MICHAEL BRENSON, ART CRITIC AND ART HISTORIAN,

REVEALS INSIGHTS INTO AMERICAN SCULPTOR DAVID SMITH'S CREATIVE TIME IN ITALY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013 AT 6:30 PM

NATIONAL ACADEMY MUSEUM

WHAT:      Michael Brenson, art critic and art historian who is writing a biography of American sculptor David Smith, will speak about the artist's creative outburst in Italy as part of the National Academy's Distinguished Lecture Series on 20th Century American Art. Abstract Expressionist, David Smith, one of the foremost sculptors of the 20th century and best known for his large geometric works, participated in Spoleto's Festival of Two Worlds in 1962. During his month-long stay in Italy he created 27 sculptures known as the Voltri series. This outpouring of creative energy is considered a highlight of his career, and one of the greatest achievements in modern sculpture.  

WHEN:   Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 6:30 - 8 PM

WHERE: National Academy Museum

1083 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street), New York, NY 10128

WHO:     Michael Brenson is a critic, scholar and teacher. He received an M.A. in creative writing and a Ph.D. in art history from Johns Hopkins University, and was an art critic for The New York Times from 1982 to 1991. His publications include Visionaries and Outcasts: The NEA, Congress, and the Place of the Visual Artist in America (2001); Sol LeWitt: Concrete Block Structures (2002); Acts of Engagement: Writings on Art, Criticism, and Institutions, 1993-2002 (2004); edited (with Mary Jane Jacob) Conversations at the Castle: Changing Audiences and Contemporary Art (1998), edited (with Rhea Anastas) Witness to Her Art: Art and Writings by Adrian Piper, Mona Hatoum, Cady Noland, Jenny Holzer, Kara Walker, Daniela Rossell and Eau de Cologne (2006). He is a Getty Scholar and Guggenheim Fellow, a visiting senior critic in the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design's Department of Fine Arts, and a member of the sculpture faculty in Bard College's Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts.

David Smith began his artistic training in 1926 at the Art Students League in New York, where he studied painting. By the mid-1930s Smith was devoting himself increasingly to sculpture. By the mid-40s he had gained a reputation as one of the pioneering welded steel sculptors in the United States. Smith's work received favorable critical attention throughout his career. "David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy," organized by The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, traveled last year to the The Whitney Museum of American Art and the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio.

Tickets:

Tickets may be purchased online at www.nationalacademy.org or by calling 212.3369. 4880 x 201.

Current Exhibitions at the National Academy

Seismic Shifts: 10 Visionaries in Contemporary Art and Architecture (through May 5, 2013) recognizes artists and architects whose work challenges disciplinary boundaries and raises critical social, environmental and political issues. Including paintings, drawing, sculpture, photography, mixed media, video, and architectural models, the exhibition showcases seminal work by Nick Cave, Thornton Dial, Tom Friedman, Vik Muniz, Wangechi Mutu, Betye Saar, and Bill Viola, and recent projects by architects Greg Lynn, Kate Orff, and Moshe Safdie.

Featuring 70 works in a broad range of styles by several generations of National Academicians, The Annual: 2013 (through May 5, 2013) highlights process-based works such as Polly Apfelbaum's Wavy Gravy, Howardena Pindell's Untitled 6B, and James Siena's Connected Hooks with Arrows (red), and recent paintings by leading women artists known for politically charged work, including Emma Amos' Orion, Faith Ringgold's Coming to Jones Road Tanka #1 Harriet Tubman and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith's Snake Dance.

About the National Academy

The National Academy is one of the country's oldest art organizations, founded in 1825 by artists Samuel F. B. Morse, Thomas Cole, and Asher B. Durand as a place to exhibit and teach art. Each year, artists and architects are named by their peers as National Academicians (NA), with the 2012 class including Siah Armajani, Wendy Evans Joseph, Jeanne Gang, Robert Gober, Michael Graves, Bruce Nauman, Joel Shapiro, Cindy Sherman, Richard Tuttle, and Bill Viola.The Museum's collection features more than 7,000 works from artist members, representing three centuries of new ideas and approaches to American Art. Located on Museum Mile between the Cooper-Hewitt and Guggenheim Museums, the National Academy's newly enhanced galleries showcase permanent and temporary exhibitions.The National Academy School has included Winslow Homer, George Inness, Arshile Gorky, and Willem de Kooning as students, and welcomes beginning and intermediate artists of all ages into its studios for classes in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and mixed media. Frequent exhibitions allow for display of student work.

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Image: David Smith, Voltri sculptures, Anfiteatro Romano, Spoleto, 1962.  Photograph by David Smith.  

Photo and Art © Estate of David Smith/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY