Sculptures by Fredonia Distinguished Teaching Professor Robert A. Booth, chair of the Department of Visual Arts and New Media, will be featured in a solo exhibition opening March 13 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo.
“The Scrutiny of Objects: Sculptures by Robert A. Booth” opens with a reception March 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and runs through Aug. 30 at the gallery on the SUNY Buffalo State campus.
In the exhibition, Professor Booth explores familiarity and the understanding of place, purpose or function.
“I have an affinity with or have used in some capacity all the objects in the installation,” Booth said. “I present them altered and affected to address their dual identities as both the mental construct of an object and its concrete form. I try to mediate the viewer’s experience to initiate thoughtful reflection on what is being encountered. I am intrigued with trying to discuss the ephemeral nature of ‘here-ness,’ and even the illusive ‘now/then’ of something.”
Most objects are covered in tape and each piece of tape has significance.
“Each piece might be seen as a moment, a gesture, singular thought, the days that go by – each contributing to the collective whole of the present,” Booth said. “And the tape creates a skin, used to denote, if not actualize, the membrane of separation through which we regard all objects and events in our past. Every small application of tape is a segment of time, literally and figuratively. It’s a creative platform to talk about the repetitiveness of time and its accumulated effects.”
Booth received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art and his Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University. He has presented his work in more than 90 solo and group exhibitions over the past 30 years. He has been in charge of the sculpture curriculum at Fredonia since 1978.
Booth has served on the board of directors for the Mid-America College Art Association and is a former president of the SUNY Council of Art Department Chairs. His listing appears in “Who’s Who in American Art” and “Who’s Who in American Education.”
Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for students with ID. Children 10 years of age and under are admitted free. The gallery is located at 1300 Elmwood Ave. in Buffalo.
