The Gandee Gallery Exhibits
Our Current Exhibit
John Jessiman and Steven Barbash
June 3- July 25
Artist Talk: Sat., June 5th, 5-6 PM
Reception: Sat., June 5th, 6-8 PM
The Gandee Gallery is proud to present the work of ceramist, John Jessiman, and painter, Steven Barbash. These two distinguished former professors of art taught together for almost 30 years at State University of New York, Cortland. The public is invited to hear the artists speak about their artwork and long friendship at the Gandee Gallery Saturday, June 5th, from 5-6 PM with a reception to follow, from 6-8 PM.
John Jessiman’s ceramic artwork is rooted in function and inspired by the abstract expressionist aesthetic. He received his MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University in 1963 at a time when artists where pushing the boundaries of their medium and he was drawn to ceramic artwork that “moved clay much as the expressionist painter approached painting.” This connection continues to inform his art practice. His work in the upcoming Gandee Gallery show will demonstrate his visceral forms and atmospheric surfaces.
After retiring from SUNY Cortland in 1996 after 33 years of teaching, Jessiman moved to Appomattox, VA and founded the Cub Creek Foundation in 2001, a residency program for emerging ceramic artists. He actively exhibits his artwork and conducts workshops at many venues nationwide.
Steven Barbash is a master draftsman. His work investigates the natural world with attentiveness and formal precision. A graduate of Yale (where he studied under Bauhaus proponent, Josef Albers), he applies abstract construction and structure to “the compelling images of life.” His proficiency with 
painting, printmaking, and drawing can be seen at the Gandee Gallery, offering the viewer a sampling of his techniques and subject matter, including studies of landscapes, flowers, birds, and the human figure.
Barbash’s teaching career began in 1960 at Juniata College, in Huntingdon, PA. In 1970, he moved to Upstate New York to teach at State University of New York, Cortland, and nearly 30 years later, he retired in 1999 as a University Distinguished Professor. He has shown his work regionally and nationally, and has work in many permanent collections, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, and the National Collection of Fine Arts at the Smithsonian Institute. He lives with his wife, Judy, in Ludlowville, NY.
Our Upcoming Exhibits
Fall 2010 – TBA
Our Past Exhibits
Fiction to Function:
Sculpture and Pottery by Shanna Fliegel
On View May 1- May 31, 2010
Reception Sat., May 1st, 6-9 PM
Check out a review of the show from the ‘Stars’ section of the Syracuse Post Standard:
Shanna Fliegel’s ceramic artwork draws upon “the surrealistic nature of dreams and childhood memories” and combines image, color, and sculpted forms to create “vehicles that generate stories for the viewer”. Her artistic output includes anthropomorphic figures, wall tablets, and functional vessels and these will be on view in Fliegel’s upcoming show, Fiction to Function, at the Gandee Gallery.
A reoccurring theme in Fliegel’s work is “the disposition of contemporary society’s relationship and/or disconnect with both wild and domesticated animals.” She states, ”by chronicling the threatened and easily forgotten creatures that make up the natural world through drawn and figurative forms I hope to preserve their fragile essence as permanent artifacts.”
The Gandee Gallery is sponsoring a hands-on workshop conducted by Shanna Fliegel. It will be held Sat., May 1st, 10:00-3:00 at the Gandee Gallery studio and is open to all experience levels. The cost is $35. The workshop is free for Syracuse Ceramic Guild members. For more information or to register, email Jen Gandee at jen@gandeegallery.com.
The workshop will focus on surface decoration techniques. Shanna utilizes sgraffito combined with slips, underglazes, and glaze and incorporates imagery created by thermofax, a kind of silkscreen technology. She applies these techniques to her functional and sculptural forms. Workshop participates will have the opportunity to practice demonstrated techniques on tiles, which they can take home, or have the Gandee Gallery fire, for an extra fee.
Fliegel is currently a Resident Artist at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY. She received a MFA from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, IL and a BFA from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. Her work was recently shown at the 2010 NCECA Invitational, Earth Matters, at the Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, PA and she had at solo exhibition, Artifacts of Circumstance, at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY in 2009.
Be sure to go to the artist’s page to see select pieces in the show.
