Pace University Art Gallery Debuts Ground-Breaking Show on “Substance”

The Pace University Art Gallery opened the in-person exhibition, “Substance,” on September 27, 2021 which will run through October 30, 2021. The gallery is located at 41 Park Row with the entrance on Spruce Street, across from City Hall in Lower Manhattan. The exhibition brings together four abstract artists—Diego Anaya, Liz Atz, Linda Ekstrom, and Alberto Lule—who express meaning via their materials rather than through representational imagery.

During the exhibit period, artists will also lead hybrid lectures or workshops. An in-person reception will be held on Friday, October 22 from 5:00 p.m–7:00 p.m.

Please note that for COVID safety, no food or drink will be served. Additionally, face coverings are required as is proof of vaccination or PCR test within 72 hours and completion of COVID screening questions.

The following artists will be on exhibit:

• While Diego Anaya’s work is minimalist in imagery, he celebrates his Mexican heritage through the use of ground corn, corn ash, and sand with which he creates rough and uneven surfaces. The texture compels the viewer to examine the work closely, creating an immediate and intimate connection between the viewer and the artist.
• Liz Atz will recreate a large-scale window installation from a March 2021 artist residency on-site. Made of mushroom-based, fully biodegradable plastics, Atz’s bright, immersive artworks critique commercialism, materialism, and consumption. During the residency, Atz experimented further with chitosan—by casting, adding pigment, and laser cutting. She will offer an in-class bio-plastic workshop for Pace students.
• Linda Ekstrom’s works from her “Word” series use text from religious sources as a form of inspiration and commentary. Many of her artworks are made from altered pages of the Bible, which is representative of how Ekstrom explores feminist issues, particularly within the role of Jewish and Christian religious history, and tradition. Her work addresses the suppressed stories of women both in the Bible, and throughout art history, via the process of disassembling and then reassembling this book which has been used to inspire, divide, and control readers. She will offer an online zine-making workshop on Thursday, October 28 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
• Alberto Lule critiques and exposes the prison industrial complex in America as a form of modern slavery. His “Investigation” series offers insight to his experience as a formerly incarcerated person by using fingerprint powder—a tool used by police to prove someone was at the scene of a crime—as his drawing material. Lule reclaims his past, present, and future by using the dust to investigate the carceral system itself. He will give a hybrid artist talk, co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Society, on Monday, October 25 at 12:10 p.m. ET.Please note that this hybrid event will be available to Pace Students, staff and faculty in-person, and to the public via a synchronous Zoom.

Also included in the digital version of the “Substance” exhibit is artist Adebunmi Gbadebo, who represents identity and history in “Blues People,” by incorporating prints of historical documents onto paper embedded with Black hair. For the artist, Black hair is, “a material and a history in which to root my own work that positions the people who looked like me as central to my practice.” In so doing, she exposes the grim history of American slavery that has been erased by white-centric narratives and materials. She will give an online artist talk on Monday, October 18 at 11:00 a.m.

The “Substance” exhibit, which was originally scheduled for February 2021 and then re-imagined in a hybrid format including an artist residency, was curated by Sarah Cunningham, Pace University Art Gallery director/assistant clinical professor, with Samantha L. Smith, ‘21, gallery intern/research fellow. To support their work, they received the Provost’s Academic Year 2020-2021 Student-Faculty Undergraduate Research Award through the Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) at Pace.

About the Pace University Art Gallery

Founded with the conviction that art is integral to society, the Pace University Art Gallery is a creative laboratory and exhibition space that supports innovation and exploration for both artists and viewers. Open to students, staff, and faculty from across the Pace campuses and, equally, to the Lower Manhattan community and visitors from around the world, the Art Gallery encourages personal investigation and critical dialogue via thought-provoking contemporary art exhibits and public programming. Enhancing the Art Department's Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts programs, the Art Gallery offers students real-world opportunities to exhibit their own art and to work directly with professional artists to install and promote exhibitions.

About Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

Pace University’s liberal arts college, Dyson College, offers more than 50 programs, spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and pre-professional programs (including pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, and pre-law), as well as many courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements. The College offers access to numerous opportunities for internships, cooperative education and other hands-on learning experiences that complement in-class learning in preparing graduates for career and graduate/professional education choices.

About the Pace University Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE)

The Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) in Dyson College of Arts and Sciences provides leadership, coordination and support to student-faculty research collaborations, faculty grant-funded research projects and programs, and opportunities for service learning. CURE is part of Dyson College’s long-standing, ongoing commitment to build a research culture at Pace University. CURE is one component in Dyson’s efforts to innovatively enhance the quality of both the academic experience and overall student life.

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique programs that combine immersive academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides.