan typography. It is currently out of print. His award-winning first film, Shungu: The Resilience of a People  had its world premiere at 2009’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Active on the international lecture circuit, he was a speaker at TED2013 in Long Beach, California.

He keynoted the first ever Pan African Design Institute (PADI) conference in Ghana in February, 2019. He spoke at the TED/PMI event in Dar-es-Salaam in September, 2019. He has also run workshops for design students in Europe, North, South and Central America, and Afrika.

He has been published widely on design and cultural issues and is currently working on a revised edition of Afrikan Alphabets which he hopes will be published in 2021. He lives and farms in Harare, Zimbabwe.

FALL 2020

Note: Most of our Fall 2020 events were recorded. Recordings can be found here.

THURS. December 3, 6:30pm

(Virtual) Artist Lecture: Christina Tenaglia

Christina Tenaglia has been a recipient of a purchase award grant from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2018, a NJ State Arts Council Fellowship Award for Sculpture in 2014, the W.K. Rose Fellowship in the Creative Arts in 2011, and has received fellowships for residencies at The MacDowell Colony, I-Park, and Catwalk. She has been in numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York and elsewhere and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Vassar College, living and working in Saugerties, NY. https://www.christinatenaglia.com

TUES. December 1, 7:00pm

Stage & Stanza: Sanchez, Shange, & Millay

Stage & Stanza, a poetry and theater series brought to you by The Theatre Institute at Sage and Opalka Gallery, in partnership with local poet and playwright, Carol Durant, continues with an evening honoring Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Presented with The Women’s Institute at Russell Sage College.

And please see the Stage & Stanza page here for more info.

THURS. November 12, 6:30pm

(Virtual) Artist Lecture: Yura Adams

TUES. November 10, 7:00pm

Creative Careers Panel Discussion

A panel discussion about careers in the arts, from what to get a degree in to what to expect in the workplace. Brought to you in partnership with The New York State Art Teachers Association, Region 6, Russell Sage College, Opalka Gallery and the Capital Area Art Supervisors.

WHEN: Tuesday, November 10th, 7:00PM

With Keynote Speaker,  Russell Sage College President Christopher Ames and guest speakers: Leah Rico (Graphic Design), Jamey Stevenson (Game Design), Jayana LaFountaine (Photo), Darian Henry (Video), Matt McElligott (Fine arts/Illustration), Tara Fracalossi (Arts admin/Museum), Beth Thomas (K-12 Art Education)

 

 

MON. November 2, 6:30pm

Guided Meditation: Finding Calm in Chaos with Tara Herrick Brown

As we anticipate the massive transitions unfolding in our country and communities, many of us are personally experiencing aspects of this unease. Tara Herrick Brown, M.S. will lead you through a virtual, guided meditation, delving into what is coming up for you, both personally and collectively. She will guide you through the Buddhist practice, Tonglen,  helping find empathy and presence within the chaos. Check back for zoom link. Opalka is pleased to partner with INUR Wellness and The Women’s Institute at Russell Sage College on this event.

TUES. October 27

6:30pm Virtual Opening Reception & Curator’s Tour

7:00pm. Artist Conversation: Artist/Woman. Woman/Artist.

Join us on Zoom for a virtual reception for Unraveling at 6:30pm, followed by Artist/Woman. Woman/Artist., a panel discussion with the artists and moderated by Nicole Hayes, curator at Art Omi,  at 7pm. We’re pleased to partner with the new Women’s Institute at Russell Sage for this panel discussion.

NOTE: This event was recorded. Watch it here.

THURS. October 29, 6:30pm

(Virtual) Artist Lecture: Melinda McDaniel

NOTE: This event was recorded. Watch it here.

Melinda McDaniel grew up in Florida, inspired by the visual overload of Walt Disney World and the endless light at the center of the state’s predictable weather. Her current work involves collaged ceramic figurines that play out and exaggerate the complexities of human emotional connections. She received a BFA in studio art from Florida State University and an MFA in photography from The Ohio State University. Her work has exhibited at SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the Governors Island Art Fair in New York, the BRIC Rotunda Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, Illinois. In 2014 Melinda received the Emerging Artist Award from the Arts Center of the Capital Region in New York. She calls Albany, New York home where she is also an assistant professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Russell Sage College. https://www.melindamcdaniel.com/

MON. October 5, 7:00pm

Artists in Conversation

Join Opalka Director Judie Gilmore in conversation with Infinite Uncertainty artists Ever Baldwin, Cyndy Barbone, Pauline Decarmo, and Richard Garrison. This is an online event.

TUES. October 6, 6:30pm

(Virtual) Artist Lecture: Lisa Maione

NOTE: This event was recorded. Watch it here.

Lisa J. Maione is an art director, designer, and educator. Lisa cut her teeth in New York City at various studios including 2×4, Pentagram, mgmt. design, Wolff Olins, and Metropolis magazine before starting an independent studio practice. Lisa holds a BFA and an MFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a post-graduate certificate in Typeface Design from Type@Cooper NYC. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri. http://lisamaione.com

THURS. September 1

Infinite Uncertainty Virtual Opening Reception

THURS. August 27 7:00 to 8:45

Stage & Stanza: Dr. Mars Hill & James Baldwin

Introducing a new series Stage & Stanza, a new poetry and theater series brought to you by The Theatre Institute at Sage and Opalka Gallery, in partnership with local poet and playwright, Carol Durant.

Please see the Stage & Stanza page here for more info.

 

SUMMER 2020

Join us for a one-night only, take-out only Summer version of our popular Beer Garden series!

Saturday, June 20. Get the details here.

THURS June 25, 2020

Introducing a new series Stage & Stanza, a new poetry and theater series brought to you by The Theatre Institute at Sage and Opalka Gallery, in partnership with local poet and playwright, Carol Durant.

The first reading in the series will be on June 25, 2020. Please see the Stage & Stanza page here for more info.

SPRING 2020

Events from March 15 on were conducted online. See links below for recordings where applicable.

So You Want to Go to Art School?
Panel Discussion

As part of our High School Regional exhibition, we are hosting a panel discussion all about art school: applying, getting in and what to expect. Hear from Sage Art+Design professors and one student in the Art+Design program.

Panelists
Lynn Capirsello, Interior+Spatial Design
William Fillmore, Art+Extended Media
Amy Griffin, Exhibitions and Marketing Manager, Opalka Gallery
Matthew McElligott, Graphic and Media Design
Leah Rico, Graphic+Media Design
Madison Scisci, Senior in Art+Extended Media

Moderated by Opalka Director Judie Gimore

This was conducted via Zoom Webinar and recorded. It can be viewed on YouTube at this link. 

Pop-Up Yoga with Jammella Anderson

This was a remote class conducted on Opalka’s Facebook Live page. It is still available there. 
All levels welcome. Pay what you can.
Donations can be made directly to Jammella:
Venmo: Jammella-Anderson
Cashapp: $JammellaAnderson
PayPal: [email protected]

Artist Talk: Laetitia Hussain

Laetitia Hussain is a process artist who works across multiple media including drawing, installation, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, sound and video. Her imagery and forms address psychological and emotional responses to environmental issues, including challenges related to mental illness. She has exhibited at John Davis Gallery (Hudson), Sculpture Space (Utica), Clermont Historic Site, and Basilica Hudson. A graduate from SUNY Purchase, she was born in Marseille, France and currently lives in Hudson, NY. Laetitiahussain.com

This was conducted via Zoom Webinar and recorded. It can be viewed on YouTube at this link.

Rear View Artist Talk: Paul Miyamoto with Carolyn Callner

In partnership with Albany Public Library and the APL Foundation, Opalka Gallery curated “Rear View: Life Examined” about artists and memory at the Pine Hills Branch featuring:
David Austin, Leona Christie, Gavin Christie, Daesha Devon-Harris, Meighan Gale, Paul Miyamoto, Kenneth Ragsdale, Steve Rein, and Gail Skudera. Join us for a presentation by Paul Miyamoto as he shares the inspiration for his images of the internment of naturalized citizens and Americans of Japanese descent from 1941 to 1946. Paul’s father, mother, two sisters, a brother and both grandparents were sent to Poston Camp in Arizona. Paul will be joined by Carolyn Callner, a Nisei and an internee at the Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming.

This was conducted via Zoom Webinar and recorded. It can be viewed on YouTube at this link.

Conversation @ Opalka: Careers for Art School Students

To help students gain broader knowledge about career opportunities for individuals with degrees in the arts, we gathered regional artists/creatives about their diverse paths after art and art history programs and hear about their obvious and not-so-obvious jobs and the choices that led them to their current careers.

Panelists:
Belinda Colon, curator at Arts Center Capital Region and Spring Street gallery director
Caroline Corrigan, graphic designer and illustrator
Jamel Mosely, multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur
Fernando Orellana, associate professor of digital art at Union College
Jake Winiski, Research Biologist, Ecovative Design

Moderated by Judie Gilmore, Opalka director

This was conducted via Zoom Webinar and recorded. It can be viewed on YouTube at this link.

Conversation @ Opalka: Regional Curators 

Join us as for an informal conversation with regional curators! Judie Gilmore and Amy Griffin of Opalka Gallery chatted with Julie Lohnes of the Mandeville Gallery at Union College and Julie Torres and Ellen Letcher of LABspace in Hillsdale, NY about the challenges of the current crisis.

This event was conducted via Zoom and recorded. It can be viewed on YouTube at this link.

JANUARY

FRI, Jan. 24

 

Supper Club, Vol. 5, Rise Up and Shine! 

6pm cocktail hour; 7pm dinner + discussion

$45 per individual, $85 per couple.

Enjoy delicious local cuisine, thought-provoking art, and lively conversation with JoAnne Carson about her work in the Rise Up and Shine! exhibition.

TUES, January 28

6:30pm  Melody Davis Lecture

Davis is an expert on the history of photography and in particular, stereoscopic photography. She is the author of many books about the history of photography as well as four books of poetry. Davis is a professor at The Sage Colleges. 

FEBRUARY

 

FRI, February 7

 

5pm Artist’s Tour of JoAnne Carson: Rise Up and Shine!

6pm-8pm Reception for JoAnne Carson: Rise Up and Shine! 

MON, February 10

 

6:30pm to 7:30pm Pop-Up Yoga @ Opalka with Carrie Will

All levels welcome. Bring your own mat. Props provided. Pay what you can. Co-sponsored by YogaCare NY.

FRI, February 14

PechaKucha @ Opalka

 

6:30pm Snacks, 7pm talks

PechaKucha is a fun presentation format in which speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Email [email protected] if you are interested in presenting.

TUE, February 18

5:30pm Student Reception for JoAnne Carson: Rise Up and Shine! Pizza+Art+Students!

 

6:30pm JoAnne Carson Artist Lecture

Carson creates colorful paintings, drawings and sculptures that depict exuberant objects and scenes derived from nature, but with unusual juxtapositions and playfully dark moods. She is interested in the shift from “organic” to “synthetic” nature as a defining factor of our age. Carson is a professor at the University at Albany.

TUE, February 25

6pm Guided Meditation With Tara Herrick Brown

Come quiet your mind and energize your spirit with a short guided-imagery meditation, exploring the theme of “Acceptance.”  Beginners welcome. No experience necessary. Co-sponsored by Inur Wellness.

MARCH

THURS, March 5

Film @ Opalka: Female Auteurs Series

7pm Morvern Callar (2002, 1hr 37min)

Our Female Auteurs series begins with Morvern Callar, a moody and mysterious character study from 2002 that was directed and co-written by Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here, We Need to Talk About Kevin).

Ramsay is a poetic visual stylist who excels at using small details to convey the inner worlds of her characters. In Morvern Callar, Ramsay finds a perfect match in Samantha Morton, who portrays the title character with mesmerizing depth and subtlety. Who is Morvern, and what is she thinking? To find out, you’ll have to watch (and listen) closely.

FRI, March 20

CANCELED: 5pm to 8pm The 21st Annual High School Regional Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony

This juried showcase of the artwork of regional high school students is juried this year by Rachel Baxter, Melinda McDaniel, and Jordan Nathaniel White.

MON, March 23

POSTPONED TIL FURTHER NOTICE: 6:30pm Scrimshaw Distinguished Visiting Artist Lecture: Steve Lambert 

Lambert is co-director of the Center for Artistic Activism, an institute training activists be more creative and artists to be more effective. As an artist, Lambert uses writing, video, installation and other media to craft collaborative work that leads to meaningful exchanges among ideas and people. Lambert is a professor at SUNY Purchase. 

 

 

THURS, April 16

CANCELED: Film @ Opalka: Female Auteurs Series

7pm Wendy and Lucy (2008, 1hr 20 min)

Our Female Auteurs series continues with Wendy and Lucy, a minimalist masterpiece from 2008 that was directed, co-written, and edited by Kelly Reichardt (Certain Women, Meek’s Cutoff).

Reichardt is a resourceful, unflinching filmmaker; a modern neorealist who, in her own words, makes films about people who “don’t have a safety net.” That description certainly applies to Wendy Carroll (Michelle Williams), a young woman in dire financial straits who is travelling to Alaska along with her dog Lucy. Will Wendy find a job waiting for her at the end of the road?

THURS April 30

6:30pm Laetitia Hussain Artist Lecture ONLINE ONLY, SEE ABOVE FOR LINK OF RECORDING.

MAY

FRI, May 1

Online exhibition only. View here.

Annual showcase of the best work from this year’s BFA candidates from the Sage College Art+Design program.

THURS, May 7

CANCELED: Film @ Opalka: Female Auteurs Series

6pm Toni Erdmann (2016, 2 hrs 42 mins)

Our Female Auteurs series concludes with Toni Erdmann, a wildly unique 2016 film that was directed, written, and co-produced by German filmmaker Maren Ade (Everyone Else, The Forest for the Trees).

Ade creates lively, humanistic films that portray multifaceted relationships between complex, memorable characters. In Toni Erdmann, Ade explores the nuanced connection between a workaholic executive consultant named Ines (Sandra Hüller) and her father, a divorced music teacher with a penchant for spontaneous pranks. The film deftly combines a wide range of tones to create a genre-defying hybrid of comedy, drama, political satire, and more.

Fall 2019

FRI, September 6 

 

6-9pm In-faux-structure RECEPTION, with live screenprinting by Rebekah Tolley

6-9pm BEER GARDEN + LIVE MUSIC: Pop-up Craft Beer Garden, featuring beer by Druthers and musical performance by Joe Barna’s Sketches of Influence with special guest Stacy Dillard

SAT, September 7

10:30am – 12:30pm INTERACTIVE ARTIST-LED EVENT: Community Self Care with The Everyday Feminist

THU, September 12

5:30pm CURATORS’ TOUR: Exhibition tour led by Madison LaVallee, Julie Casper Roth and Melissa Sarris

6:30pm ARTIST TALK: Lucretia Knapp & Lynne Yamamoto

FRI, September 13

6-9pm BEER GARDEN + LIVE MUSIC:

TUES, September 17

5:30pm STUDENT RECEPTION for In–faux-structure exhibition.

6:30pm OUTDOOR YOGA, with Jammella Anderson. All levels welcome, pay what you can, bring your own mat. Will be held inside in case of rain.

FRI, September 20 

6:30pm PERFORMANCE: Jason van Staveren, Albany NY, Seat of the Empire, Straight on Until Dawn: Map Presentation Ceremony

6-9pm BEER GARDEN + LIVE MUSIC: Albany Neighborhood Block Party, featuring beer by CH Evans Brewing Company and musical performance by The Magdalens

SAT, September 21

10:30am-12:30pm BIKE TOUR & PERFORMANCE: Jason van Staveren, Albany NY, Seat of the Empire, Straight on Until Dawn: Bicycle Tour of Nearby Signs

FRI, September 27

6:30pm PERFORMANCE: Oliver Peters, if we touch, our eyes will never meet, featuring Carol Durant and Paul Richer

if we touch, our eyes will never meet, as a semi-allegorical examination, approaches misnomers surrounding race, economic inequity, and the establishment of contemporary class/caste systems in this country, the omission of key factors related to the establishment of the African slave trade in the colonies, and the glancing over of events leading up to, and following, Bacon’s Rebellion. 

6-9pm BEER GARDEN + LIVE MUSIC: Students of New Scotland Ave., featuring beer by Single Cut Beersmiths and musical performance by Five Kill Records bands

WEDS, October 2

 

6:30 YOGA, with Carrie Will, co-sponsored by YogaCare. All levels welcome, pay what you can, bring your own mat. Props provided.

FRI, October 4

6-9pm BEER GARDEN + LIVE MUSIC: Beer Lovers Night, with Albany Beer Historian Craig Gravina, featuring beer from a variety of local nanobreweries and musical performance by Justin Henricks’ Boogaloo with special guest Amanda Case

7:30pm PERFORMANCE: Whitewashed, an original documentary theater performance based on Black history, current events, and the personal experiences of the cast, which includes Shirey Archie, Royal Brown, D. Colin, Diaka Kaba Hill, Sakea Martin, Tim Martin, Aaron Moore, and Josie Smith

Tickets: $12 adults, $10 seniors/students, free for Sage students with ID

THUR, October 10 

6:30pm LECTURE & DISCUSSION: Raquel Velho, Assistant Prof., Science & Technology Studies at RPI, Monuments of Care: A Discussion About Infrastructures and Maintenance 

We don’t often think about pipes and roads as objects of love or devotion. Our collective imaginations detach infrastructure from emotions, though they are entirely dependent on our capacity for care and attention. In this space, we will discuss the labor that goes into the development, maintenance and even dismantling of infrastructure to consider what it means to stop or begin caring about the infrastructures that surround us.

FRI, October 18

6:30pm PECHA KUCHA NIGHT: Infrastructure Edition—Short talks by interesting people

FRI, November 1

Chew, Food as Muse opens!
Curator’s Tour: 5:00 pm
Opening Reception: 6:00 pm to 8:00pm

Caren Alpert, Jennifer Coates, Isabel Chun, Mimi O Chun, Frida Foberg & Natasha Holmes, Brent Owens, Sang Wook Lee, Portia Munson, Dana Sherwood, & Mie Yim

For centuries, what we eat has been a muse for artists, both as subject and medium. Today, we find ourselves inundated with an abundance of food photos across social media. What’s our obsession? “Chew, Food as Muse” is a playful examination of the role food plays in contemporary culture. Eleven artists explore and comment on identity, culture, community, environment, and politics through food as muse.

THURS, November 14

6:30pm ARTIST TALK: Colin Boyd

Boyd creates alternate worlds, taking on the roles of novice naturalist, eccentric engineer, and dreamer of the supernatural. His work results in sculptural installations, fabricated ephemera and artifacts, prints, and stop-motion films that together present a collection of odd narratives that are colored by fantastical interpretations of nature and human history. 

THURS, November 21

Supper Club @ Opalka, Vol. 4

A collaborative dinner with Collar Works and Arts Letters & Numbers presented by artists Frida Foberg and Natasha Holmes. Be our guest at our Supper Club and enjoy delicious local cuisine, thought-provoking art, and lively conversation with local artists and curators connected to the CHEW exhibition. 

6pm cocktail hour; 7pm dinner + discussion
$45 per individual, $85 per couple; space is limited

TUES, December 3

6:30pm ARTIST TALK: Sara Bergman & Maureen Baker, MDLX 

Bergman and Baker spearhead MDLX, which provides interior finishing services, curating a final layer for projects that reflect magazine-worthy hospitality and amenity-driven, collaborative work spaces. Baker oversees the creative aspects of MDLX, while Bergman runs operations and facilitates business development.

Winter/Spring 2019

FRI, February 8, 5:30pm

Artist Lecture: Kenny Rivero
Presented in partnership with The Department of Art+Design at Sage Colleges

Kenny Rivero received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2006 and an MFA from the Yale School of Art in 2012. Rivero has taught painting, drawing and sculpture at the School of Visual Arts, Montclair State University, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He is the recipient of a Doonesbury Award, the Robert Schoelkopf Memorial Travel Grant, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Grant, and has been awarded a Visiting Scholar position at New York University.

He has exhibited his work in the US and abroad in venues such as the Pera Museum in Turkey, the Stedelijk Museum in the Netherlands, the Contemporary Art Museum in St Louis, The Pérez Art Museum in Miami, The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling in New York City, El Museo del Barrio in New York City, and the Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington Delaware. Residencies include the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace Program in New York City, the Roswell Artist in Residence Program in New Mexico, The Fountainhead Residency in Miami, The Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture, and The Macedonia Institute. Rivero is a Lecturer at the Yale School of Art.

FRI, February 15, 5:30/6:00pm

Music Videos + Afrofuturism: curated by Youth FX

5:30pm Sage Colleges student reception and pizza party
6:00pm Featured Videos

THURS, February 21, 4:15pm AND 7:30pm

Very Special Guest: Writer & Cultural Icon Samuel Delany

Cosponsored by the New York State Writers Institute

4:150pm – Conversation at Opalka Gallery

7:30pm – Presentation, UAlbany Downtown, Page Hall, 135 Western Ave., Albany

Samuel Delany is a one-of-a-kind giant of American literature, a disruptive practitioner of “outsider art,” an explorer of African-American and Gay identities, and one of the most influential and innovative science fiction writers of the last half century. In The Daily Beast, cultural critic Mark Dery called him, “the Grand Old Man of polymorphously perverse science fiction.” The winner of four Nebulas and two Hugos, Delany was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2013. Since 1962, he has written dozens of books, including the sci-fi classics, Babel-17 (1966), The Einstein Intersection (1967), Nova (1968), Dhalgren (1975), and the Return to Nevèrÿon series (1979-1987). Recent books include Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders(2012) and The Atheist in the Attic (2018). Delany served as Writer-in-Residence at the University at Albany in 1978.

FRI, February 22, 6-8pm

IN PLACE OF NOW OPENING RECEPTION, featuring DJ Trumastr

In Place of Now brings together emerging and established black artists whose work engages in the politically subversive acts of picturing “otherness,” reinventing the past, and reclaiming the future. Curated by writer/scholar, Rone Shavers, and Opalka Director, Judie Gilmore.

Artists: Willie Cole. Renée Cox, Shani Crowe, Krista Franklin, Wayne Hodge, Darian Longmire, Stacey Robinson, Alisa Sikelianos-Carter

SAT, February 23, 2:30pm, doors open at 2 pm

Reality Trippin’

An afternoon of music, dance, poetry, and performance.
Presented by Black Diamond Group
Tickets: $10, Free to Sage students, faculty and staff with ID

TUE, February 26, 6:30pm, Doors open at 6pm

Camp Logan
Cosponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Opalka Gallery

The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York performs a staged reading of Camp Logan, by Celeste Bedford Walker. Directed by Jean-Remy Monnay, Founding and Artistic Director of the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York.

FRI, March 1, 6:30pm

PechaKucha: short talks by interesting people. Snacks at 6:30, talks start at 7pm

TUES, March 26, 6:30pm

Artist Lecture: Stacey Robinson 

                                                                                                     

Presented in partnership with The Department of Art+Design at Sage Colleges

Stacey Robinson, originally from Albany, NY, is an assistant professor of graphic design at the University of Illinois, is an Arthur Schomburg Fellow who completed his MFA at the University at Buffalo. His multimedia work discusses ideas of “Black utopias” as decolonized spaces of peace by considering Black affluent, self-sustaining communities, Black protest movements, and the art that document(ed) them. As part of the collaborative team, “Black Kirby,” with artist John Jennings, he creates graphic novels, gallery exhibitions, and lectures that deconstruct the work of comic book creator Jack Kirby to re-imagine resistance spaces inspired by Black diasporic cultures.

His recent exhibition, Binary ConScience, explores ideas of W.E.B. Du Bois’s “double consciousness” as a Black cultural adaptation, and a means of colonial survival. Another of his exhibitions, Branding the AfroFuture, at Union College in Schenectady, NY, looked at consciously designing and constructing Black futures through various cultural and collage aesthetics. Through his emerging sound practice, Stacey creates the sonic experience of the Afrofuture through collaging house, hip-hop, and other music to create a harmonious soundscape that converses with the aesthetics of an art exhibition. Recent works appear in books: Kid Code: Channel Zero from Rosarium Publishing and Prison Industrial Complex For Beginners, from For Beginners Books. His latest graphic novel, I Am Alfonso Jones with writer Tony Medina is available from Lee & Low books. Stick around for Blaccurate Trivia with music spun by Stacey himself.

TUES, March 26, 8 to 10 pm

Blaccurate Black Trivia Night, hosted by 518Blk

The Opalka Gallery has teamed up with 518Blk in celebration of the current exhibit, In Place of Now, to bring you Blaccurate Trivia. We’re taking trivia out of the bars and into an art gallery to curate a unique social experience! Meet new people while enjoying artwork and food from select local businesses. Our thought-provoking questions about Black history, film, literature, and culture, will have you learning and laughing as you try to win prizes for your team. Artist Stacey Robinson will dj!

WEDS, March 27, 6-7pm

POP-UP YOGA @ OPALKA 

All levels welcome. Mats and props provided, but please bring a mat if you have one. Pay what you can. Teacher: Carrie Will. Cosponsored by Yoga Care

FRI April 5, 6pm to 8pm

Outliers Poetry Brunch: On Tour

This popular poetry brunch comes to Opalka at night as poets and poetry lovers come together to hear original and popular works recited by the region’s emerging and experienced poets.

THURS April 11, 5:30pm

Curators’ Tour of In Place of Now
Join curators Judie Gilmore and Rone Shavers for a tour of this exciting exhibition.

THURS, April 11, 6:30-7:30pm

Artist Lecture: Krista Franklin

Presented in partnership with The Department of Art+Design at Sage Colleges

Krista Franklin is an interdisciplinary artist whose work appears in POETRY magazine, Black Camera, Copper Nickel, Callaloo, Vinyl, BOMB Magazine, Encyclopedia, Vol. F-K and L-Z, and multiple anthologies. She is the author of Under the Knife (Candor Arts, 2018) and Study of Love & Black Body (Willow Books, 2012). Franklin is a frequent contributor to the projects of fellow artists, including performances, prints, and voiceovers for the projects of Cauleen Smith, and the text for Ayanah Moor’s “Untitled (OFFERINGS).” Her art has exhibited at Poetry Foundation, Konsthall C, Rootwork Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Photography, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Chicago Cultural Center, National Museum of Mexican Art, and on the set of 20 th Century Fox’s Empire. Krista Franklin is also a main character in Les Impatients, a film by Aliocha Imhoff & Kantuta Quiros. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts – Book & Paper from Columbia College Chicago, and teaches Writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

FRI, April 12, 6-9pm

Supper Club @ Opalka, featuring Umana Restaurant & Wine Bar

Enjoy delicious local cuisine, thought-provoking art and lively conversation with artists and curators from the In Place of Now exhibition.

Dinner by Umana Restaurant & Wine Bar
6pm cocktail hour + tour
7pm dinner + discussion
$45 individual, $85 couple

FRI, May 3, 5-7pm

Opening Reception: SAGE ART+DESIGN BFA EXHIBITION

This annual showcase features seniors from the Sage College of Albany’s Art+Design BFA program.

WEDS, May 1, 6-7pm

POP-UP YOGA @ OPALKA  

All levels welcome. Mats and props provided, but please bring a mat if you have one. Pay what you can. Teacher: Carrie Will. Cosponsored by Yoga Care

FRI, May 17, 6:30pm snacks, talks at 7pm

PECHAKUCHA @ OPALKA

Short talks by interesting people: PechaKucha is a format in which speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each on any topic of their choosing.

Fall 2018

Sharon Bates: Exhibit B

August 28 to October 13, 2018
Opening Reception: FRI, September 7, 2018, 6pm to 8pm
Artist’s tour: TUES, September 25, 5:30pm
Artist Lecture: TUES, September 25, 6:30pm
Student Reception: THURS, October 11, 5pm to 6:30pm

2018 Screenprint Biennial

Guest curator: Nathan Meltz
November 1 through December 14, 2018
Artist Lecture, Tonja Torgerson: THUR, November 1, 6:30 pm
Opening reception: FRI, November 2, 6 pm to 8 pm
Curator’s tour: FRI, November 2, 5 pm
Screenprint Symposium: SAT, November 3, all day, see below
Steamroller Print Day, SAT, November 10, 10 am to 5 pm
Student Reception: THURS, November 8, 5 pm

Screenprint Biennial 2018 Symposium

Saturday, November 3, 2018

8:30 am-9:30 am
Light Breakfast and Jurors’ Tour 
Coffee and donuts  in the gallery and exhibition tour with Screenprint Biennial founder and juror Nathan Meltz, joined by juror Travis Janssen.

9:30 am -10:30 am
Printmaker’s Round Table:
A discussion among nationally-recognized screenprint artists Terry James Conrad and Travis Janssen, along with biennial artists Amy Cousins, Dadisi Curtis, Tonja Torgerson, Sheila Goloborotko, and Tatiana Potts as they address contemporary issues in print-based art practices. Discussion and Q&A led by curator Nathan Meltz.

10:45 am – 11:45 am
Keynote Address: Luther Davis
Keynote address from Master Printer Luther Davis, co-founder of Forth Estate, a fine art publisher focused on producing limited editions with emerging artists.

12:00 pm Lunch and Open Portfolio:
The open portfolio is a democratic event in which students present side-by-side with nationally-recognized graphic artists and graphic art faculty. Free and open to the public, symposium registration not required to attend. Participation in the open portfolio is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please contact Amy Griffin at [email protected] to reserve your spot.

2:30 pm Optional Regroup at the Tang Teaching Museum special Print Collection:
After lunch, regroup at the Tang Teaching Museum on the campus of Skidmore College to view their print collection, which is not open to the public without special appointment, with Tang Registrar, Jessica Lubniewski. Note: Transportation is not provided. Carpooling encouraged.

Tickets
Tickets include admission, coffee and donuts, and lunch: $20 in advance, $25 day of event, $10 for students with valid ID. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Steamroller Print Day 

Saturday, November 10, 2018, 10 am to 5 pm

Co-hosted by Art+Design at the Sage College of Albany in the Armory on New Scotland Avenue. Generously sponsored by Mohawk Paper. Participants will ink and print oversized, hand-carved woodblocks under the drum of a 2-ton steamroller.

Artist Lectures

Sharon Bates · Tuesday, September 25, 6:30pm

Bates repurposes the detritus of material culture to create inventive, site-specific installations, mixed-media assemblages and drawings. FYI: This talk will be preceded by an exhibition tour at 5:30 p.m.

Eleazar Hernández · Thursday, October 11, 6:30pm

Eleazar Hernández, Sage professor of Graphic + Media design professor, is a creative director, designer, illustrator, educator and author.

Tonja Torgersen · Thursday, November 1, 6:30 pm 

Torgerson is a Kansas-based artist whose work examines death and the body’s impermanence and experiments with methods and siting of print-based art.

Daesha Devón Harris · Tuesday, November 27, 6:30 pm

Using photography, video and experimental print techniques, Devón Harris’s work explores individual and collective stories and history.

Other Events

POP-UP YOGA @ OPALKA · Wednesday, September 12, 6-7pm

All levels welcome. Mats and props provided, but please bring a mat if you have one. Pay what you can. Teacher: Carrie Will. Co-sponsored with Yoga Care.

PECHAKUCHA @ OPALKA · Friday, September 21, snacks at 6:30pm, talks at 7pm

Short talks by interesting people. PechaKucha is a format in which speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Email [email protected] if you are interested in presenting.

LIVE MUSIC @ OPALKA · Saturday, September 29, 8pm

John Vanderslice: Living Room Tour

An intimate, live acoustic set by “songwriter’s songwriter” John Vanderslice. Please note: Tickets – $20, must purchased in advance from Undertow Shows

SUPPER CLUB @ OPALKA, Vol. 2: “Batesland”
Saturday, October 13
6pm cocktail hour · 7pm dinner+discussion

Dinner by New World Bistro

$45 individual, $85 couple. Space is limited.
Enjoy delicious local cuisine, thought-provoking art and lively conversation with  Sharon Bates and other regional artists.

Spring 2018

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted

Exhibitions

The 14th Annual BFA Exhibition

May 4, 2018 through June 11, 2018
Opening reception: Friday, May 4, 5-7 pm

This annual showcase features work by seniors in the Sage College of Albany Art + Design BFA programs: Fine Art, Photography, Interior Design and Graphic + Media Design. The Annual BFA Exhibition offers a glimpse of the best of what the BFA programs at Sage have to offer.

The 40th Annual Photo Regional: Effects That Aren’t Special

For the 40th Annual Photo Regional, we return to a curated format in order to get a deeper look at smaller number of regional artists working in photography. Curated by artist Tim Davis, professor of photography at Bard College.

Opening Reception: Friday, March 16, 6-8 pm
Exhibition Tour: Thursday, March 15, 5 pm
Curator Talk: Thursday, March 15, 6:30 pm
Student Reception: Tuesday, March 27, 5:30-6:30 pm
April 1st Friday event: live jazz with Lecco Morris, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Practice What You Teach: The Sage College of Albany Art+Design Faculty Show

The faculty is comprised of artists in working in multiple media–sound, photo, graphic and interior design, printmaking, sculpture, and painting. Featuring recent works by Lynn Capirsello, Jean Dahlgren, Melody Davis, William Fillmore, Eleazar Hernández, Natasha Holmes, Sean Hovendick,  Willie Marlowe, Melinda McDaniel, Matthew McElligott, Leah Rico, Terrence Tiernan, and Gary Shankman

Opening Reception: Friday, February 2, 6 – 8 pm with
performances by Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company throughout the gallery starting at 6:30 pm
Exhibition Tour: Thursday, February 8, 5:00 pm
Student Reception: Tuesday, January 23, 5-7 pm

Artist Lectures Series

Co-sponsored with th Sage Art+Design Department

Andrew Brischler
Tuesday, January 30, 6:30 p.m.

Andrew Brischler earned his BFA in Painting and Drawing at SUNY New Paltz in 2009 and his MFA at The School of Visual Arts in 2012. He just concluded two solo shows, “Lonely Planet” at Gavlak in both Los Angeles and Palm Beach. His work has  also been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe. In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Rema Hort Mann Foundation Visual Arts Grant. Brischler has been featured in numerous publications, including Architectural Digest, 100 Painters of Tomorrow (Thames & Hudson, 2014), Modern Painters, and New American Paintings. andrewbrischler.com

Alicia Ross
Thursday, February 22, 6:30 p.m.

Alicia Ross’s work explores various aspects of female identity using photography, fiber, video, and installation. Most recently noted for her large-scale embroidery work, Ross’s work embodies a unique hybridization between hand and machine. Her work blurs lines between the sacred and profane—as subject matter is appropriated from online sources, removed from their original context, and translated into stitch. Through manipulation and remediation, Ross forces the viewer to ascribe their own moral virtue to the figures. Ross’s work evokes dialog regarding the female form and the social construction of gender roles within the context of the male gaze.  aliciaross.com

Tim Davis
Thursday, March 15, 6:30 p.m.

The curator of this year’s Photography Regional, Tim Davis, is an artist, writer, and musician working in many fields. His photographs have been exhibited around the world and are in the collections of dozens of museums including the Metropolitan, Whitney, Brooklyn, Guggenheim and the Walker. His art writings are widely published, in catalog essays and magazines such as Cabinet, Bomb, Aperture and Blind Spot. Mostly working in video these days, his projects have been shown in numerous international exhibitions and Biennials. He has recently recorded an album of his original songs, entitled, “It’s OK to Hate Yourself.” Davis lives and works in Tivoli, NY and teaches at Bard College.  davistim.com

Scrimshaw Distinguished Visiting Artist Lecture: Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman
Thursday, April 12, 6:30 p.m

Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman collaboratively investigate the data tracks we amass through networked communication. Their work ties the invisible to actual sites, anchoring the ephemeral in photographs and immersive video installations. Their most well-known project, Geolocation, traces Twitter posts to the point of origin and makes a photograph to mark the location in the real world, probing the expectations of privacy surrounding social networks. www.larson-shindelman.com 

Film Series

Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Thursday, February 8, 6:30 p.m.

This Academy-Award-winning classic film tells the story of a boy who escapes his life in a war-torn village at the local movie house, and the ways it shapes his life. (155 minutes)

Point & Shoot (2015)
Tuesday, March 27, 6:30 p.m

This event is a collaboration with the award-winning documentary series POV, (www.pbs.org/pov) and WMHT Public Media. Panel discussion after the film.

Matt VanDyke was a recent grad with a love of videogames and action movies when he decided to embark on a “crash course in manhood.” As VanDyke worked to reshape himself, he also helped create a stunning portrait of how the ever-present cameras in our “selfie society” not only record our lives, but also craft who we become. Drawing from more than 100 hours of VanDyke’s action-packed travel videos, director Marshall Curry (with full creative independence in the making of the film) has created a riveting film that asks thorny questions about manhood, personal risk and the nature of war in the era of Facebook. (87 minutes)

Film and Filmmaker discussion: Dawson City: Frozen Time  (2016)
Friday, May 11, 6:00 p.m. (Please note new date and time!)

Dawson City: Frozen Time pieces together the bizarre true history of a collection of some 500 films dating, from 1910s – 1920s, which were lost for over 50 years until being discovered buried in a subarctic swimming pool deep in the Yukon Territory, in Dawson City, located about 350 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Using these permafrost protected, rare silent films and newsreels, archival footage, interviews and historical photographs to tell the story, and accompanied by an enigmatic score by Sigur Rós collaborator and composer Alex Somers the film depicts a unique history of this Canadian gold rush town by chronicling the life cycle of a singular film collection through its exile, burial, rediscovery, and salvation – and through that collection, how a First Nation hunting camp was transformed and displaced. (120 minutes)

This program is presented in partnership with Arts Letters & Numbers. ALN founder, David Gersten, will moderate a Q&A with the film’s Director, Bill Morrison, after the screening. The film and discussion will be followed by a reception in the gallery.

Yoga @ Opalka

Pop-up Yoga Class 
Wednesday, April 18, 6:00-7:15pm

All levels welcome. Yoga Care will provide mats and props, but please bring a yoga mat if you have one. Pay what you can. Teacher: Carrie Will

Co-sponsored with  Yoga Care

Open Forum @ Opalka

Diversity in The Creative Economy
Wednesday, April 11, 6-8 p.m.

Presented in partnership with 518blk and the Alliance for the Creative Economy

2018 kicks off a series of discussions where we will dive into community conversations about the region’s most pressing issues. Open Forums will be led by thought leaders, community members and other important stakeholders.

Supper Club @ Opalka

Supper Club, Vol. 1:
The Instagram Aesthetic – How is social media changing the art of photography?
Saturday, April 21, 6 p.m. cocktail hour; 7.p.m. dinner + discussion

$35 individual, $65 couple. Space is limited.

Enjoy delicious local cuisine, thought-provoking art, and lively conversation with local artists and curators connected to the Photography Regional exhibition. Catered by Tara Kitchen.

PechaKucha

PechaKucha: Faculty Edition
Friday, February 9, 6:30 p.m. snacks, 7 p.m. talks

Short talks by interesting Sage faculty: 20 slides for 20 seconds each.

PechaKucha Night
Friday, March 23, 6:30 p.m. snacks, 7:00 p.m. talks

Short talks by interesting people. PechaKucha is a format in which speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Contact Amy Griffin, [email protected], if you’re interested in presenting. PechaKucha.org

Fall 2017

Artist Lecture Series

Co-sponsored by the Opalka Gallery and the Department of Art + Design.

Nina Buxenbaum
Thursday, October 5, 6:30 p.m.

Nina Buxenbaum works in a traditional figurative painting style, while dealing with issues of the public versus private persona, and identity. She has participated in numerous residencies including at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the Skowhegan School of Painting, and The Vermont Studio Center. Her work has been exhibited around the country including at the Studio Museum of Harlem (NYC), the Kentler International Drawing Space (Brooklyn), the Ingalls Gallery (Miami), and and featured in the International Review of African American Art. She is an Associate Professor of Painting at York College in Jamaica, NY.

• ninabuxenbaum.com

Paul Shaw
Thursday, October 26, 6:30 pm

Paul Shaw, curator of the exhibition Paper Is Part of the Picture, is a designer and design historian who has researched and written about the history of graphic design with a focus on typography, lettering and calligraphy. A recipient of grants and scholarships from the NEH, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Harry Ransom Center at University of Texas, among others, he was also a 2002 Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. A contributing editor for Print, he has contributed to and edited many journals,and is author of the acclaimed Helvetica and the New York City Subway System.

• PaulShawLetterDesign.com

Seymour Chwast
Friday, November 3, 7:30 pm
Please RSVP to [email protected]

Seymour Chwast is an American graphic designer known for his diverse body of work, and lasting influence on visual culture. Born in 1931, in New York City, Chwast studied illustration and design at the Cooper Union. His is a founding partner of the celebrated Push Pin Studios, whose revolutionary work altered the course of contemporary graphic communication in the late 1960s, and continues to affect the field of design worldwide. In 1985, the studio’s name was changed to the Pushpin Group, of which Chwast is the director. His talk, “God, War & Sex” will follow a tour of the exhibition “Paper is Part of the Picture: Strathmore and the Evolution of American Graphic Design” with Chris Harrold, VP Creative Director of Mohawk, at 6 p.m.

• pushpininc.com

Carl Sprague
Tuesday, November 14, 6:30 p.m.

Carl Sprague has worked in the art departments of more than 20 films, which, between them, have a combined total of 29 Oscar nominations. He has worked with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and David Fincher, but the most enduring collaboration has been with Wes Anderson, as concept illustrator on The Grand Budapest Hotel, assistant art director on Moonrise Kingdom and as art director on The Royal Tenenbaums, for which he as nominated for an Art Director’s Guild Award.

• carlsprague.com

Julia Jacquette
Thursday, December 7, 6:30 p.m.

Based in New York City and Amsterdam, artist Julia Jacquette’s work has been shown extensively at galleries and museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, NY, and The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, among other institutions. Jacquette’s work was included in the first installment of PS1’s “Greater New York” exhibition, was the subject of retrospectives at the Tang Museum and recently, at the Wellin Museum. She has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, Princeton University, and is currently on the faculty at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC.

• juliajacquette.net

AIGA Upstate/Department of Art+Design Lecture

Luba Lukova
Tuesday, October 17, 6:30 p.m.

Free for students with I.D., $10 for AIGA members, $20 for non-AIGA members.
All attendees must register at this link: Tickets

Internationally recognized, New York-based Luba Lukova is regarded as one of the most original image-makers working. She creates arguably some of the most iconic and indelible imagery in the realm of contemporary poster design. Whether by using an economy of line, color and text to pinpoint essential themes of humanity or to succinctly visualize social commentary, her work is undeniably powerful and thought-provoking. Her work has been exhibited around the world including UNESCO, Paris, DDD Gallery, Osaka, Japan, the Art Institute of Boston and, most recently, the Museum of Design, Atlanta.

Film Series

Eames: The Architect and The Painter (2011)
Thursday, September 28, 6:30 p.m.

Though Charles and Ray Eames are best known for their ubiquitous furniture and the signature innovation of the classic Eames chair, this essential documentary shows Charles and Ray applying the same process of inquiry to architecture, exhibitions and their quirky, beautiful films. “Well-crafted and insightful. A must for those with an interest in modern design.” — The Hollywood Reporter (84 mins, not rated)

Iris (2016)
Thursday, October 12, 6:30 p.m.

A delightful collaboration among cultural royalty, legendary filmmaker Albert Maysles turned his camera on legendary fashion and design icon, Iris Apfel, in what would be his last film before his death in 2015. Now 96, Apfel worked for Women’s Wear Daily before opening her own interior design business, but became a fashion sensation later in life after a 2005 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit of her work. This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ Award-Winning Nonfiction Film Series, and WMHT Public Media. (90 mins, PG-13)

A panel discussion will follow the film.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Thursday, November 9, 6:30 p.m.

In honor of Carl Sprague, our guest speaker on November 14, we’ll be screening this Academy Award-winning film by Wes Anderson. Sprague, who worked with Anderson on numerous films, was the concept illustrator on this film about the adventures of Gustave H., a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. (99 mins, rated R)

Other Events

Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company Performance

Friday, September 8, 2017, 6 – 7 p.m.

Join us for a free performance by Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company in response to the current exhibition by Kathryn Field.

Listening Here: Albany
Saturday, October 7, 3 – 5 p.m.

“Listening Here: Albany” is a mobile web app for mindful listening and creative engagement with the sounds around you. We’re pleased to host Stephanie Loveless and Cristyn Magnus for an event at the Opalka Gallery where you can exercise your ears through a series of listening activities, try out the web app, and experience an artist-led listening tour.

PechaKucha Night
Friday, October 27 6:30 p.m. snacks, 7:00 p.m. talks

Short talks by interesting people. PechaKucha is a format in which speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Contact Amy Griffin, [email protected], if you’re interested in presenting.

• PechaKucha.org

Exhibition Tour
Friday, November 3, 6 p.m.

Join Chris Harrold, VP Creative Director of Mohawk Paper, as he takes viewers on a tour of the exhibition “Paper is Part of the Picture: Strathmore Paper and the Evolution of American Graphic Paper Design.”

Paul Shaw’s Lettering Walk
Saturday, November 4, 10 am -1 pm *meets at the Renaissance Hotel, see below.

Participants will have the opportunity to see Albany from a fresh perspective, that of the numerous examples of lettering that reveal the city’s changing industrial, social, demographic and architectural history from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century. The focus will be on the lettering in downtown Albany: neon signs, inscriptions, ghost signs, vernacular signs, commercial and retail names, architectural lettering, and so on. The principal emphasis will be on the different styles of lettering and the various methods by which they were made. A secondary emphasis will be on what the signs and lettering can tell us about the past such as changing patterns of commerce, the growth and/or decay of an area, its ethnic makeup, etc. Free and open to the public. *Starts and ends at Renaissance Hotel at 144 State Street, Albany, NY.

Collage Night
Friday, December 1, 6:30 p.m.

Drop in for an art party that combines free-form collage making and the golden age of graphic design when Caroline Corrigan and Ira Marcks bring their Upstate Collage Night to Opalka. They provide a refined collection of vintage magazines and all the supplies you’ll need.

• upstatecollagenight.com

Spring 2017

Artist Lecture Series

Co-sponsored by the Opalka Gallery and the Department of Art + Design.

Melissa Thorne

Tuesday, January 31, 6:30 p.m.

Melissa Thorne’s work addresses multiple formats, including paintings on canvas and paper, and arge-scale site-specific wall drawings in ink and watercolor. Her paintings have been shown widely in solo and group exhibitions, including at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and University Museum at SUNY/Albany. She is represented by Devin Borden Gallery in Houston, TX, and Galerie Anke Schmidt in Cologne, Germany.

Nina Roefaro Lomeo

February 28, 6:30 pm

Nina Roefaro Lomeo is an artist and designer best known for her hands-on work with detailed and large-scale projects across New York City and the East Coast. Her signature work focuses on interior-architecture and furniture design.

Nina is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Syracuse University, where she holds a degree in Interior Design. She routinely teaches and lectures at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, The New York School of Interior Design, Syracuse University, Baruch College and Sage College of Albany. She is also a member of the SUMMA mentoring program.

Terry James Conrad

Tuesday, March 28, 6:30 p.m.

Terry James Conrad is a printmaker and educator living in Round Lake, NY and interested in the communal and social aspects of printmaking. The 2015-16 Grant Wood Fellow in Printmaking at the University of Iowa, he has been awarded several other residencies and grants. He’s exhibited widely in solo and two-person shows, as well as group exhibitions. He holds a BFA from Alfred University and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Julie Casper Roth

Tuesday, April 18, 6:30 p.m.

Julie Casper Roth is an award-winning filmmaker and video artist interested in underdogs, paradox, and the oft-unseen. A 2008 NYFA Fellow in Video, a 2012 CAA Professional Development Fellowship recipient, and a two-time finalist for the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab, Casper Roth embraces narrative, moving between experimental, documentary and fictional modes. She is currently at work on a documentary about indigent burial in the United States.

Film Series

Persepolis (2013)

Thursday, February 2, 6:30 p.m.

Based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name, Persepolis is the story of a precocious young girl living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. “I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists,” Satrapi says. Nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe, the film was widely acclaimed. (96 mins.)

Cameraperson (2016)

Thursday, March 2, 6:30 p.m.

Exposing her role behind the camera, Kirsten Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera. The NY Times called it “…transfixing. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before….”(102 mins.)

1984 (1984)

Screening with panel discussion

Tuesday, April 4, 6:00 p.m.

In the totalitarian state of Oceania, conformity is required, pleasure is illegal, and lives are dominated by fear. Workers are under constant surveillance by the Thought Police, and all must pledge total loyalty to Oceania’s leader, Big Brother. Winston Smith (John Hurt) toils away in the records office of the Ministry of Truth during the day, only to return to a squalid existence at home, dulled only by government-issued liquor. On April 4, 1984, in a small but perilous act of resistance, he begins keeping a forbidden diary. If found out, he risks arrest, torture, and vaporization. (1 hr. 53 mins)

Note: This film is being screened as part of the National Screening Day of 1984 to initiate community conversations about truth and human rights in our current political climate. Immediately following the screening, there will be a panel discussion with Dr. Steven A. Leibo, Sage Professor, History and Society, and the Sherman David Spector Sage Professor in the Humanities; Dr. David Salomon, Sage Professor, English; Dr. Harvey Strum, Professor, History and Public Affairs and Public Policy Director.

Beauty is Embarrassing (2012) 

Thursday, April 13, 6:30 p.m.

A funny, irreverent, joyful, inspiring documentary about Wayne White. White, who found early success as one of the creators and designers on the show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” has created some of the most iconic images in pop culture and found success in the fine art world, too. The film reminds us that we should all follow our passions–it’s those creative impulses that lead us where we need to go. (88 mins.)

Sign Painters (2013) 

Thursday, May 11, 6:30 p.m.

We see them almost every day without a second thought. Weathered by time, distinct characteristics shining through, hand-painted signs are a product of a fascinating 150 year-old American history. What was once a common job has now become a highly specialized trade, a unique craft struggling with technological advances. Sign Painters stylistically explores this unacknowledged art form. (81 mins.)

PechaKucha Night

Friday, February 10, 6:30 p.m. snacks, 7 p.m. talks

Short talks by interesting people. PechaKucha is a format in which speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Join us for an always fun and engaging evening. Free!

Jill Adams, “My writing practice and my mother’s death”
Shawn Allan, “You’re learning Dutch? … But why???”
John Chaplin on “Building in Wood”
Michael Chrisner on “Stealing Ideas and Honoring Influences in Graphic Design”
David Hochfelder & Ann Pfau on “The Faces of Urban Redevelopment: Albany’s South Mallby the 98 Acres in Albany Project”
Natasha Holmes on her art
Jim MacNaughton & Nate Wilson, on their experiences of seeing the band DISCHARGE on their disastrous 1986 tour
Libby Post on “Advocacy: Now More than Ever”
Dan Smith, “Radical Politics and Labor Organization: Leon Davis and the Pharmacists’ Union of Greater New York”Joe Ullman on “Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers”
Lisa Vines on her collection of shopping lists
Charmaine Wijeyesinghe “Looking at the How of Racial Identity”

Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company

Friday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m.

After three highly successful site specific performances at the Opalka Gallery in the last four years, ESDC has been invited to create a new performance in relation to Austrian-born sculptor Caroline Ramersdorfer’s current exhibit, Gravity + Light: Caroline Ramersdorfer | Sculptures 1985-2016.

The performances by ESDC will consist of a premiere, entitled At Any Given Moment, created by Artistic Director Ellen Sinopoli and her dancers, set to music by Evelyn Glennie, as well as two current repertory pieces, Auriga and Tumble, brought to new life for the gallery space.

Exhibition walk-through with artist Caroline Ramersdorfer

Friday, March 3 at 5:30 pm.

Before the dance performance by Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company on Friday, please join us as Caroline Ramersdorfer takes us on a tour of her exhibit, “Gravity & Light: Caroline Ramersdorfer | Sculpture 1985-2016.”

Fall 2016

Artist Lecture Series

Co-sponsored by the Opalka Gallery and the Department of Art + Design.

Caroline Ramersdorfer

Tuesday, December 6, 6:30 pm

Caroline Ramersdorfer, whose sculpture is permanently installed in front of the gallery, is our second exhibiting artist this season. Born in Austria, Ramersdorfer currently lives in the Adirondacks and exhibits internationally. The only woman of 17 artists invited to participate in the Abu Dhabi International Sculpture Symposium in 2009, she was also selected to exhibit at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing. For more: www.carolineramersdorfer.at

Angela Washko

Tuesday, November 1, 6:30 pm

Angela Washko is an acclaimed artist, writer and facilitator devoted to creating new forums for discussions of feminism in the spaces most hostile toward it. Currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Washko founded The Council on Gender Sensitivity and Behavioral Awareness in World of Warcraft as an ongoing intervention inside the most popular MMORPG of all time. For more: angelawashko.com

Panel Discussion: Women in Art

Thursday, October 6, 6:30 pm

Co-sponsored by Opalka Gallery and the Sage College Department of Art+Design.

In the art world, as in the rest of the world, women have yet to achieve parity. More art by men is collected by museums and shown in galleries, even as more women graduate with fine arts degrees every year. Why does the imbalance persist and what can be done about it?

Join us for a panel co-moderated by Opalka Director Elizabeth Greenberg and Julie Lohnes, curator of art collections and Exhibitions at Union College, with the following distinguished guests:

• Cevan Castle, artist and educator working in urban landscape and exterior architecture, and the founder of the Center for Parenting Artists, a community and weblog in support of the continuation of creative practice into parenthood
• Carol Diehl, artist, critic, teacher and former slam poet, currently writing a book about Banksy
• Carrie Haddad, established the first fine art gallery in Hudson, NY, art consultant, former board member of Columbia County Council on the Arts
• Janet Riker, director of the University Art Museum, University at Albany since 2004. Prior to that served as Director of the Rotunda Gallery/Brookyn Information & Culture for fourteen years.
• Julie Torres, artist and curator of community-expanding, collaborative projects. Co-curator of ‘Making the Future’ celebrating Arts in Bushwick and Bushwick Open Studios’ 10th anniversary at David & Schweitzer Contemporary, on view September 30 – October 16, 2016.
• Elizabeth Greenberg is director of Opalka Gallery. Prior to that she was Curator of Fine Art at Siena College, held positions at FIT, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was head archivist at Fairchild Publications.
• Julie Lohnes is curator of art collections and exhibitions at Union College. She has more than 15 years of experience in art galleries, including as Executive Director of the not-for-profit A.I.R. Gallery, the nation’s first artist collective for women.

Siona Benjamin

Thursday, September 8, 5:00 pm

Current exhibiting artist Siona Benjamin’s work reflects her transition between worlds as she attempts to create a dialogue between the ancient and the modern. The recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships, she holds MFA degrees in painting and theater set design. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Art in America and has exhibited widely. For more: www.artsiona.com

Film Series

Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015)

Thursday, December 1, 6:30 pm

Filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland examines the life of famed art collector, Peggy Guggenheim, and how her relationships with major figures such as Duchamp, Pollock and Rothko were entwined with her passion for contemporary art. The film is a glimpse into the world of a colorful character, who was not only ahead of her time but also helped define it. (Film length: 1 hr. 37 mins.)

Eva Hesse (2016)

Thursday, November 10, 6:30 pm

This highly acclaimed documentary includes dozens of new interviews, high quality footage of Eva Hesse’s artwork and a wealth of newly discovered archival imagery to trace the artist’s path and engages in a lively investigation into the creative community of 1960’s New York and Germany. (Film length: 1 hr. 48 mins.)

Herman’s House (2013)

Thursday, October 27, 6:30-8:30 pm

In conjunction with the award-winning PBS series POV, WMHT Educational Telecommunications and the Breathing Lights project, a multi-city art installation in Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, Opalka presents Herman’s House (2013), a film about the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement in the United States and the artist who reached out to him.

The film documents the friendship between Herman Wallace, who has always maintained his innocence, and the artist Jackie Sumell in a testament to the transformative power of art. (Film length: 1 hr. 21 mins.)

Discussion afterward led by Barbara Nelson, lead architect, Breathing Lights, and Executive Director at TAP Inc., the Capital Region’s Community Design Center. Anthony Farley, James Campbell Matthews Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at Albany Law School and Karen Murtagh, executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York.

Shree 420 (1955)

Thursday, September 29, 6:30 pm

This classic Bollywood film stars Nadira, a Baghdadi Jewish actress. In early 20th Century India, Jewish actresses were able to play roles denied Hindu and Muslim women because of religious and cultural restrictions. Shree 420 tells the story of a country boy, played by director Raj Kapoor, who comes to the big city with dreams of success but is distracted by wicked temptations.

Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona Benjamin (2015) and Next Year in Bombay (2010)

Thursday, September 15, 6:30 pm

This double feature pairs two short documentaries that explore aspects of the Bene Israel Jewish community in Mumbai, India. Blue Like Me follows artist Siona Benjamin as she travels back to her childhood home while Next Year in Bombay explores the vanishing community through the eyes of one family.

Other Events

PechaKucha Night

Friday, November 18, 6:30 pm snacks, 7 pm talks

Short talks by interesting people. PechaKucha is a format in which speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Contact Amy Griffin, [email protected], if you’re interested in presenting.

1st Friday Drop-in Art and Film

Friday, November 4, 5-8 pm, 6 pm film

Introducing a new free drop-in art program with Katie Dollard! In addition, there will be an encore screening of Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona Benjamin, a documentary about current Opalka exhibiting artist and the Bene Israel Jewish community in Mumbai. (Film length: 28 minutes)

Katie Dollard is an art teacher in Mechanicville City School District as well as a yoga teacher. She’ll talk about the significance of the Banyan tree to Hindus and guide visitors through creating their own banyan tree drawings using oil pastels and crayons. Families are welcome but you don’t have to be a kid or have kids to enjoy this free drop-in program. Join us for the film and make some art before or after it!

Get Three-Dimensional: Book Signing and Interactive Stereography Demonstration with Melody Davis

October 7, 6-8 pm

Melody Davis, Sage College art history professor, will answer your questions about stereoscopic (3D) photography with demonstrations of historical stereoscopes. Visitors are invited to handle the stereoscopes and stereographs, transporting themselves to the world of turn-of-the-century America.

Dr. Davis will happily sign copies of her new book from the University of New Hampshire Press, Women’s Views: The Narrative Stereograph in Nineteenth-Century America.