CCA News

Students Touch Down in New York's Thriving DUMBO District

Posted on Monday, October 6, 2008, by Brenda Tucker

As part of CCA's Painting/Drawing studio course, faculty member Linda Geary traveled with students to New York for three weeks during June/July. The goal? To take advantage of the New York Studio Program, which moved to DUMBO (a real-estate term that denotes Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

Students not only toured the city's seemingly endless art collections but also visited with established resident artists, often in the artists' glamorous studios.

The designated 10-block DUMBO district is flanked by the Fulton Ferry and Vinegar Hill neighborhoods and lends dramatic views of Manhattan. The locale is populated with artist-focused real estate projects such as arts organizations and studios. It is an area steeped in creative and artistic expression, and its influx of world-class visual and performing artists offers a particular vitality that has made it the fastest-growing neighborhood in New York.

During the three-week residency, each student was provided with a spacious and beautiful studio in which to work independently. The focus of the class was not only to engage with the work of established artists but also to develop a body of work. Such studio visits generated excitement among the students, as evidenced by their often late-night hours. Weekly group critiques also contributed to their momentum to create new work.

While students were reaping the rewards of this artists' haven, Olafur Eliasson created and installed his New York City Waterfalls, which made their proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge that much more exciting.

Outside of class or critique, Painting/Drawing faculty member and artist Linda Geary led her students around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island to showcase work and pick the brains of practicing local artists. Through personal exchanges students learned about how their practices have changed over time as well as how living and working in the internationally acclaimed New York art world informs their practice.

Students also took advantage of New York's tremendous cultural offerings, from museums and galleries (such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Morgan Library and Museum, and the Frick ) to actual studio visits with such acclaimed artists as Polly Apfelbaum, CCA alum Jules De Balincourt, Rachel Hayes, Jim Hodges, Raj Kahlon, Jonathan Lasker, Elisa Lendvay, Mary Meyer, Stephen Mueller, Eric Sall, James Siena, and Laurel Voss.

For information regarding Linda Geary's summer 2009 New York studio course, please contact the Office of Special Programs at 510.594.3773.

About Linda Geary
Geary has exhibited recently at Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland, Oregon; HP Garcia Gallery, New York; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco (reviewed in ArtForum, February 2007). She also was a resident at Art Omi, New York, in 2007. Geary is the recipient of an Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts grant and the Pollock-Krasner Award.

Read Linda Geary's complete bio.
Learn more about CCA's Painting/Drawing Program.

Share

Categories: Featured Painting Drawing