Exhibition
Location
Olive Tjaden Gallery
Tjaden Hall
M–F, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Contact
Department of Art
(607) 255-6730
Reception
Wednesday, April 8, 5–7 p.m.
Related Links
Abstract
When she arrived at Cornell in 2024, Pamintuan was surprised to find banana plants living in the Cornell Botanic Gardens. She found an instant connection to them as a familiar sight and companion in the Philippines. However, their survival and the amount of care needed for them to thrive in Ithaca’s climate led her to reflect on her own experience of constantly adapting to different environments between the Philippines and the United States.
In A Botanist’s Dilemma: The Defiant Nature of the Banana Plant, Pamintuan uses the lens of plant movement, adaptation, and the deep relationship between humans and plants to examine her own diasporic experience. With the banana plant’s journey as a starting point and through the manipulation of abaca (a banana tree indigenous to the Philippines) as paper pulp material, along with paintings, ceramics, and installation, she creates imagined landscapes that trace, question, and challenge the relationship between the Philippines and the United States.
From April 6 to April 10, the exhibition will be in two parts — an installation at Olive Tjaden Gallery along with an outdoor installation in front of the Nevin Welcome Center at the Cornell Botanic Gardens. The outdoor installation at Cornell Botanic Gardens will be on view until April 26.
Accompanying the exhibition are a series of public events, such as a guided walking tour of the two exhibition spaces and postcard art printing with gel plates at the Nevin Welcome Center.
Biography
Faye Pamintuan
b. 1994 | Bulacan, Philippines
Faye Pamintuan is a painter born in Bulacan, Philippines, raised in Houston, Texas, and currently based in Ithaca, New York, where she is pursuing an M.F.A. in Creative Visual Arts at Cornell University. Moving between the Philippines and the United States shapes her practice, as she uses painting to locate her sense of self within shifting geographies and in-between spaces. Drawing from flora and fauna, she works across painting, ceramics, and installation to trace the movement of plants and question fixed ideas of nativeness and hybrid identity. Pamintuan earned a B.F.A. in painting, magna cum laude, from the University of the Philippines Diliman, cofounded OVERINKED in Quezon City, and has exhibited her work in the Philippines and the United States, including New York City and the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio.
Public Programming Schedule
All events are FREE and open to the public | Link to sign up for the events.
Guided Walking Tour — Nevin Welcome Center to Olive Tjaden Gallery
When: Thursday, April 9, 3–4:30 p.m. or Friday, April 10, 3–4:30 p.m.
Where: Meet at the Nevin Welcome Center, 24 Comstock Knoll Dr., Ithaca, NY 14850
Details: This will be a guided walking tour of the two spaces where the show is installed. We will start at the Nevin Welcome Center, in front of the gift shop, where the art installation in the tropical garden bed is located. We will spend time viewing the installation and speaking with the artist, Faye Pamintuan, and horticulturist, Melissa Cox. Faye and Melissa will share information and background on the plants typically located in the tropical garden bed and on the installation itself.
We will then walk to Olive Tjaden Hall (about a 20-25 min. walk) to view the second part of the exhibition. The walk will mostly be on flat terrain with some slight uphills on natural terrain and sidewalks (please wear COMFORTABLE shoes). Viewers will see paintings on paper, a mural, collage pieces, and sculptures made out of abaca. Participants will have as much time as they would like to view the exhibition, and the artist will be present to answer any questions or curiosities. The tour will then conclude here.
Postcard Art Printing with Gel Plates
When: Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Where: Nevin Welcome Center, 24 Comstock Knoll Dr., Ithaca, NY 14850
Details: This is a drop-in activity, meaning you can come anytime between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. to try your hand at creating your own one-of-a-kind art print!
Participants will work with the artist and the Cornell Botanic Gardens team to create their own unique art print. Pamintuan will demonstrate how to roll ink on a gel plate — a reusable silicone plate used in printing that does not need a press. Participants will then use dried plant materials to create textures and images on a postcard. They can then choose to keep the postcard or write a letter to their favorite plant/flower/tree, which will be part of an artist book accompanying the show.
