Huge Tyler art exhibit to showcase alumni art

Bruce Pollock, "Meristem II," 2006

A juried exhibition of paintings by 54 graduates of Temple’s Tyler School of Art from around the nation — the most ambitious exhibition of Tyler alumni art ever put on display — opens this Friday evening at the Ice Box Project Space in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood.

“Victory for Tyler: Painting 2007” is the second in a series of biennial Tyler alumni art exhibitions to benefit the Tyler School of Art’s exhibitions and public programs; each will emphasize a different artistic medium. The current exhibition, focusing on painting, will be on display at the Ice Box Project Space, Philadelphia’s largest viewing room for art, from April 13 to 29.

“I’m delighted that many of our outstanding alumni have agreed to participate in ‘Victory for Tyler,’” said Keith Morrison, dean of Tyler. “The broad range and high quality of the art in this exhibition exemplify the current and historic importance of Tyler as an art school that nurtures the development of some of the best artists in the United States, and indeed worldwide.”

Paintings from more than 200 artists were considered by the show’s juror, Jenelle Porter, associate curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the exhibition focuses on painting, the art selected for the exhibit includes works that Porter says “push the realms of performance and installation.” A juror’s prize of $1,000 will be awarded.

Among the 54 alumni artists represented at “Victory for Tyler” are Sharon Horvath, whose dense and layered paintings have been described as “beautiful and evocative” by Art in America; Bruce Pollock, famous for his luminous paintings of “interacting waves and particles”; Joe Begonia, whose paintings and collages explore a dizzying variety of media and subjects; Mark Mahosky, known for his brilliantly colored, radial abstractions; and the late Sheba Sharrow, who passed away last year after a long, successful career and 37 solo exhibits.

Sharon Horvath, "Attacatto Miracolosamente," 2006

One of the exhibited artists, Fredrick Allen Nelson, contributed a multimedia work inspired by his experiences as an inmate at Trumbull Correctional Institution in Ohio, where he is incarcerated.

“Victory for Tyler” was named for its primary sponsor, Victory Brewing Company, co-founded by Tyler alumnus William Covaleski. The exhibition’s venue also has Tyler connections; two of the Ice Box Project Space’s three owners are Tyler faculty members: Professor Nicholas Kripal, chair of the Crafts Department, and Assistant Professor Richard Hriko, a printmaker.

The Ice Box Project Space, a single, uninterrupted 5,000-square-foot room, is located in the Crane Company Building at 1400 N. American St., Philadelphia.

Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. An opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Saturday, April 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. Temple President Ann Weaver Hart and Dean Morrison will speak.

— Hillel J. Hoffmann