Works by Chris Semergieff and Bowery Gallery artists featured in Stein Galleries

“LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS!” by New York artist Chris Semergieff and “Artists of the Bowery Gallery” will be on display from Jan. 18 to March 4.

Two new exhibitions will open on Jan. 18 at Wright State University’s Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries.

“LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS!” features paintings and drawings of landscapes around New York City created by Chris Semergieff between 1991 and 2021.

“Artists of the Bowery Gallery” features paintings, drawings and sculpture by artist-members of the Bowery Gallery in New York City.

Both exhibitions will be on display through March 4 in the Stein Galleries, 160 Creative Arts Center.

The Stein Galleries will host an opening reception and artist talk with Semergieff on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m.

“LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS!” includes paintings and drawings of landscapes that Semergieff created on location in and around New York City, Yonkers and along the Hudson River.

Semergieff scouts locations, returning many times before deciding to paint a certain spot. He starts with a quick sketch followed by a larger drawing on paper. He begins the final process of painting with a charcoal drawing on canvas at the location.

Jeremy Long, associate professor in painting and drawing at Wright State, said Semergieff has an empathic gaze and paints things as he sees them.

“There is a gentleness to his paintings and drawings that’s evidenced in his descriptive and dedicated gaze as well as an emotional sensitivity to the landscape that dares us to look closely at the surface,” Long said.

Long said fine art students at Wright State will find inspiration in Semergieff’s exhibition.

“Our students work from nature and this exhibition allows them to see the possibilities of a developed body of work that has taken several decades to make,” said Long, the primary curator of the exhibition.

Semergieff has exhibited widely, including at the Bowery Gallery, the Zuccaire Gallery at Stoney Brook University, Chautauqua Art Institute, the George Billis Gallery, Michael Ingbar Gallery, M B Modern and the National Academy of Design.

He has taught drawing and painting at Stoney Brook, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Chautauqua Institute, Snug Harbor Arts Lab in Staten Island and American University.

Semergieff received an M.F.A. from the City University of New York, Brooklyn College, and a master’s degree in philosophy and a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from City University of New York, Queens College. He has also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Kansas City Art Institute.

Glen Cebulash, professor of chair of art and art history, and Long curated the “Artists of the Bowery Gallery” exhibition to show a diverse group of contemporary artists.

“We’re very proud to be associated with the gallery and a number of its current members have shown in other exhibitions here at Wright State,” Cebulash said.

The Bowery Gallery, founded in New York City in 1969, is one of the oldest and most prestigious cooperative galleries in the country. It currently has 36 members, including Long and Cebulash.

The Bowery Gallery featured a solo exhibition of Long’s paintings last fall and is displaying an exhibition of Cebulash’s paintings and drawings in January.

The Stein Galleries are open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesdays and Fridays from noon to 4 p.m.; and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All gallery events are free and open to the public.

Everyone is required to wear a mask when inside all buildings on Wright State’s campuses, regardless of vaccination status.

For more information, contact the Stein Galleries at 937-775-2978 or visit wright.edu/artgalleries.