Omnivorous: The Art and Architecture of Paul Rosenblatt and SPRINGBOARD is a new exhibition opening Thursday, Jan. 19, at the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center’s Mesaros Galleries.
The exhibition will be on view through March 10.
Rosenblatt, an award-winning architect and installation artist, also will present a visiting artist lecture at 5 p.m. Jan. 19 in the CAC ’s Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (200A). The opening reception for the exhibition will follow at 6 p.m. in the galleries.
Rosenblatt received degrees in both art and architecture at Yale. He lives in Pittsburgh , where he launched SPRINGBOARD Architecture Communication Design. The collaborative, multidisciplinary studio produces architectural design for buildings, renovation and interiors; communication design for publications; three-dimensional designs for exhibitions and furnishings; and experimental work that takes the form of art installations, free-standing objects and surface explorations. He is an adjunct associate professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University.
Omnivorousis a two-part exhibition that addresses the compression of electronic media information one receives on a daily basis. The exhibition will create two inter-related installations: one of architecture informed by Rosenblatt and SPRINGBOARD ’s approach to art and one of art informed by their approach to architecture.
One gallery will contain a site-specificomnivorousenvironment created specifically for this exhibition. The multimedia and interactive environment will be composed of painted and manipulated assemblages of found objects: paintings, books, radios, televisions, computers, lamps and building materialsin effect, many parts of everyday life that contribute to our understanding of the world.
The other gallery will display five architectural projects produced by SPRINGBOARD since October 2001. The five projects reflect diverse interests and diverse clients: a museum building, a coffee shop, a children’s play environment, a trade show and an art school. Each project is represented by a two-dimensional wall panel of drawings and photographs, and each will also be represented by an analogous Plexiglas and steel model created specially for this exhibition, displayed on a custom-designed and fabricated base.
Rosenblatt’s work has been featured at the Heinz Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art, as well as the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh . He is associated with a new school of contemporary artists, architects and designers who employ interdisciplinary and collaborative methods to synthesize fine art and design into combinative, interactive, green environments in education and the workplace.
Rosenblatt was recently awarded the Orville Lance Prize for Architecture and is a former honoree of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies.
Managed and programmed by curator Robert Bridges and the WVU Division of Art, the Mesaros Galleries organize a diverse and exciting schedule of exhibitions throughout the year. The galleries are committed to showing experimental work that is innovative both in terms of media and content. The Mesaros Galleries also host contemporary artists of important or growing reputation who work in all media in its Visiting Artist Program.
All Mesaros Galleries events, including art lectures, exhibitions and receptions, are free and open to the public.
Gallery hours are noon-9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday and 1-9 p.m. Saturday. The galleries are closed Sundays and University holidays. Special individual or group viewing times may be arranged upon request.
For more information, contact Bridges at 304-293-4841 ext. 3210 or 293-2312.