Andrew Small

   

The inspiration for my abstract paintings emanates from a tradition that ranges from Forrest Bess and Thomas Nozkowski to Raoul De Keyser and Mary Heilmann. My paintings exist in a distinctive gap between a playful whimsy and a peculiar awkwardness in which spontaneity and humor are indispensable. Crafted intuitively utilizing an intimate scale, sweet, incongruous, and enigmatic elements populate uncanny spaces. This allows the paintings to appear as unsettling dramas that are at once attractive and cumbersome. Investigating this paradox is vital, as my work teeters between the personified qualities of introvert and extrovert. Through intentional ambiguity that does not surrender specific narratives or associations; I examine the underlying theme of isolation, and the feeling of self-consciousness that results.

Within my work I strive for a certain sense of inelegance that is countered by traces of sophistication and virtuosity. This refinement is challenged by my natural inclination towards a decidedly inscrutable simplicity. This struggle is crucial and evident as my compositions are created by the careful editing of marks, forms and the use of colors that are both harmonious and discordant. Ultimately, my goal is to elicit emotional and psychological responses that engage the imagination.

Education

2007 MFA, Purchase College SUNY, Purchase, New York
2004 BFA, Kutztown University, Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Solo/Two Person Exhibitions

2009
It’s Only Rock N’ Roll, Heitmann Atelier & Gallery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Desperate Times Call for Humor: Jon Arge and Andrew Small, Parlor Gallery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Group Exhibitions

2009
9” x 12”: Works on Paper, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas (forthcoming)
Going Postal: 2009 Postcard Show, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, Virginia (forthcoming)
Multiple Choice, Parlor Gallery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Back to School: Eckhaus Alumni Show, Eckhaus, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
6x6x2009, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, New York
Summer Invitational 2009, Heitmann Atelier & Gallery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Making Funny, Curated by John Olsen, Under Minerva, Brooklyn, New York Invitational Salon of Small Works, New Arts Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Tails and Fairytales, Lafayette Mill Gallery, North Kingstown, Rhode Island
Small Works Show, Heitmann Atelier & Gallery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
I Heart Art, The Wassaic Project, Work Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
The Art of Communication, Gallery RFD, Swainsboro, Georgia
Postcards from the Edge: 11th Annual Visual AIDS Benefit Exhibition, Metro Pictures, NewYork, New York
2008 
Square Foot Show, Third Floor Gallery, ArtDimensions, St. Louis, Missouri
9” x 12”: Works on Paper, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas
Step Closer: An Exhibition of Small Works, Gallery RFD and EA Gallery, Swainsboro and Lyons, Georgia
PCA&D Faculty Biennial, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Gifts from the Studio, Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, New York
BKLYN: 111, Brooklyn Artists Gym, Brooklyn, New York
Small Works Show, Curated by David Humphrey, 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
6x6x2008, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, New York
Invitational Salon of Small Works, New Arts Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Local Growing Conditions, Curated by Kenise Barnes, Westchester Arts Council, White Plains, New York
Island, College of Staten Island CUNY, Staten Island, New York
Mailed and Mounted, Anton Art Center, Mount Clemens, Michigan
It’s Gouache & Gouache Only, Curated by Geoffrey Young, Jeff Bailey Gallery and Andrea Meislin Gallery, New York, New York
2007
9” x 12”: Works on Paper, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas
Postcards from the Edge: 10th Annual Visual AIDS Benefit Exhibition, James Cohan Gallery, New York, New York
Matriculation, The Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich Arts Council, Greenwich, Connecticut
Place – Setting, Curated By Thom Collins, Supreme Trading, Brooklyn, New York
All Of This And Nothing: Paul Bernhardt and Andrew Small, MFA Thesis Exhibition, The Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery, School of Art and Design, Purchase College SUNY, Purchase, New York
2006 
Over and Out: Second Year MFA Show, The Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery, School of Art and Design, Purchase College SUNY, Purchase, New York
YEA! Young Emerging Artists, Curated By Rosemary Cohane Erpf, Westchester Arts Council, White Plains, New York
2005
10-4: MFA Fall Show, The Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery, Purchase College SUNY, Purchase, New York
2004 
Senior Exhibition, Sharadin Art Gallery, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
2003 
Group Exhibition, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
Cruisin For A Bruisin, SUB Gallery, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
2002 
Group Exhibition, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
2001
Group Exhibition, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
2000 
Group Exhibition, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
2000 
29th Annual Art Exhibit, Franklin County Art Alliance, Chambersburg, PA

Teaching Experience

2009 Adjunct Instructor, Art Institute of York
2009 Continuing Education Instructor, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design
2008 – 2009 Adjunct Instructor, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design
2007- Fall 2008 Associate Lecturer, Mercy College
2007 Instructor, Purchase College SUNY
2006 Instructor, Purchase College SUNY
2005 Teaching Assistant, Purchase College SUNY

Awards

2006 
David Schwarz Scholarship, School of Art and Design, Purchase College SUNY Purchase, New York
2005 
Renee and Henry Richmond Scholarship, School of Art and Design, Purchase College SUNY, Purchase, New York
David Schwarz Scholarship, School of Art and Design, Purchase College SUNY, Purchase, New York
2000 
Cynthia Robinson Memorial Award, Outstanding Portrait by a Student, Franklin County Art Alliance, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
James L. Patterson Memorial Scholarship, Franklin County Art Alliance,Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Visiting Artist Presentations

2006 College of Visual and Performing Arts, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA

Selected Collections

Francine Fox, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Rachel Chambers, Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Cassandra Hooper, Purchase, New York
Denise Mullen, Calgary, Canada
Will and Jada Smith, Trenton, New Jersey
Helen Stambler Neuberger, New York, New York
Frank Mastropaolo, New York, New York
L. Paul Robertson, New York, New York
The Capital Group, Los Angeles, California
Rachel Waltz, Brooklyn, New York
Christine Miers, Bronxville, New York
Julie Rubacha, Florida

Bibliography

2009
“Art Review: 6x6x2009”, Rochester City, June 10.
“At New Arts Program, Small Pieces and Big Impressions”, Reading Eagle, May 31
“Twentieth Annual Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works” (catalog), New Arts Program, 2009.
“April 2009 First Friday Art Venues”, LancasterArts.com, April 3
2008 
“ArtMatters Happenings”, ArtMatters, December
“Small Works Discover Big Ideas”, Reading Eagle, June 18
“Nineteenth Annual Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works” (catalog), New Arts Program, 2008.
2007
“Matriculations to Show MFA Works, October 18 – November 17”,Greenwich Arts Council News, Fall 2007
2006
“Discover the County’s Leading New Artists”, Westchester Business Journal, June.
“Young and the Restless”, Journal News, June 23
2005 
"Apiary Art", The New York Times, December 11
"Grad Student Art Show at Purchase", The Greenwich Time, December 9
2002 
"Essence: Kutztown University Fine Art and Literary Magazine", Spring 2002