Event Detail

Three art alumni will talk about their work. A reception will immediately follow the forum.

Participants include:

Sydney Chastain-Chapman (B.A. / B.F.A. '02) was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1979 and raised in Northfield, Massachusetts. Chastain-Chapman studied at Cornell, and following completion of a dual degree, she received her master of fine arts from Hunter College in 2005. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn. Since 2004, she has exhibited her paintings and works on paper in solo shows at Kravets|Wehby Gallery in New York City, in 2004, 2006, and 2008, at Roberts & Tilton Gallery in Los Angeles, 2005, and One In The Other Gallery in London, 2007. She has also shown her work in numerous group exhibitions in New York City. In her work, Chastain-Chapman explores the absurd, visually striking, sometimes-tragic intersections between human-made culture and the natural world. She is interested in issues including domestication, hybrids, interior and exterior spaces, fashion, construction, over-consumption, and failure; she seeks to create a visual language that mirrors the fractured world she depicts. In addition to making and exhibiting her artworks, Chastain-Chapman is an active member of the women’s artist collective. tART, and teaches art to young children at the Dalton School in New York City.

Peter Gerakaris (B.F.A. '03) is currently based in New York City but was born in rural New Hampshire, where he was raised a “free-range child.” His paintings showcase vividly colored, highly detailed nature-culture oriented themes. After receiving his bachelor of fine arts from Cornell, Gerakaris earned a master of fine arts from Hunter College, where he received the Tony Smith Fund Award. He has been awarded fellowships at the National Academy of Fine Arts, New York City; the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont; and Wave Hill, New York City; plus residencies at the Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. In addition to solo shows in New York City at Wave Hill and Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, Gerakaris has exhibited internationally and nationally in galleries and museums in Beijing, Australia, the Bronx, Palm Springs, and Los Angeles. His work was recently featured in Like a Rolling Stone, a three-person exhibition at Ana Cristea Gallery in New York City, and will be included in the Doors invitational art fair in Seoul. His work is featured in many prominent collections, including the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, the John H. Friedman Collection, the Shirley L. & Herbert J. Semler Foundation, the Stephen P. Hanson Collection, and Citibank. He is an avid guitarist, focusing on experimental, electronic jazz projects and recently cofounded Coo Gua, an electronic-jazz collective.

Claudia Sbrissa (M.F.A. '03) received a bachelor of fine arts from York University, Toronto, a bachelor in education from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, and a master of fine arts from Cornell. Recent exhibitions and projects include New Works, a site specific installation and works on paper at the Muriel Guepin Gallery, Brooklyn, 2010; The Persistent Future, Cue Foundation, New York City, 2010; Utopia is Hard, Courthouse Gallery, Lake George Art Project, Lake George, New York 2009; Uncommon Threads, Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, 2009; Exquisite Corpse, curated by Anonda Bell and Caren King, Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers University, 2009; and the Turning Still, outdoor installation, Schuylkill Environmental Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2008. Awards include residencies at Woman’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, New York; Contemporary Artist Center, North Adams, Massachusetts; I-Park in East Haddam, Connecticut; Lower Eastside Printshop, New York City; and Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine; as well as grants from Queen’s Council on the Arts and the Canada Council on the Arts. She lives in New York City and teaches in the fine arts department at St. John’s University.

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