The alumni newsline for the University of Pennsylvania School of Design
Published by PennDesign Alumni Association (PDAA)
Volume 7, Number 9
May 2007

 

ALUMNI WEEKEND: May 11-12

last harvest Furness picnic Nakazato image
picnic
PennDesign Alumni Weekend Picnic 
Saturday, May 12, 12-2pm
Meyerson Plaza

Join Dean Gary Hack, the Alumni Association board and members of the PennDesign community for a fun afternoon on Penn's campus! Register online by May 4 for the picnic only ($20/person) or the Weekend package ($30/person), including 2 gallery receptions, a sustainability panel, a real estate development talk, plus more!
Visit the website
for details.

 

ALUMNI RECEPTION @ AIA-SAN ANTONIO

Alumni Reception @
AIA-San Antonio

Friday, May 4, 7-9pm
Omni La Mansion del Rio Hotel
Madero Room, 5th Floor, 112 College Street

Honor the Penn alumni elevated to the College of Fellows at this Pennsylvania alumni reception. All alumni attending the convention and those who live in San Antonio are welcome. RSVP to the Alumni Office
 

VENTURI SCOTT BROWN EXHIBITION AT PENN

Masterworks from the Venturi Scott Brown Collection are on view in the Kroiz Gallery of the Architectural Archives through October 5, 2007. All alumni are welcome at a special reception on Friday, May 11, 6-8pm, during Alumni Weekend. To RSVP, register online or visit the website for more information.

Documenting over 40 years of innovation in design, the exhibit explores the work of the world-renowned architecture and planning team of Robert Venturi Hon'80 and Denise Scott Brown MCP'60 MArch'65 Hon'94, presented through their original drawings, models, manuscripts and decorative arts, as well as an installation especially designed by the architects for this exhibition.

 

MFA STUDENT BLOG

MFA students have been keeping an online forum of their work in progress this semester. Check out their blog!
 
Makary image Diamond image Corlett image
 
DID YOU KNOW...
Penn and Penn People in the news are featured weekly on the Penn Alumni website. Last month included a "Did You Know" spotlight on the Fisher Fine Arts Library, designed by Frank Furness. See the website for details.



ON THE LINE

Please note: some alumni names are hyperlinked to email addresses

2000s

Brosseau painting

Mark Brosseau MFA'01 
and fellow alumni Deirdre Murphy MFA'00, Kate Norton MFA'03, Kate Stewart MFA'03 and Scott White MFA'00 will show their work in From Eye to Eye: An Artist's Collaborative at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia from May 1-26; opening reception is on First Friday, May 4, 6-8:30pm. The three painters and two sculptors collaborated on ten mixed-media drawings for this unique exhibition.
Nicole Galdieri MES'04 MCP'06
is an environmental planner at the Montgomery County Planning Commission, where she reviews development proposals for compliance with Act 537 Sewage Facilities and Act 247 Land Development and Subdivision regulations. She is also involved with the ongoing County Natural Areas Inventory project, conducted in partnership with the Morris Arboretum of Penn.

Rosa Otero PhD'05
was initiated into the Lambda Psi chapter of Virginia Tech in March as an honorary member of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.

Marlene Rye MFA'00
has a solo exhibition, New Paintings, at Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia from May 4-25; opening reception is on First Friday, May 4, 5-7pm. See her website for more information.

1990s

Sean Higgins MFA'98
celebrated his Los Angeles solo exhibition debut last month for Island of Relative Stability at Sixspace in Culver City, CA. His vague landscapes, including Terraform, are constructed from images that are first transferred to the back of Plexiglas via an acrylic transfer process, then hand-sanded to produce the desired hazy effect.

Higgins Terraform

1980s

Abdul-Jawad BenSwessi MArch'81 MA'84 PhD'87
heads the graduate program at the department of architecture, University of Al-Fateh, Tripoli, Libya, where his course work focuses on architectural design studio and structure. He presented a preservation case study on the red castle of Tripoli at this February's 2nd International Council on Monuments and Sights (ICOMOS) conference on architectural conservation held in Dubai, UAE. He would love to hear from old colleagues at Penn!

Leah Reynolds MFA'86
has a mixed-media installation and Polaroids on exhibit as Whirlybird at 55 Mercer Gallery in Philadelphia through
May 19. The room-sized installation and accompanying photographs were initially inspired by an old-fashioned, hanging wind-up toy. Her work Furl is also on view at the Philadelphia Airport.

1970s

Elaine Austin Crossman BFA'75 MFA'77
is director of the New Era Gallery in Vinalhaven, ME. The gallery will reopen this month for its sixth season in a new building in Nobo (like Soho, only different!) at 60 Main Street.  Her own work will be featured in a show there opening in June.

George Dugan BFA'70 MFA'71
will have a solo exhibition in Tralee, Ireland this July at the Siamsa Tire Gallery of the National Cultural Center. The exhibit features approximately forty landscapes he painted outdoors while living in Dingle, Ireland. As professor emeritus of art at the State University of New York (SUNY), he directs the Art in Ireland study abroad program through SUNY-Cortland. This is his sixth summer teaching painting and drawing in Dingle. Dugan is currently serving as a visiting artist at SUNY-Binghamton, where he participated in a two-man exhibition at the Spool Gallery last month. www.georgedugan.net
Exter garden Anthony Exter C'75
president of Anthony Exter Landscape Design, Los Angeles, is featured in this month's issue of Garden Design magazine for a residential garden he designed in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. He is the recipient of the magazine's Golden Trowel Award.
Barbara Lampen CW'74 MRP'76
was appointed president of the Jacob Javits Convention Center Development Corporation, a corporate subsidary of the Empire State Development Corporation. She will oversee all aspects of the $1.5 billion expansion and renovation of the Javits Convention Center in New York City, including a 1,500 room hotel and a 1.5 million square foot residential and commercial mixed-use development.

Carol Smyser McHarg MLA'77
is a landscape architect and painter. She has been selected by the Philadelphia Arts Alliance for a solo exhibition, Design Against Nature, May 17-August 23, at The Rittenhouse Hotel, 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, 3rd Floor. The opening reception is May 17, 5:30-7:30pm.

1960s

Bronstein painting

Ed Bronstein MArch'68
was awarded "Best Landscape" for San Miguel Church in the Philadelphia Sketch Club's 144th Annual Small Oils Show last month. In September, he will show his work in a solo exhibition, Looking In, Looking Out, at Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia. In March of 2008, he will have a solo show at Origin Gallery in Dublin, Ireland. He plans to paint for that show this August at the "Cill Rialaig Project" in County Kerry, Ireland. www.edbronstein.com

 

HAPPENINGS

STUDENT + FACULTY EXHIBITIONS
 
through May 6
JOAN WADLEIGH CURRAN: CYCLES
Seraphin Gallery, 1108 Pine St.

May 7-16
UNDERGRADUATE SENIOR FINE ARTS GRADUATION EXHIBITION
Addams Gallery
Reception and Ceremony: May 13, 2pm

May 8-14
ALL PENNDESIGN SHOW

Lower Meyerson Gallery

May 8-18
UNDERGRADUATE SENIOR ARCHITECTURE GRADUATION EXHIBITION
Upper Meyerson Gallery

May 12 - June 3

MFA THESIS EXHIBITION
Ice Box Project Space, Crane Arts Building
1400 N. American St.
Reception: May 12, 6-9pm



 


through May 26
GROUP SHOW WITH JOAN WADLEIGH CURRAN AND JANE IRISH: FINDING A FORM: INFLUENCES IN FIGURATIVE PAINTING
Tower Gallery, 969 N. 2nd St.


through June 1
JOHN MOORE: RECENT PAINTINGS
Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York

EVENTS

Friday, May 4
ALUMNI RECEPTION AT AIA - SAN ANTONIO  

Friday, May 11 - Saturday, May 12
ALUMNI WEEKEND AT PENN
Register online today!


Monday, May 14
PENNDESIGN GRADUATION
Speaker:
David Orr

Thursday, June 14
SCHUYLKILL RIVER GUIDED BOAT TOUR

Stay tuned for details!

Check out Alumni Events to learn about other upcoming programs on campus and in your area.

Join "QuakerNet" - Penn's Online Community to find classmates and update your contact information.

 

KEEP IN TOUCH 

SUBMIT brief news items (3 sentences or less) for this newsline by the 25th of the month prior to publication; include your name and degree/year; we will publish your email address unless told not to.

VISIT the PennDesign website to learn more about alumni resources and benefits.

SUPPORT the 2006-2007 ANNUAL FUND!

SEND a PENN ALUMNI E-CARD.