Visiting artists exhibition and lecture series at SUNY Ulster begins Sept. 5

The SUNY Ulster Visiting Artists Series exhibition, “Making” will feature artists Michael Asbill, Thomas Sarrantonio, and David Soman. In addition to the exhibition, on display through Dec. 6, with an opening reception, 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in the Muroff Kotler Visual Arts Gallery in Vanderlyn Hall on the Stone Ridge campus, 491 Cottekill Road, Stone Ridge, there will be a monthly lecture series providing each artist an opportunity to share and discuss their thoughts and concepts in regard to the process of making and creating. The lectures will be held from 1 - 2 p.m. in the Mountain View Room located in the Macdonald DeWitt Library. The first lecture will be held on Monday, Sept. 16 and features David Soman; the second, Monday, Oct. 21 with Thomas Sarrantonio, and the final lecture of the series will be Monday, Nov. 18 with Michael Asbill.

Asbill, an assistant professor in the Sculpture program at SUNY New Paltz, lives in Accord. As a core collaborator with Habitat for Artists, he contributed to eco and social engagement projects for Smack Mellon (Brooklyn), Arts Brookfield (New York), Washington DC’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Corcoran Museum (Washington, DC), and 601 Tully (Syracuse). He has received numerous honors including the New York State/Province of Quebec Artist in Residence Exchange Grant, inclusion in the “Introducing” series at the Roger Smith Hotel, and the “Artivist Award” from Arts Mid-Hudson/Ulster County Executive. Sarrantonio taught Art and Art History at SUNY New Paltz for over 30 years, and he maintains a studio in Rosendale, where he lives with his family. Sarrantonio studied Painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He also holds degrees in Biology and English. His paintings have been exhibited widely and he is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Award, a Visiting Artist Residency in Normandy, France and an Artist Residency Fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ballycastle Ireland. Soman resides with his family in Rosendale. He is a New York Times Best-Selling children's book writer and illustrator and has taught at the School of Visual Arts for over 30 years. These visiting artist series of events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Chris Seubert at seubertc@sunyulster.edu.

Photo caption

Artist Michael Asbill working on an installation at the Roger Smith Hotel in NYC. Photo by John Birdsong.

Thomas Sarrantonio is part of the Department of Regional Art Workers, D.R.A.W., supporting an unabashedly nontraditional, contemporary, experimental, and progressive style of art making.

David Soman talks ‘Ladybug Girl’ at Morristown Festival of Books, (not pictured).