Pour. Carrie Moyer, Diver, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 40 X 60”. Courtesy of Canada, New York

Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters will host the opening of “POUR,” an exhibition featuring nine contemporary artists whose abstract works explore paint’s liquidity, on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013 at the Schmidt Center Gallery, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. Organized and produced by the University Galleries, “POUR” is on view Tuesday, Feb. 5 through Saturday, March 23, 2013. The exhibition travels to New York City and opens concurrently at Asya Geisberg Gallery, Chelsea (April 25 to May 24, 2013) and Lesley Heller Workspace, Lower East Side (April 24 to May 24, 2013).

Co-curated by Carol Prusa and Elisabeth Condon, painters and art professors at FAU and University of South Florida, respectively, “POUR” features selected works by artists from a span of generations and recognition ranging from international acclaim to those just becoming known in New York including: Ingrid Calame, Kris Chatterson, Roland Flexner, Angelina Gualdoni, Carrie Moyer, Carolanna Parlato, David Reed, Jackie Saccoccio and Carrie Yamaoka. Stephen Maine, a New York-based critic, curator and artist, and Tyler Emerson Dorsch, a Miami-based art historian, curator and the director of Miami’s Dorsch Gallery, wrote the essays for “POUR’s” illustrated 32-page catalogue.

“POUR” opens to the public with an artist talk presented by New York-based and Florida-born artist Kris Chatterson on Monday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. Additional public programs include the “POUR/Papercuts, A Family Day” event on Saturday, Feb. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. and “POUR (Paint): A Symposium,” on Sat, Feb. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. The symposium will feature participating artists Carrie Moyer, Carrie Yamaoka; essayists Stephen Maine, Tyler Emerson Dorsch; and co-curators Carol Prusa and Elisabeth Condon. All public programs and the exhibition are free and open to the public.

The 23 paintings in “POUR” present the literal pouring of paint on a surface through a variety of physical methods and conceptual strategies. The practice of pouring paint became popularly known in works by mid-20th century American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock and was subsequently refined in the 1970s in what is called “Color Field” painting. Perhaps hastened by images of spills and explosions from events such as September 11^th and the BP oil spill, the work in “POUR” represents a swath of abstract painting that has developed with momentum since the late 1990s as also demonstrated by several recent museum and gallery exhibitions including “Step Into Liquid,” Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis Art Institute of Art Design (2006); “High Times, Hard Times,” National Academy of Art Museum (2007); and “Vivid Schroeder Romero & Shredder” (2010).

The “POUR” exhibition catalogue is made possible in part by the University of South Florida System Internal Awards Program under Grant No. 0048262. The exhibition and symposium are made possible in part by a grant from The David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation and are presented in collaboration with the Department of Visual Arts and Art History at FAU. The University Galleries programs are supported in part by the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, R.A. Ritter Foundation, Beatrice Cummings Mayer and individual contributors. Museum Education programs are made possible by the Kaye Endowment for Arts Integration.

The University Galleries at FAU are open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays, from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, from 1 to 5 p.m. Group and class tours are welcome during public hours as well as at other times scheduled by appointment. For more information, contact the Galleries at 561-297-2661 or visit www.fau.edu/galleries.

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