NEW YORK, NY.- Shandaken Projects is presenting an exhibition of its new program Paint School, on view September 13-22, 2018, on the 9th floor of The FLAG Art Foundation.

Paint School is a free master class in the theory and practice of painting produced by Shandaken Projects. This lecture-based program brings twelve fellows together with six individuals widely recognized as among the most exceptional painters working today, with the aim to enrich the discourse of contemporary painting through peer exchange. Applications for the next session of Paint School will open in mid-September.

The Paint School exhibition features new work by members of the inaugural (2017-18) cohort including: Benny Merris, Caroline R Kent, Cynthia Daignault, Crys Yin, Gloria Maximo, Iman Raad, Jarrett Earnest, Lindsay Marie Burke, Matthew Dale Fischer, Morgan Mandalay, Sophie Grant, and Tim Wilson. These individuals were mentored through Paint School by artists Josephine Halvorson, Byron Kim, Ulrike Müller, Howardena Pindell, and Faith Ringgold, as well as Ian Alteveer, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. The theme of the inaugural session of Paint School was “the future of painting,” a topic that work included in the exhibition addresses. The program used pedagogy and discussion to investigate this theme and welcomed individuals of all career levels as participants.

“Paint School is an electrifying new chapter for Shandaken Projects,” said its director Nicholas Weist. “We heard from artists that they desired for more tools for community-building and self-cultivation, so we broadened our focus on residencies to include this educational initiative. We’re excited to show off the results with this exhibition, and to partner with an organization as artist-centric as The FLAG Art Foundation.”

Inspired by alternative educational initiatives like Black Mountain College, Paint School is unaccredited but extraordinarily rigorous, and presented in the style of a post-graduate fellowship. Meetings of this program took place throughout New York City, at partner institutions including The Cooper Union, New York University, Abrons Art Center, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, among others. Applications for the 2018-19 session of Paint School will open in mid-September for individuals of all career levels. This free program runs December through May each year.