The Academy Blog

John Ahearn was born in Binghamton, New York in 1951 and lives and works in New York City. He was a founding member of Collaborative Projects, Inc. and co-organizer of the “Times Square Show,” 1980. John Ahearn’s work alongside that of his long-time collaborator, Rigoberto Torres was the subject of a survey exhibition, “South Bronx Hall of Fame,” organized by the Contemporary Arts Center, Houston in 1991 which traveled to museums in Europe and North America. In the 1980s and 1990s the artists executed several outdoor murals in the Bronx, New York and collaborated on public projects and exhibitions in Europe and North America. Between 2000 and 2002 John Ahearn completed a public project in Pan Chiao, Taiwan and between 2005 and 2006, Ahearn and Torres collaborated on two large scale wall murals at the Inhotim Centro de Arte Contemporânea in Brazil. In the fall of 2010, their work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art in Newark. In May 2012, John Ahearn participated in the special projects section of the Frieze Art Fair on Randall’s Island, where he presented a reconstruction of his legendary 1979 exhibition at Fashion Moda, “South Bronx Hall of Fame.”

Sunshine (with Stripes), 1993, John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres

David Ebershoff is the author of four books, including The Danish Girl and the #1 bestseller The 19th Wife. The Danish Girl is a fictional account of painter Lili Elbe, who worked in Paris in the 1920s and 30s and became the subject of an Oscar-winning film starring Academy Award-winners Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander.

Ebershoff’s books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages to critical acclaim and Out Magazine has twice named him to its annual Out 100 list of influential LGBT people. David had a long career as an editor at Random House, where he edited more than twenty New York Times bestsellers and three Pulitzer Prize winners and a winner of the National Book Award. He teaches in the graduate writing program at Columbia University.

On December 14, New York Academy of Art faculty member Roberto Osti will give a talk on artistic anatomy and how to portray the human form. Osti will also sign copies of his recently published book Basic Human Anatomy: An Essential Visual Guide for Artists (Monacelli Press), which presents artists with the same system of line, shape and form used by da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo. He has exhibited extensively in Italy and the United States, including at the Bologna Museum of Modern Art, the Drawing Center and the New York Academy of Sciences, and his work has been featured in Scientific American and The New York Times.

(Fast forward to 11:20)

On November 28, the Academy will stage its first-ever Facebook livestream, featuring three of our renowned drawing faculty. Over three hours, Dan Thompson, Vincent Desiderio and Michael Grimaldi will be giving a figure drawing demonstration with a live model, and discussing perspective, light and shadow, and key techniques for portraiture. We’ll be accepting questions over Facebook in real time!

If you’re interested in attending the event in person, email khemmer@nyaa.edu to RSVP.
Space is limited. If you can’t make it, be sure to watch on Facebook Live!

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The New York Academy of Art presents a lecture by fine art insurance specialist Laura Murphy Doyle. An invaluable presentation for both art collectors and working artists, Doyle will discuss all issues related to the acquisition, handling and storage of art pieces, including packing and transit conditions, ephemeral materials, common mistakes, ideal displays and the Visual Artist’s Rights Act

Laura Murphy Doyle attended the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia and the University of bristol in Florence, Italy, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History with a focus on Fine Art Management. Laura has a certificate in Appraisal Studies of fine and Decorative Arts from New York University in New York City. As the National Fine Art and Collections Specialist at Chubb, Doyle services high value collectors by consulting on risk mitigation for fine art, antiques, jewelry and collectibles. She is responsible for developing New Collector Services, including valuation reviews, review of consignment and loan agreements, advisory on packing, shipping, disaster planning and collection management, and referrals to fine art professionals such as art handlers and conservators. She is a member of the Arts & Records Committee of the Inland Marine Underwriter’s Association, ArtTable and the Appraisers Association of America.

Kathy Grayson is the owner and director of the Hole, a contemporary art gallery. Opened in July of 2010 on the Bowery, the Hole presents monthly solo and group exhibitions featuring artists from emerging to established including Kembra Pfahler, Holton Rower, Lola Montes Schnabel and Matthew Stone. Previous to founding the Hole, Grayson was a director at Deitch Projects.

Tschabalala Self is a New Haven based painter. She received her B.A. from Bard College in 2012 and her M.F.A. from the Yale School of Art in 2015. Her work builds a singular style from the syncretic use of both painting and printmaking to explore ideas about the black female body. The artist constructs exaggerated depictions of female bodies using a combination of sewn, printed, and painted materials, traversing different artistic and craft traditions. The exaggerated biological characteristics of her figures reflect Self’s own experiences and cultural attitudes toward race and gender. She has appeared in group exhibitions at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Studio Museum of Harlem, and the Queens Museum of Art.

Jon Kessler received his BFA from SUNY-Purchase. He has sculptures in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and been the subject solo shows at PS 1, Deitch Projects, and The Drawing Center. He has received several NEA grants, the St. Gaudens Memorial Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Foundation for the Performing Arts grant.