#FirstFriday: Must-See September Exhibitions

Every month we highlight exhibitions, events, and workshops that feature WSW alumnx artists! We share the shows near and far that make up our monthly must-see list.

New York

Intricate Rituals will feature work by Kaisa Lily Nichols-Russell (Nonprofit Management Intern ’22), Thaïs Calvarin (Studio Intern ’22), and Erin Moore (Studio Intern ’22). This exhibition of print and paper explores concepts of identity, language, and queer protest. It celebrates ritualistic tendencies in artmaking and communal living. Join us for the opening reception on September 8 from 7-9 PM! We will be commemorating the end of a year-long internship at WSW, during which intricate rituals sustained friendships and creativity!

Judith Hoyt (Artist’s Book Residency Grant ’83) has work in the group show TRIO, which showcases new and recent paintings and mixed-media works by herself, David Thelen, and Karl Dempwolf. The exhibition will be on view at the Albert Shahinian Fine Art Gallery in Rhinebeck, NY. The exhibition will be up until December 2023.

Art on Paper is partnering with Center for Book Arts (CBA) to launch the inaugural Booksmart Fair, a new artists’ book fair located at the front of this year’s Art on Paper Fair. Alongside 7 other institutions, Women’s Studio Workshop has been invited to table at Booksmart this year. The Booksmart Fair will take place from September 7-11 at Pier 36, Downtown Manhattan 299 South Street NYC. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets!

Pennsylvania

Women’s Studio Workshop will be tabling at the inaugural year of the Pittsburgh Art Book Fair! PABF is co-directed by Caroline Kern (Studio Workspace Residency ’24), Chas Wagner, Emma Honcharski, Mary Tremonte (Studio Residency Grant ’19), Jacquelyn Johnson. The inaugural PABF is a free annual event dedicated to printed matter featuring local, national, and international exhibitors. Meet artists, publishers, and other art book enthusiasts while browsing participating vendors and shopping an incredible range of artist books, zines, and publications. Join us from September 9-10 and chat with Erin Zona (Co-Executive Director) about our artist books, residencies, internships and more!

The PABF will also be hosting many other WSW alumnx who will be tabling and selling their own artwork and prints, including Laura Salgarolo (Studio Intern ’18), Eliza Clifford (Nonprofit Management Intern ’22), Hannah Moog (Studio Intern ’22), and Aurora Brush (Studio Intern ’19 and Apprentice ’21) will be there with Cosmic Doghouse Press!

Additionally, there is a PABF Preview at The Miller ICA which will be up through September 3 and will feature a special preview selection of books and prints from the PABF. The preview show is on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus, at the Miller Institute of Contemporary Art.

North Carolina

Eleanor Anderson (Chili Bowl Workspace Resident ’19) has an exhibition opening in Asheville, NC at the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery. There will be an opening reception on Friday September 1 from 5-7 pm, and the exhibition will be on view through October 25. This exhibition features her most recent body of work, in which she “uses craft traditions as a flexible constraint by experimenting with bold colors and graphic patterns to discover new visual possibilities for form and surface design. This spirited practice delves into techniques such as embroidery, beading, weaving, aplique, and stitching; resulting in vibrantly textured 2D works.”

Jen Blazina (Studio Workspace Residency ’06, Studio Residency Grant ’08) will also have work at the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery. She is in a group called Animalia 2.0, which “showcases the unique perspectives of thirteen contemporary artists on the representation of animals. Mixed-media sculptures, paintings, drawings, glassworks, and photographs, invite you to reflect upon the connection between our own existence and that of the wild, natural world”. There will be an exhibition opening on the main level gallery, on September 1 from 5-7 pm. The exhibition will be open through October 25, 2023.

New Mexico

Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo (Studio Residency Grant ’23) has work in the group show Proximities, which is “a five-person exhibition of work that explores the interconnected web of nearness and occurrences. Proximities includes the work of Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, Amanda Curreri, Nick Larsen, Hilary Nelson, and J Rivera Pansa. The works in this exhibition are comprised of hand made paper, digital and traditional weaving techniques, stained glass, manipulated photographic collage, and regenerative sculpture.”

The exhibition will be on view through October 7 at the Best Western gallery which is located at 4328 Airport Rd. Ste B, Santa Fe NM. Best Western hours are Saturdays from 1- 4 pm and otherwise open by appointment for the run of the exhibition. Please contact Shane Tolbert & James Sterling Pitt by email at [email protected] with questions or to schedule an appointment.

Mikayla Patton (SAI Instructor ’23) has a solo show entitled On The Back Road – which opens on August 11th, and will be up through September 9th at the Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. There will be an opening reception of August 18th from 5-7 PM. On the Back Road brings together both two and three dimensional abstract pieces made with handmade paper and assorted mixed media, which navigate a delicate balance between vulnerability and protection, fragility and strength.

Maryland

Kaisa Lily (Nonprofit Management Intern ’22) has work in the group show Key to Success which is on view at the Baltimore Washington International Airport. The exhibition was curated jointly by Winston Harris and Gretchen Schermerhorn (Studio Workspace Resident ’09), and features artworks from Pyramid Atlantic Art Center’s Keyholder Artists in Residency program, spanning 2018 to 2022.

There will be an opening reception for the exhibition on September 28 from 3-4:30 pm, you can register to attend to opening here. The exhibition will be up through the end of November 2023.

Ohio

Erin Moore (Studio Internship ’22) and Hannah Moog (Studio Internship ’22) both have work in Zygote Press’s Letterpress group show We’re Here, We’re Queer! The exhibition will be open until September 16, and the gallery is open Wednesdays 5-9 pm, Fridays 12-4 pm, and Saturdays 12-4 pm.

“We’re Here, We’re Queer! celebrates work made by Queer-identifying printmakers from across the country and Canada. While the subject matter ranges – political, social, sexual, gender, race, environmental topics are all catalysts for the work – what unifies them is the contemporary practice of the centuries-old craft of letterpress printing.”

Are you a WSW alumnx with exhibition news to share?
Email info about your upcoming show to [email protected],
and join our WSW Artist Alumnae group on Facebook!