March 24, 2019– UB Art Galleries and Buffalo Museum of Science are pleased to present Alberto Rey: Lost Beauty I and II, a two-part exhibition featuring new work by artist Alberto Rey. Alberto Rey: Lost Beauty I will be on view from June 8—August 18, 2019 at UB Anderson Gallery, with an opening reception, gallery talk & book signing on June 8 from 6-8pm.
This exhibition will showcase Rey’s The Extinct Birds Project, including paintings and ceramics by Alberto Rey as well as extinct bird specimens, videos and audio recordings from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural Science (Jamestown, NY), Macaulay Library (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY) and Buffalo Museum of Science (Buffalo, NY).
The origins of this project can be traced back to a tour of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural Science’s collection, where Rey first saw the bodies of seven extinct birds and around a dozen other threatened species on a clean white, paper-lined drawer. He was so moved by the tremendous veil of sadness that laced every one of the specimens that countless questions immediately ran through his mind. How did these get here? How did they get the birds? Should they have been collected if they were extinct? Where were these birds collected? What were their lives like? Who collected these and how? It took the artist over two years to analyze why he was so moved and how he could create a body of work that would capture these emotions while trying to answer some of these questions. After several visits back to the RTPI and one to the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard University) to photograph the specimens using a match stick for scale, Rey decided on creating a series of paintings of each specimen at a magnified scale of 2.61.
The Extinct Birds Project also includes a new 208 page full-color publication, that accompanies the exhibition. The publication was designed by Jason Dilworth, a colleague of Alberto’s at SUNY Fredonia, and examines collecting practices, causes for extinction and the politics of categorizing endangered species. It also includes specific information about eighteen extinct bird specimens that are featured in the exhibition.
The Buffalo Museum of Science will present the second part of this collaboration in summer 2020. Alberto Rey: Lost Beauty II will include a new body of site-specific work based on environmental issues and the museum’s vast collection of artifacts and specimens collected since the early 1800’s.
Alberto Rey is a painter, filmmaker, writer, fly fishing guide, distinguished professor and founder/director of a youth fly fishing program and his work has examined environmental issues for the past twenty years.
For more information about the artist and the The Extinct Birds Project, please visit www.albertorey.com and www.extinctbirdsproject.com.
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About the UB Art Galleries: The University at Buffalo is privileged to have two art galleries dedicated to the university’s mission for academic excellence and service to the community. Each gallery presents a year-round series of exhibitions, providing students and the broader community easy access to thought-provoking art, visiting artists, and stimulating educational programs. In addition, the UB Art Galleries provide professional training for graduate and undergraduate students through internships and curatorial opportunities, and support faculty and student research.
The UB Art Galleries are supported by the UB College of Arts and Sciences, the Visual Arts Building Fund, the Anderson Gallery Fund and the Seymour H. Knox Foundation Fine Arts Fund.
UB Art Gallery, CFA: Tuesday–Friday 11AM-5PM and Saturday 1-5PM
ubartgalleries.org
ADMISSION IS FREE
For additional information and to request media images, please contact: Greg Kordas Program and Engagement Coordinator gkordas@buffalo.edu 716.645.0571
