PrattMWP Faculty Feature Claudine Metrick, Sarah Phyllis Smith, & Christopher Cirillo
October 16 - December 10
CLAUDINE METRICK
Associate Professor of 2D Foundations Born in Philadelphia, PA Claudine Metrick studied painting earning her MFA from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. She is an Associate Professor of 2D Foundations at PrattMWP in Utica, NY. She was a finalist for the Walter Feldman Fellowship for Emerging Artists in Boston in 2015 and had work in the Boston Drawing Project for six years. Her work has been exhibited at the Vessels’ Gallery formerly in Boston’s South End, as well as Carroll and Sons, the Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Danforth Museum of Art, the New Bedford Art Museum, the Cotuit Center for the Arts, AS220, Arizona State University, Morehead State University, Adams State University and in the New York City area at The Painting Center, Site: Brooklyn, and Curious Matter. Recent shows include the “26th Annual Drawing Show” at The Boston Center for the Arts in Boston, MA, and a group exhibition “Celebrating Suffrage” at Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute.
www.claudinemetrick.com
CLAUDINE METRICK Artist Statement
“The garden is about life and beauty and the impermanence of all living things.” – Anne Lamott When something grave comes to pass, it follows me into the studio where I grapple with it through line, color, and lately, the idea of the garden. This body of work memorializes a dear friend. We met on the bus during a study abroad program in college. I sat next to her because she was carrying a violin. We remained close friends for almost 20 years. When Jane first became ill, her father planted sunflowers in a patch of ground near her bedroom window so that she could view them on days she was too unwell to get out of bed. He faithfully tended this space during her illness, and the flower became a symbol of hope for her and her community. Jane died two weeks before her 41st birthday. At her funeral, packets of sunflower seeds were distributed to her friends and family. At their peak, the flowers I planted were massive – easily eight feet tall with heads over a foot wide. I watched as the blossoms rotated from east to west each day reminding me of a folk song that Jane and I once sang together. As I sat on the porch taking them in, I knew I had to draw them. Overtime as the titles of the work developed, they became distilled phrases. These are things I want to say to Jane, but cannot; things I would write to her perhaps, as letter writing was a large part of our friendship. Sometimes the titles are thoughts about her passing, other times they are simply experiences I have had of our relationship after her death. I was not with Jane when she passed – as I somehow thought I would be. And I can never talk with her about her death- an impulse I had which surprised me. But by making this work, I am able to continue our conversation in a different way.
You Were Here, Then You Weren't (diptych), 2019 Charcoal on paper with silver seeds
SARAH PHYLLIS SMITH Assistant Professor of Photography
Sarah Phyllis Smith (b. 1986 Middletown, NY) is a photographer and educator based in Utica, NY where she is Assistant Professor of Photography at PrattMWP. Recent solo and two-person exhibitions include Where the Great Lakes Leap to the Sea at The Shed Space in Brooklyn, NY and An Object of Their Own at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Her work has also recently shown at Vanderbilt University, Ground Floor Gallery (Nashville), Whitespace Gallery (Atlanta), Roman Susan Gallery (Chicago), and Wedge Projects (Chicago). Her work has been featured by several online publications including Silver Eye Center for Photography, From Here On Out, MusÊe Magazine, Salt Box Studio, Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Light Leaked, Vulgaris Magazine, and numerous other publications. Her work was also used on the cover of Iranian literary magazine, Dastan.
www.sarahpsmith.com
SARAH PHYLLIS SMITH Artist Statement
Sarah’s work explores photography’s inherent relationship with nostalgia and the ways in which a photograph can ask us to look backwards while remaining grounded in the present. Stemming from autobiographical experiences, her work explores expectations of and attachment to personal photographic images. Revisiting the same subjects over and over again, she spends years constructing a quiet narrative that casts the landscape as a leading character. Using a lens that blends truth, poetry, and abstraction, she presents a view of the past, present, and future all in one moment.
Lee’s Crop Circle, 2020. Pigment Inkjet Print
CHRISTOPHER CIRILLO
Associate Professor of Drawing and Painting Christopher Cirillo is an active studio artist in Central New York. His focus is in painting and drawing. Chris regularly exhibits his work and has shown in a variety of galleries and art centers in NY State and in the Midwest. Chris has instructed Light Color and Design, as well as various painting, and drawing courses for PrattMWP. He has also instructed classes for Mohawk Valley Community College, Empire State College, as well as Kirkland Art Center. He received an MFA in visual arts from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, a BFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and he is an alumni of Munson Williams Proctor.