Walking among the ebullient crowd on Open Studio Night, one couldn’t help but recall the vibrant spirit of New York’s Chelsea neighborhood in the 1950s, when the post-war proliferation of galleries introduced a new generation of patrons to emerging, forward-thinking artists, creating entirely new works of art for a new world.
As a viewer and a collector, there’s something invigorating about encountering artists near the beginning of their careers. Open Studio Night highlights those formative moments when up-and-coming artists are immersed in experimentation and erudition. After chatting with several artists exhibiting that evening, I spent time talking with award-winning painter Joshua Lynn (pictured above), who earned a BFA from SCAD in 2003, and is now working toward an MFA in painting with an oeuvre of vivid geometric landscapes. If the past is precedent, he has a bright future ahead.
Some of the shining stars in today’s contemporary arts universe found their initial audiences at SCAD’s Open Studio Night. I recall in the mid-1990s wondering at the complexity of Monica Cook’s lush paintings. Since then, Monica has explored photography and animation, and recently showed mixed-media video art at the Guggenheim’s YouTube Play exhibition.
In 1998, Marcus Kenney’s thought-provoking collages sparked collectors’ interests at Open Studio Night, and now his paintings and sculptures are commissioned all over the world and have appeared in Art in America and CNN.com.
Then, there’s Michael Scoggins, who began using oversized notebook pages as his canvas while still an MFA candidate in 2006. His signature paintings are now part of the MOMA’s permanent collection.
These alumni began their professional artistic journeys here, at SCAD, and for many, that journey began at Open Studio Night. Those few hours of interaction and encouragement sparked within them the confidence to share their gifts with a wider world. I have seen this magical moment play out countless times in the lives of SCAD students, and I look forward to seeing it happen again and again.
