Q: What makes the gallery space special and unique to Stony Brook University?
Levitov: It's a fabulous space. It has 24-foot high ceilings and windows interconnecting
with the second floor. We're open from Tuesday to Friday and Saturday evenings, as
well as during intermission and one hour before most Staller Center performances.
This way the students have a chance to check it out between classes and community
members can see it during the weekend.
Q: What are some central ideas that you, as a curator and director, mean to convey through the exhibitions?
I try to involve students in the gallery as much as I can. They're the core of this all. We always present the MFA student thesis exhibition and a Senior Show, and this year we’re doing a special exhibition of faculty work.
Q: How has the surrounding community responded to the gallery and its programs?
The gallery's proven to be quite engaging. Students have the opportunity to see work created by their peers and by professional artists. And the public is always invited to come and enjoy. The Gallery is a large and gorgeous space, and is always free, so it's very inviting.
Q: How do you choose which artist or group to display?
I look for possible artists that will prove engaging for the community, art that's in the moment, that's current, that's showing in Manhattan and Brooklyn. And I try to show artists that have been particularly interesting to me for years. My first professional artist show here, in fact, was with Kate Gilmore. I've been a fan of hers for a long time.
This fall, the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery will present two exhibitions. Opening September 15 is the Faculty Exhibition, featuring new work by Stony Brook University's internationally known faculty artists. The 2015 Faculty Exhibition will include painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, video installation and digital media. A reception will be held on Wednesday, October 7, from 6 to 8 p.m., with light refreshments available.
The second exhibition, Isabel Manalo: Skin Codes, opens on Saturday, November 7, with a reception for the artist from 7 to 9 p.m. Isabel Manalo is an interdisciplinary visual artist whose work addresses ideas of power and identity as defined by race, ethnicity, geography and class. Combining photography, drawing, painting, sewing and writing, her work embraces visual clues and coding inspired by maps and the science of cartography, and most recently, by tattooing.
All exhibitions and events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Friday 12 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. while exhibitions are on view.
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook. 631-632-7240, zuccairegallery.stonybrook.edu.