Philadelphia Artist Featured in CSM Exhibit
Adam Lovitz shared his artistic vision — and some of the things that inspire and shape that vision — during a lecture Oct. 10 at the College of Southern Maryland’s Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery.
Much of Philadelphia-based artist’s art expresses the human condition of being caught in the middle of something profound and timeless, like nature, and something so “everyday,” like the “cultural debris” we see every day on the sidewalk.
Mr. Lovitz’s work is included in the Hungerford gallery exhibit “Painters Be Like,” along with works by New York City artist Jason Stopa and Baltimore artist Madeline Seely. The exhibit is currently on display and will run through Nov. 2. Admission is free.
Mr. Lovitz started his talk by sharing examples of his artistic lineage — Horace Pippin, Hilma af Klint, Francis Picabia, and others — showing images of their work, while describing what aspects of their work resonated with him. Then he showed the progression of his own work, as he talked about how his vision changed from undergrad to graduate school to now, as a professional artist. He is an abstract artist, primarily dealing in acrylic paint (to which he likes to add natural or found elements).
Following an Oct. 10 talk by artist Adam Lovitz, students discuss a piece by Lovitz on display as part of the “Painters Be Like” exhibit at the College of Southern Maryland Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery at the La Plata Campus. The exhibit also features work by Jason Stopa and Madeline Seely.
“I didn’t really question myself,” Mr. Lovitz said, referring to his undergraduate studies. “I didn’t ask myself, ‘Why am I painting?’” Instead, he focused on “how do I do this?”
However, in graduate school at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he said he started answering the “why” question and also started “listening to the material.” In addition, experimental side projects, like an exhibit he created that provided a mud puddle sensory experience, “informed my painting practice,” he said.
He offered advice to art students in the audience, noting the value of collaborating with others, being involved and connected to a community and making it a priority to apply for residencies or open calls or other opportunities. As an example, Mr. Lovitz talked about his experience working as part of Little Berlin, an experimental artist collective in Philadelphia, in 2013.
“Become part of the conversation,” he said. “Be current.”
In addition, Mr. Lovitz encouraged the CSM art students to propose shows, whether they be to local galleries or unconventional spaces like an empty store front. “If you find yourself in a phase of rejections, as we all do, and no opportunity to show a new body of work, perhaps a ‘do-it-yourself’ attitude will garner the experience to exhibit, and this may inspire collaboration between your creative community.”
Yikui Gu, CSM professor of studio art, curated the “Painters Be Like” exhibit. Given the opportunity to create any kind of show he wanted, Mr. Gu said he considered the teaching aspect of the gallery and the college’s mission and chose to create an exhibit that would especially benefit students who aspire to work as professional artists.
Professor Gu selected the work of the three artists for the show because he wanted to show a progression of an art career, he said. “There’s a generational quality to it,” Mr. Gu said of the exhibit.
He wanted to create a show that would suggest to students what their career might look like just out of art school, five or six years down the road and then 10 years on, he said. Ms. Seely’s work, which elevates the feminine crafts of embroidery and crochet to art, is a recent graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. Mr. Lovitz’s work, which was noted on social media by Roberta Smith, an art critic at The New York Times, represents an artist who has been working for several years beyond formal training. Mr. Stopa’s work represents the work of an artist 10 years or so into his career. Mr. Gu also wanted to select artists from a similar region, so all three of the artists in the exhibit work in the mid-Atlantic.
Future Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery exhibits scheduled for the 2017-18 academic year include Daniel Kaufmann’s “Expansion,” which will be featured Nov. 14-Dec. 7. Kaufmann will give an artist’s lecture for “Expansion” at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the La Plata Campus.
A group exhibition curated by assistant professor Lindsay Pichaske will be featured Feb. 5-March 1 at the La Plata Campus.
“Masters of the Universe,” featuring works by Chris Bishop, Bonner Sale, and CSM professor Andrew Wodzianski, will be showing from March 12- April 4. This will be followed by the Annual Juried Student Exhibition April 13-May 11.
These shows will be at the Hungerford gallery at the Fine Arts Center. The gallery is open 9 am to 9 pm Monday through Friday and 10 am to 6 pm Saturday.
Artists and curators are invited to submit proposals for solo or group exhibitions for the 2018-19 gallery seasons. To view proposal requirements, visit the college’s website. Deadline for proposals is Oct. 30, 2017.
