Artists Lovitz, Stopa and Seely Featured in Hungerford Gallery Exhibit
Philadelphia-based artist Adam Lovitz shared his artistic vision and some of the things that inspire and shape that vision — the timelessness of the sky above, the contemporary meaning he finds in the trash on the sidewalk, the work of other artists — during an Artist Lecture at the College of Southern Maryland’s La Plata Campus on Oct. 10.
Much of Lovitz’s art expresses the human condition of being caught in the middle of something profound and timeless, like nature, and something so “everyday,” like the “cultural debris” we see every day on the sidewalk.
Lovitz’s work is included in the Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery exhibit “Painters Be Like,” along with works by New York City artist Jason Stopa and Baltimore artist Madeline Seely. The Hungerford exhibit is currently on display and will run through Nov. 2. Admission is free.
Lovitz started his talk by sharing examples of his artistic lineage — Horace Pippin, Hilma af Klint, Francis Picabia and others — showing images of their work, while describing what aspects of their work resonated with him. Then he showed the progression of his own work, as he talked about how his vision changed from undergrad to graduate school to now, as a professional artist. He is an abstract artist, primarily dealing in acrylic paint (to which he likes to add natural or found elements).
“I didn’t really question myself,” Lovitz said, referring to his undergraduate studies. “I didn’t ask myself, ‘Why am I painting?’” Instead, he focused on “how do I do this?”
However, in graduate school at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), he said he started answering the “why” question and also started “listening to the material.” In addition, experimental side projects, like an exhibit he created that provided a mud puddle sensory experience, “informed my painting practice,” he said.
Lovitz offered advice to art students in the audience, noting the value of collaborating with others, being involved and connected to a community and making it a priority to apply for residencies or open calls or other opportunities. As an example, Lovitz talked about his experience working as part of Little Berlin, an experimental artist collective in Philadelphia, in 2013.
“Become part of the conversation,” he said. “Be current.”
In addition, Lovitz encouraged the CSM art students to propose shows, whether they be to local galleries or unconventional spaces like an empty store front. “If you find yourself in a phase of rejections, as we all do, and no opportunity to show a new body of work, perhaps a ‘do-it-yourself’ attitude will garner the experience to exhibit, and this may inspire collaboration between your creative community.”
CSM Professor of Studio Art Yikui Gu curated the “Painters Be Like” exhibit. Given the opportunity to create any kind of show he wanted, Gu said he considered the teaching aspect of the gallery and the college’s mission and chose to create an exhibit that would especially benefit students who aspire to work as professional artists.
Gu selected the work of artists Lovitz and Stopa and Seely for the show because he wanted to show a progression of an art career, he said. “There’s a generational quality to it,” Gu said of the exhibit.
He wanted to create a show that would suggest to students what their career might look like just out of art school, five or six years down the road and then 10 years on, he said. Seely’s work, which elevates the feminine crafts of embroidery and crochet to art, is a recent graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. Lovitz’s work, which was noted on social media by Roberta Smith, an art critic at The New York Times, represents an artist who has been working for several years beyond formal training. Stopa’s work represents the work of an artist 10 years or so into his career. Gu also wanted to select artists from a similar region, so all three of the artists in the exhibit work in the Mid-Atlantic.
Future Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery exhibits scheduled for the 2017-18 academic year include Daniel Kaufmann’s “Expansion,” which will be featured Nov. 14-Dec. 7. Kaufmann will give an artist’s lecture for “Expansion” at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the La Plata Campus.
A group exhibition curated by Assistant Professor Lindsay Pichaske will be featured Feb. 5-March 1 at the La Plata Campus.
“Masters of the Universe,” featuring works by Chris Bishop, Bonner Sale and CSM’s Professor Andrew Wodzianski, will be showing from March 12- April 4. This will be followed by the Annual Juried Student Exhibition April 13-May 11.
These shows will be at the Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery at the La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Artists and curators are invited to submit proposals for solo or group exhibitions for the 2018-19 gallery seasons. To view proposal requirements, visit www.csmd.edu/community/the-arts/visual-arts/. Deadline for proposals is October 30, 2017.
Calendar
CSM Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery: Painters Be Like. Oct. 9-Nov. 2. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center, Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery Exhibition, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 0 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. www.csmd.edu/Arts.
CSM Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery: Expansion Recent Works by Daniel Kaufmann. Nov. 14-Dec. 7. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center, Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery Exhibition, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday. www.csmd.edu/Arts.
CSM Artist’s Lecture: Daniel Kaufmann “Expansion.” 2:30 p.m. Nov. 14, College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Community Education Building (CE Building), Room 101, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. Artist Daniel Kaufmann will give an artist’s lecture. Reception to follow. His show will continue in the Fine Arts Center, Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery, until Dec. 7. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. www.csmd.edu/Arts.
CSM Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery: Group Exhibition curated by Assistant Professor Lindsay Pichaske. Feb. 5- March 1. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center, Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery Exhibition, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday. www.csmd.edu/Arts.
CSM Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery Exhibition: “Masters of the Universe.” March 12-April 4. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center, Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery Exhibition, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. The “Masters of the Universe” exhibit features artwork that celebrates the myth, magic and marketing of a Mattel toy masterpiece. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday. http://www.csmd.edu/Arts.
Annual Juried Student Exhibition. April 23-May 11. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center, Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery Exhibition, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday. www.csmd.edu/Arts.