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FIFTY ARTISTS SELECTED TO EXHIBIT IN BEYOND/IN WESTERN NEW YORK 2007

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Fifty artists, including 18 from Toronto and Southern Ontario, have been selected to exhibit in “Beyond/In Western New York 2007.” Thanks to the success of the expanded biennial exhibition in 2005, 12 local visual arts institutions have again joined forces for the 2007 presentation of this project. The new format has reenergized this long-standing exhibition, which is open to both emerging and established artists in the eastern Great Lakes region.

Twelve Western New York venues, both large and small, will host the exhibition, including Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo Arts Studio, Carnegie Art Center and Hallwalls.

“As was the case in 2005, there was no shortage of meritorious work to consider, from both emerging and established artists,” said John Massier, visual arts curator, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center. “Only two years after our first biennial, we found a host of new people applying, a solid gauge of the rapid growth of cultural activity in the region, particularly among young artists. It’s always a thrill to personally visit the studios of so many artists across the region. The final selections, as before, reflect the varied curatorial perspectives at work and our effort to present a diverse array of ideas and artistic approaches to our audience.”

After reviewing 955 submissions (45 percent from Canada), curatorial representatives from the 12 participating local arts organizations made on-site visits to 107 artists’ studios. Following the studio visits, the curators had a roundtable discussion to determine the final selection and the venue for each artist’s work. The number of submissions to “Beyond/In Western New York 2007” increased by more than 20 percent this year.

The work spans a spectrum of art practices from traditional drawing, prints, painting, sculpture and photography to video and 16mm film, performance and multimedia installations.

An illustrated catalog that includes curatorial comments and illustrations of each artist’s work will be available at each institution. “Beyond/In Western New York 2007” will premiere at all 12 venues during a single weekend of openings September 14–16. Visit www.albrightknox/WNY2007.org for information.