SUNY Potsdam Hosts 'E-Fraction' Snow Art Exhibition, Indoors & Out

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Matthew J. Burnett and his colleague Scott Fuller install a large-scale collaborative painting in SUNY Potsdam's Gibson Gallery as part of their “E-Fraction” exhibit (Greg Kie/SUNY Canton).

• Visitors admire Burnett and Fuller’s snow exhibition at the 2008 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival.
• The artists’ otherworldly snow sculptures were on display at St. Lawrence University, Canton, last winter (Tara Freeman/St. Lawrence University).

POTSDAM, NY (01/26/2012)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam will host a unique upcoming exhibition featuring works by two artists who use lights and snow as their paint and canvas. Both artists have ties to SUNY Canton.

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam will offer both outdoor and indoor displays beginning next week, for a collaborative exhibition titled "E-Fraction."

SUNY Canton Assistant Professor Matthew J. Burnett, who teaches in the graphic and multimedia design program, and Scott Fuller, an advisory board member for the program and an associate professor at St. Joseph's College of Maine, are presenting a new outdoor display as part of their collaborative exhibition.

Burnett and Fuller are currently displaying their paintings, photographs, sculptures and mixed media installations at the Museum's Gibson Gallery and will begin molding sculptural forms in snow on Monday, Jan. 30. The two artists' snow forms will be located in the SUNY Potsdam Academic Quad, between Brainerd and Dunn halls.

SUNY Potsdam will host an artists' reception to highlight the indoor and outdoor portions of the show at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, at Gibson Gallery. The outdoor work will be illuminated nightly, through Feb. 7.

Both displays are free and open to the public.

"We have plenty of winter, plenty of snow and plenty of ice in our region," Burnett said. "I love the idea of celebrating what is unusual and beautiful about winter, rather than complaining about it. There is so much complexity and power in the way ice and snow form and dominate our environment."

Last year, Burnett and Fuller used large snow sculptures as a canvas for moving projected images of their work at a large-scale St. Lawrence University installation in Canton. Their efforts were highlighted in the March 13, 2011 Boston Globe article, "Rethinking Snow."

The pair first collaborated in 2006 to create a kinetic sculpture exhibition in Mt. Desert Island, Maine, and then again in 2008 at Saranac Lake's Winter Carnival to create a large-scale interactive illuminated spiral ice structure.

In addition to their St. Lawrence University exhibition, they presented their light and snow creations last year in Long Lake, using old black-and-white photographs projected on their snow creations. Both artists have shown their work regionally and internationally.

Fuller said the exhibitions take a massive amount of coordination, cooperation and direction from both artists. He and Burnett will be relying on students and faculty members from SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam to help create the massive outdoor snow sculptures.

"Although we've worked collaboratively on large environmental exhibitions, we've only had one traditional indoor show together," said Fuller. "We have lots of drawings, paintings and photographs that have been developed around these installations. Our gallery exhibition showcases over five years of working together."

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam serves as the center for visual arts at the College, and encompasses all of the collections found throughout campus, including in the Gibson Gallery. The Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and interpretation of quality works of art, and its collection includes significant artworks from the 20th and 21st centuries as well as earlier pieces.

The mission of The Art Museum at The State University of New York at Potsdam is to make direct experience of the visual arts accessible to students, faculty, staff and alumni of the College, as well as to residents of Northern New York.

Admission to the Gibson Gallery, located at Brainerd Hall, is free, and the exhibition space is handicapped-accessible. The Art Museum is open to the public from noon until 5 p.m. on Monday and Friday, from noon until 7 p.m. from Tuesday through Thursday, and from noon until 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

For more information, call (315) 267-3290 or visit www.potsdam.edu/gibson.

About SUNY Canton:

SUNY Canton offers 22 career-driven bachelor's degrees in addition to its associate and certificate programs. SUNY Canton OnLine features more than 190 courses online each semester. The College's athletic teams belong to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. The College is home to a brand-new athletic facility, nicknamed Roos House, and the Grasse River Suites, offering students single rooms in apartment-style settings while they live on campus.

About SUNY Potsdam:

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts.

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