Pratt Institute announced today that a singular exhibition featuring the work of senior drawing and painting students, all of whom were affected to various degrees by the fire at Pratt earlier this year, will be on view at 375 Park Avenue. Aby Rosen of RFR Holding has generously made the 8th floor of the building available for this exhibition.
The show, Flameproof, will display the works of 44 undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program. The exhibition is made possible, in part, by Larry Gagosian, who worked closely with Pratt Institute President Thomas F. Schutte and Aby Rosen to secure the exhibition space. Additionally, Gagosian Gallery will host the private opening reception, which will be held on May 8th at 375 Park Avenue. Trustee Emeritus and alumnus Bruce Newman provided funding to produce this year’s senior thesis show.
“Having the senior Fine Arts exhibition in such a prime location in Manhattan is a dream come true for many of our students,” said President Schutte. “The caliber of work that will be on view at Flameproof illustrates their commitment to their work and the process. The Pratt community is grateful to Larry Gagosian, and we are very excited about the show.”
The exhibition will feature 100 drawings and painting produced by students before and after the fire that occurred in Pratt’s historic Main Building on Friday, February 15, 2013. The Pratt recovery effort enabled students to begin creating new works using donated supplies and other necessary materials through gift cards provided by the administration and local art stores. Pratt also received a gift of tickets to the prestigious Frieze Art Fair in New York, for all of its undergraduate fine arts majors, through Trustee Gary Hattem at Deutsche Bank, which is the main sponsor of Frieze New York, and Amanda Sharp, co-director of Frieze New York.
“It was important for me to get involved and help the Pratt students move forward,” said Gagosian. “I, too, have experienced loss due to a fire and was inspired by their perseverance to continue to create art.”
The students chose the show’s title, Flameproof, as an expression of their determination that—even in the aftermath of a disaster—their creativity will thrive. Traditionally, graduating seniors mount individual exhibitions throughout spring semester as part of the Fine Arts degree program, however due to the fire, most of these exhibitions were not possible. The administration, in collaboration with faculty and students, decided to organize a special group thesis exhibition that would encapsulate the students’ collective experience at Pratt. The partnership with Gagosian made the senior drawing and painting show possible.
Drawing on an array of historical and contemporary influences, the work presented in the exhibition is as varied as the students themselves. Their exploration, curiosity and experience has produced a diverse range of pieces ranging from modernist gestural and geometric abstraction to images from the Internet, mass media, magna, and hip hop and skateboard cultures. Flameproof will be curated by Eugenie Tsai, the John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum.
General Information:
Exhibition Dates: Thursday, May 9- Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Gallery hours: 11AM-6PM, except on Tuesday, May 14 11AM-5PM
Address: 375 Park Ave. (b/w 52nd and 53rd), 8th Floor, NY, NY 10152
Admissions: Free
Media Contact: Amy Aronoff at press@pratt.edu