The Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University announces the opening of its new exhibition, Marko Mäetamm: I Want to Tell You Something, on September 15, 2016, at 5:00 p.m. I Want to Tell You Something features work by internationally acclaimed Estonian artist Marko Mäetamm. Mäetamm has exhibited in galleries in the United States and abroad, and he represented Estonia at the Venice Biennial in 2003 and 2007. The artist’s solo exhibition features a selection of multimedia installations and introduces several paintings and videos created specifically for the Picker. With its multimedia and multi-sensory approach, I Want to Tell You Something is a comprehensive view of the artist’s satirical style and ironic take on everyday life.
The artist will be present at the opening reception held at the Picker Art Gallery on Thursday, September 15, 2016, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. The exhibition will run through January 8, 2017, and is free and open to the public. An exhibition catalogue accompanies I Want to Tell You Something, with a foreword by Anja Chávez, director of University Museums, Colgate University; essays by Alistair Hicks, former senior curator, Deutsche Bank, and author of Global Art Compass (Thames & Hudson, 2014); R. Ryan Endris, assistant professor of music and director of choral and vocal activities, Colgate University; Adrian Giurgea, professor of theater and chair of the Department of Theater, Colgate University; Katie Jean Colman ’18, Colgate University Museums 2016 summer intern; and an interview between Adrian Giurgea and the artist.
I Want to Tell You Something is part of Mäetamm’s four-month residency at Colgate University as the 2016 Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Artist-in-Residence. The Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Artist-in-Residence Fund was established in 1986 as a challenge grant in support of the arts at Colgate.
This exhibition is funded in part by the Friends of the Picker Art Gallery. All events, including the exhibition, are in collaboration with the Departments of Theater, Art and Art History, and Music, and the Picker Art Gallery.
EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, September 15, 2016
- 5:00–8:00 p.m., Picker Art Gallery, Dana Arts Center
- 5:30 p.m., opening remarks by Anja Chávez, director of University Museums; Adrian Giurgea, professor of theater and chair of the Department of Theater; and Colgate University students Katie Jean Colman ʼ18 and Emily Daniel ʼ18
- 6:00 p.m., student-led exhibition mini-tours
RELATED EVENTS
Thursday, September 15, 2016
- Clifford Gallery opening, Something Moving, an exhibition featuring an installation of fifteen video works by Marko Mäetamm
- 4:30–7:00 p.m., Clifford Gallery, Little Hall
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
- Department of Art and Art History Lecture Series: Artist’s Talk with Marko Mäetamm
- 4:30 p.m., Colgate University, Golden Auditorium, 105 Little Hall
- Reception to follow
Friday, October 21, 2016
- Colgate University Chamber Singers and Chamber Players Concert
- R. Ryan Endris and Laura Klugherz, directors
- 6:30 p.m., Picker Art Gallery opens to the public
- 7:00 p.m., concert
- Reception to follow
- Colgate University, Picker Art Gallery, Dana Arts Center
- This is a collaboration between the Picker Art Gallery and Colgate University’s Department of Music.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
- Department of Art and Art History Lecture Series: Lecture by Alistair Hicks, former senior curator, Deutsche Bank, and author of Global Art Compass (Thames & Hudson, 2014)
- “Marko and Me,” addressing Marko Mäetamm’s work and curatorial practice
- 4:30–5:30 p.m., Colgate University, Golden Auditorium, 105 Little Hall
All events are free and open to the public.
MARKO MÄETAMM
Marko Mäetamm’s art practice explores family life and often focuses on everyday situations through a variety of media, including animation, painting, photography, sculpture, and text. Born in Viljandi, Estonia, in 1965, Mäetamm now lives and works in Tallinn, Estonia. He studied graphic art at the Estonian Academy of Arts, where he received his bachelor of arts in 1993 and his master of arts in 1995. After graduation, Mäetamm quickly grew to become one of the most prominent artists in Estonia.
His work has been exhibited at such international venues as the Platan Gallery, Budapest (2001); the Venice Biennale (2003 and 2007); Wäinö Aalto Museum of Art, Turku, Finland (2009); Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs, Long Island City, New York (2009); the New Art Dealers Alliance Art Fair, Miami (2012); Galerie Iragui, Moscow (2014); and the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom (2014). Mäetamm has received numerous awards, including the Kristjan Raud Art Award, Estonia (2000); the Baltic Assembly Prize for the Arts, Latvia (2009); and the annual award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2011). He was given the Estonian State Decoration, Order of the White Star, V Class, in 2008. He has participated in artists’ residencies at the Ville de Paris; Résidences Internationales aux Recollets, Paris (2011); the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, New York (2013); and the Fountainhead Residency, Miami (2014).
Mäetamm’s published books include Our Daddy Is a Hunter (2012), Painting and Waiting (2013), and The Alphabet of Lies (2014).
PICKER ART GALLERY AT COLGATE UNIVERSITY
The Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University is a teaching and collecting museum that engages local and global communities through innovative exhibitions, interdisciplinary research, dynamic outreach, and meaningful experiences with art across cultures, time, and media. The gallery’s permanent collection includes nearly 11,000 objects, among them, approximately 8,000 works of art on paper, 1,400 photographs, 900 paintings, and 300 sculptures, primarily from the twentieth century. It is located on the Colgate University campus, off Lally Lane, on the second floor of the Paul Rudolph–designed Dana Arts Center.
The Picker Art Gallery is open Tuesdays–Fridays, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon–5:00 p.m.; and the third Thursday of every month, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. The Picker is closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.colgate.edu/picker or call (315) 228-7634.