SUNY Distinguished Professor Alberto Rey works with a student.
“Sustaining Home: The Art of Alberto Rey,” a collaborative exhibition of artwork by the SUNY Distinguished Professor at Fredonia accompanied by essays about his life and work written by SUNY Geneseo students, is being hosted by The Art Museum of the Americas (AMA), of the Organization of American States, of Washington, D.C.
The online exhibition was organized by SUNY Distinguished Professor Lynette M. F. Bosch, who is chair of the Department of Art History/Museum Studies at Geneseo, who led her students in a seminar that focused on Mr. Rey’s paintings and environmental projects. The students were enrolled in a course about Rey’s work, Art and Issues: Alberto Rey, taught by Dr. Bosch in the 2021 Spring semester.
Essays written by the students, who also served as curators, became part of the exhibition that can be viewed online. The students were assisted by Adriana Ospina, curator of the Art Museum of the Americas, and Bosch.
Students interviewed Rey about his environmental work and artistic development and read several essays and books about his work. The 14 essays that the students wrote explored their and Rey’s engagement with his identity as a Cuban-American, his establishment of a home for his family in Western New York and his developing involvement with environmental sustainability, as expressed in his work and active involvement in community projects. Bosch, who had previously written about Rey’s work, added an introductory essay to the exhibition.
Inspired by Rey’s art and his environmental activities, the students selected the paintings for the exhibition and wrote interpretative essays; each student conveyed his/her understanding of the significance of Rey’s work from his/her own personal perspective.
Each essay presents an approach, an argument and a connection to the themes that emerge in Rey’s work, which traces Rey from his first home in Cuba to his present life in Western New York and at SUNY Fredonia.
The exhibition, which can be viewed online at no charge, will continue through Aug. 21.
Rey and the AMA have started discussions to create a site-specific installation of artwork and publication about the water issues facing the Americas.
