Makers & Mentors 2015 features recent artworks by Richard Hirsch and seven of his former students, including Hojeong Jeong (Korea), Joanna Poag (Rochester, NY), Krisaya Luenganantakul (Thailand), Liz Howe (Saratoga Springs, NY), Minkyu Lee (Green Bay, WI), Robin Whiteman (Honeoye, NY), and Tybre Newcomer (Mt. Pleasant, MI).
All seven studied with Hirsch during his tenure as a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) School for American Crafts (SAC) from 1987-2014. Hirsch was recently named Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Hirsch continues to work professionally with the programs in the SAC, specifically ceramics and glass. These programs establish avenues for Hirsch to continue to contribute his wealth of experience through resource presentations, critiques, special projects, and internships. Hirsch also continues to collaborate with other RIT faculty on ongoing and new bodies of work for exhibition.
RoCo's Makers & Mentors exhibition highlights the importance of art education in the Western/Central New York region and celebrates the artwork and influence of the region’s most accomplished artists. The exhibition series includes Mid/Late career artists exhibiting alongside their former students, many of whom are now educators themselves.
About the Artists
Hirsch’s work has been exhibited in many exhibitions around the world, including solo exhibitions at Yi-Chin Art Gallery (Taiwan) and Conkling Gallery (Mankato, MN). Hirsch has also participated in many group exhibitions held at institutions and museums sucg as the Memorial Art Gallery (Rochester, NY), Garth Clark Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Lang Art Gallery at Scripps College (Claremont, CA), and Piedmont College Gallery (Demorest, Georgia). His work is represented in the permanent public collections at the George R. Gardner Museum of Ceramic Art (Toronto, Canada), Sorlandets Kunstmuseum (Kristiansand, Norway), The High Museum of Art (Atlanta, GA), Boston Museum of Fine Art (Boston, MA), The Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburg, PA), The Museum of Art and Design (New York, NY), and Renwick Gallery Smithsonian Institute (Washington D.C.), among others.
