2 weeks Ago
Some of those artists have returned for the gallery’s 25th anniversary exhibit, which opened in late August and will run through Nov. 4. A reception is set for 6 to 8 p.
m. this Friday. “It's quite remarkable that [we’ve had] 25 years of a lot of excellent shows in there,” said Joel Chapin, the gallery’s founding director.
The retired FMCC arts faculty member — and FMCC graduate — oversaw the construction and inception of the gallery space in 1999. He’d previously taught at The College of Saint Rose and oversaw the gallery on campus there and noted that FMCC was one of the few SUNY schools that did not have a gallery at the time. “There are now other galleries, but at the time, there really were no other galleries between, say, Saratoga and Albany,” Chapin said.
Under his direction, the gallery typically hosted five or six shows a year. “I would purposely try to make the mission to present a wide range of things, not just what we're all comfortable with, or just traditional things,” Chapin said. That was in part to help give students a leg-up after graduation.
“The art world and art scene is an ever-changing thing, and especially if you had majors that were going out into that environment, they had to be well versed in the variety of forms of art. So we had a lot of things from really conceptual to really traditional over the years,” Chapin said. Fairly early on, he brought in more notable artists to show at the gallery.
Photo by Indiana Nash. The Perrella Gallery at FMCC celebrates 25 years, bringing back some of the artists that have previously been featured in solo shows at the gallery. “The students got to talk with some very world-famous artists.
We were really lucky early on to have made some contacts with some quite major artists,” Chapin said. “I think after the first year and a half, I didn't even have to put out calls for entries anymore.” He also brought students in on the process.
“I would be teaching the students about the planning, writing press releases, the actual installation, and they would meet the artists. It was a really great experience,” Chapin said. The gallery, which is funded by a foundation, later expanded with a sculpture garden.
Photo by Indiana Nash. "Revival" by Tyler Schrader featured at The Perrella Gallery. To honor the Perrella Gallery’s legacy, current gallery Director Brian May brought together a selection of artists who had previously had solo shows at Perrella.
“It was very important for me, for us, to showcase both these incredible artists and the Perrella Gallery,” May said. “Over the last 25 years, the Perrella Gallery has shown a wide range of artists from very established to up-and-coming and we are excited to continue this for another 25 years and beyond.” The exhibit includes work by Barney Bellinger, Michael Davis, Alexandra Higgins, the late E.
R. Jones, Erin Kelly, Willie Marlowe, Gail Nadeau, Judith Plotner, William Ruller, Noah Savett, Phil Scalia, Tyler Schrader, Linda Stein and Harry Wirtz. Some were former students of Chapin, including Schrader.
“When he was a student, he would just come up with these big things, and he really took it seriously, and he was actually the very first FMCC graduate to have a full show in the Perrella Gallery,” Chapin said. In the anniversary show, Schrader upends the expectations of the woodworking medium with a mesmerizing piece that has several types of wood seeming to swirl together. The works on view are a variety of paintings, sculptures, assemblages, photography and more.
During Friday’s reception, Chapin will speak briefly about the gallery’s legacy. “Galleries are like restaurants, especially in this area. Things will open and then they'll stay around for a few years and close.
But 25 years is a pretty good run,” Chapin said. The Perrella Gallery is open from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment.
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