ALFRED, NY – The Fosdick-Nelson Gallery is proud to present “Hidden in Plain Sight”, an exhibition curated by Alfred University professor emerita Anne Currier, featuring work by five local artists: George Hrycun, Sharon McConnell, Jackie Pancari, Amanda Parry Oglesbee, and Brian Oglesbee.
The exhibition, which will include drawing, prints on fabric, sculptural glass, oil painting and photography, will be on view Feb. 1-22 with an opening reception on Friday, Feb. 1, from 7-9 p.m. “Hidden in Plain Sight” artists will participate in a gallery talk on Feb. 6 at 12:15 p.m. at the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery. The gallery talk and reception are open to the public. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and 1-3 p.m. on weekends.
Currier has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and Alfred University and in 2014, she was recognized as a Fellow of the American Crafts Council. In 2017, she received the Virginia A. Groot Foundation’s First Place Fellowship as well as the Langley Kenzie Award from the Burchfield Penney Art Center, for which she was given a solo exhibition in 2018. Her sculptures have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are included in numerous private and public collections. She has collaborated with Boston Valley Terra Cotta of Orchard Park, NY, on commissions for ceramic tile walls. Currier lives in Scio, NY, where she maintains a studio.
Hrycun will exhibit a number of his drawings that incorporate colored pencil or graphite powder as a medium. The drawings are sparked by his intrigue with the ambiguous character of ordinary visual circumstances. Hrycun’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is in the collections of Bill Gates, Malcolm Forbes, and Ivan Karp. He holds B.A. and B.S. degrees from SUNY Potsdam and an M.F.A. degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He also received an associate degree in technical drafting from BVSD, Boulder, CO. In 2015, Hrycun was awarded a fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts. His teaching experience began at the University of Colorado in 1975 teaching sculpture. In 1978 he taught drawing and sculpture at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. From 1990 through 2006 he taught freshman foundations, drawing, and ceramic systems at Alfred University. Hrycun lives in Scio, NY.
McConnell will exhibit over 50 heat-transfer fabric prints. She is the recipient of many awards including individual artist fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Mid-America Art Alliance, New York Foundation for the Arts and the Saltonstall Foundation. McConnell received an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an M.S. from Alfred University, and a B.F.A. from Utah State University. Her exhibitions include John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, and Ortlip Gallery, Houghton, NY. Her work has been exhibited in numerous group exhibitions: in Buffalo at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Burchfield Penney Art Center, and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center; in Chicago at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Gallery, Zolla Lieberman Gallery, Roy Boyd Gallery and Betty Rymer Gallery; and in Hartford at the Connecticut Commission for the Arts and Real Art Ways. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center and numerous private collections. McConnell has been the director of the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery at Alfred University since 1998. She lives and maintains a studio in Belmont, NY.
Pancari has been a glass artist since 1981. After earning a B.F.A. degree from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, she briefly joined the staff at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Since receiving an M.F.A. degree from Alfred University in 1996, she has taught at The College of Creative Studies in Detroit and at Alfred University. She has led workshops at Pilchuck Glass School, Toyama City Institute of Glass, and Haystack Mountain School. Pancari is a New York Foundation for the Arts grant recipient, a Frederick Carter Fellowship grant recipient, a Fellow at the Creative Glass Center of America at Wheaton Village, and an Artist in Residence at Seto City Cultural Center in Seto, Japan, as well as at Rochester Institute of Technology. Most recently, she has served as a resident artist at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. Her work has been purchased by museums and she continues to show her work nationally and internationally. Jackie lives in Alfred with her husband, Freddy Fredrickson.
Amanda Parry Oglesbee will exhibit oil paintings that convey an interest in skies and trees, rooted and floating. She holds a B.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an M.S. in Art Education from Alfred University. She studied under Kathryn Nelson in Alfred and Mara Basca in Paris, France. She was also a founding member of N.A.M.E. Gallery in Chicago, IL. Oglesbee has taught art at Wellsville High School, Nunda Central School, Alfred-Almond Central School and drawing at Alfred University. She was the recipient of a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship to Japan, a teaching grant by The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France. Select solo and group exhibitions include the Albright-Knox Art Gallery; the Memorial Art Gallery; the Art Institute of Chicago; Coohaus Gallery; the Regina Quick Center for the Arts; N.A.M.E. Gallery; the Southern Tier Biennial; the Hinkle Library; the David A. Howe Library; the Wellsville Creative Art Center; Damiani Winery, Floating Lotus and other national and international venues. She is the daughter of the late Nellie and William (Bill) Parry, both Alfred University graduates. Bill was a sculpture professor in the School of Art and Design, Alfred University. Oglesbee lives and works in Wellsville, NY.
Brian Oglesbee attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1970-74, studying etching, photo engraving, and photomechanical printmaking systems. After graduation, he moved to Alfred with his wife, Amanda, and in 1976 he began teaching photography and printmaking at Alfred University. Since 1987, he has maintained a photography studio in Wellsville. In 1995, he began working on a group of pictures combining water and the human form which led to the 2007 publication of “AQUATIQUE: Photographs by Brian Oglesbee.” Inspired by Oglesbee’s book, director Julie Taymor asked him to collaborate with her on the watery scenes in her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, “The Tempest” starring Helen Mirren. Oglesbee has been widely exhibited in one-person and group shows around the world. His work is represented in collections in such institutions as the George Eastman House (Rochester, NY), the International Center of Photography (New York, NY), the Museum of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg, FL), the Musée de l’Elysée (Lausanne, Switzerland), the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX), the Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY), and many private collections. Oglesbee lives and works in Wellsville, NY.