"Ode to Joy" to Open Oct. 5 at UB Anderson Gallery

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery is ready to premiere its renovated spaces and never-before exhibited pieces from the collection of David K. Anderson in the exhibition "Ode to Joy," which will open Oct. 5 in the gallery on Martha Jackson Place.

There will be an open house with family activities from 2-4 p.m. on Oct. 5 and from 3-4 p.m., visitors will be able to tour the gallery, including several recently renovated rooms that will serve as seminar and research spaces for students and scholars. Free and open to the public, the exhibition will run through Jan. 5, 2003.

"Ode to Joy" will feature paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints by artists from the mid-20th century to the present. It will include paintings by Richard Anuszkiewicz, Grace Hartigan, Sam Francis, Lester Johnson and Joan Mitchell, whose painting "Ode to Joy" inspired the name for the exhibition. There will be prints by Karel Appel, Christo, Jim Dine, Robert Rauschenberg and Frank Stella. Three highlights of the exhibit will be early works on paper by Hans Hofmann, a dramatic large-scale mixed media artwork by Mike and Doug Starn, and artwork in all media by Antoni Tapies.

The exhibition was curated by Sandra Olsen, Ph.D., director of the UB Art Galleries, to showcase a selection of artworks recently donated to the university by David K. Anderson. Olsen said that although many people may be aware of Anderson's generous gift of the Anderson Gallery building, this exhibition will offer the first-ever public viewing of his gift of artwork, which significantly expanded the UB collection.

"It's an exciting chance to showcase a selection of works by some of the artists in the collection, and at the same time highlight the museum studies specialization in the art history master's degree program," said Olsen. "We are very grateful to the generosity of David Anderson for providing UB students with this opportunity."

Students from Olsen's museum studies seminar assisted her with the exhibition by researching the artworks and preparing the interpretive panels.

General gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

Anderson was a New York City art dealer who traded his gallery's Manhattan address for an old schoolhouse in Buffalo's University Heights and expanded his vision to include UB's arts programs. The UB Anderson Gallery houses an international collection of 20th-century art. In 2000, David Anderson donated the gallery building and a substantial number of artworks to UB, including those that had previously been on loan.