November 17, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:

Barbara Hollander, SAMA-Altoona Coordinator

(814) 946-4464

Travis Mearns, Public Relations Coordinator

(724) 238-6015

SAMA CELEBRATES SHIRLEY GOLDFARB EXHIBITIONS WITH RECEPTIONS, LUNCH A L'ART

            Altoona – This fall, the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art is showcasing the artwork of Shirley Goldfarb with simultaneous exhibitions at its Altoona and Loretto locations. On December 12, the Museums will host back-to-back receptions to celebrate the exhibitions. SAMA-Loretto, located on the campus of Saint Francis University, begins the celebration with an exhibition from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Following will be a reception at SAMA-Altoona, located in the Brett Building at 1210 Eleventh Avenue, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Cost for the Loretto reception is $18 or $15 for members. Cost for the Altoona reception is $12 or $10 for members. For $20, guests can attend both receptions. For reservations or more information, please call the Loretto Museum at (814) 472-3920.

            In addition to the receptions, SAMA-Altoona will host a Lunch a l’Art program with author Rebecca Cohen on December 9. Cohen is a freelance writer and art consultant, originally from Altoona yet currently residing in Austin, Texas. In 2004, the University of Texas published Cohen’s first book, Art Guide Texas. Since then, she has been working on a biography of Shirley Goldfarb, a distant cousin of Cohen’s. Cost for the Lunch a l’Art program, which begins at noon, is $13 or $12 for members. Please call the Altoona Museum at (814) 946-4464 for reservations or more information.

            A native of Altoona, Goldfarb settled in Paris in the 1950s after embracing the city’s artistic community and lifestyle. Since then, she has amassed an amazing catalogue of work, and was posthumously inducted into the Blair County Arts Hall of Fame in 2007. SAMA-Altoona’s Shirley Goldfarb: The Early Years, on view through February 13, features approximately 30 black and white and polychromatic paintings, lithographs and woodcuts created between 1950 and 1954. The works capture the early development of Goldfarb’s career, a time when her work embodied an intense battle between artist and canvas while drawing heavily from the conventions of Abstract Expressionism. Shirley Goldfarb: The Later Years, on view at SAMA-Loretto through February 20, features 27 works created between 1955 and 1979. This collection of paintings underscores the artist’s maturation and deviation from earlier styles, showcasing large canvas paintings composed of small, mosaic-like strokes of the palette knife and paint brush. For more information on the exhibitions, please call the Museum or visit www.sama-art.org. SAMA’s museums are open to the public free of charge.