Barrett Art Center: Opening Reception - "We the People: Political Art in an Age of Discord"

Description

Artists Engage in Politics: Commentary and Dissent at the Barrett Art Center 

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Barrett Art Center is pleased to announce its newest national juried exhibition of contemporary art, We the People: Political Art in an Age of Discord.  The exhibition explores a variety of political themes and viewpoints, from the local to the global. Juror Michelle Legro selected 56 works by 29 artists out of 760 submissions from across the country. Ms. Legro was previously Culture Editor at The New Republic, where she chronicled the 2016 Presidential campaign and the Republican and Democratic Party conventions in her articles "Four Days in Cleveland" and "Four Days in Philadelphia."

Mid-Hudson artists in the exhibition include Jim Allen (Millbrook, NY), Helen Gutfreund (New Paltz, NY) Harriet Livathinos (Kingston, NY) and Barbara Masterson (Milton, NY).  Aer in the exhibition engages with timely political topics including the environment, race, immigration, and gun violence. "Art is a compass that helps chart a course through the tempestuous waves of political discord that currently threaten our nation and the world," says internationally known painter and collage artist Jonathan Talbot (Warwick, NY), one of the artists in the exhibition.

“Artists are exploring political issues from a variety of perspectives, in a full range of media. We hope the works provide a point of entry for useful discussion about topics that are important to all of us today” says Barrett Art Center Executive Director, Joanna Frang.  

The Center will also open a solo show from New York City painter Tara Kopp.  Kopp is one of four artists selected to have solo shows at the Barrett Art Center this year by Ellen Driscoll, Program Director of Studio Arts and Visiting Professor of Sculpture at Bard College. Kopp’s work will be on view through August 12. 

An opening reception for both exhibitions is Saturday, July 8, from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. Juror’s awards will be announced at 7:00 p.m. , followed by a tour through the galleries; artsists in the show are invited to speak briefly about their work. The exhibitions will be on view through August 12 at the Barrett Art Center at 55 Noxon Street in Poughkeepsie, New York.