Greenberg/Syracuse/5 Artists
Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery
August 7 - September 22, 2006
Call Lubin House for Gallery availability

Praised as being one of America's preeminent modern art critics of the late 20th century, Clement Greenberg '30 was also known for his irascible disposition. The Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery at Syracuse University Lubin House and ThINC are pleased to copresent Greenberg/Syracuse/5 Artists. This show was created to examine the influence and impact that studio visits made to Syracuse by Greenberg had on five Central New York artists, Stephen Achimore '75, Scott Bennett '74, Darryl Hughto, Mark Raush '74, G '90 and Susan Roth.

"The work he did as a critic, as part of critical literature and the literature of aesthetics, is certainly the most important body of writing of the 20th century in its field, in terms of it's lasting power," says David Tatham, Syracuse University professor emeritus of art history. "He is still quoted all the time."

"This show will look at some of the paintings from these five artists' careers when they first knew Greenberg," project manager and international programs administrator, Suzanne Shane '76, G'81 says. "We then illustrate a completely different set of their paintings to demonstrate how the artists have progressed since that time." As evidence of this progression, curator and critic, Karen Wilken points to Roth who "often seems to reconstitute, in her own vigorous abstract idiom, old master paintings that she has dissected to reveal their essence, while Achimore, in his suave, quirky pictures, appears to aim at a 21st century version of neoclassicism."

The artists Greenberg came in contact with - like the five in this show - and many critics agree, passion for making studio visits shaped the modern art critic's esteemed career. Wilken writes in the show catalogue, "Throughout Greenberg's long career, his apparently unappeasable appetite for looking at art was fed by studio visits." Bennett reflects on his experiences with Greenberg saying "he was hungry to look at art. He was generous and direct, and he had a great sense for finding and pointing out the strengths in an artist's work."

For each of the five artists, the working relationship - and in some cases friendship - they developed with Greenberg was a reaffirmation of their work and for that they are forever humbled and grateful. Susan Roth, who studied at SU and was also a visiting artist says, "His greatest gift to me was when he said, 'Focus on your inner life and the things that matter.'"

Originally part of a larger exhibition held in Syracuse last year, the show in the Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery opens August 7 and will run through September 22, 2006. Please call 212-826-0320 for more information and exhibit hours.