Art Students League Announces Fall 2020 Lecture and Discussion Series

Today, the Art Students League of New York announces its fall 2020 programming: a lecture from art historian and educator Valentín Concha-Núñez and a lecture from prolific artist and author Samuel Adoquei. These lectures further establish the League’s dedication to providing educational art programming to students and the League community. Additional details on each lecture below.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22ND 

6PM - 730PM ET

PRESENTATION BY VALENTÍN CONCHA NÚÑEZ:

REPRESENTATIONS OF LATINO ART

STREAMED LIVE VIA THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE’S FACEBOOK

This talk takes the form of one of Concha-Núñez’s virtual museum education classes, adapted for a lecture format. The talk covers four Latin American artists, Fernando Botero, Marisol Escobar, Frida Kahlo, and Wifredo Lam, as a group of mini-lessons.

For each artist, Concha-Núñez will introduce, establish social and historical context, examine one work in particular through rich visual analysis, and then open the floor for a small Q&A before moving on to the next artist. 

This interactive format presents a dynamic way for the audience to engage throughout the presentation and returns focus to these renowned yet still underrepresented artists. The presentation is in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15).

More info here: The Art Students League presents Valentín Concha-Núñez 2020

About Valentín Concha-Núñez:

Valentín Concha-Núñez is an Art Historian and Educator with a comprehensive knowledge of world cultures, especially Latin America and its visual history. He has worked for nine years connecting the Hispanic community with educational settings including MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, El Museo del Barrio, Friends of the High Line, The New York Botanical Garden and New York University, creating inclusive, intergenerational, bilingual programs to better serve the Latinx community. His academic focus ranges from Colonial to Contemporary Latin American, and he has lectured on the arts and arts education across Latin America. Through his research and presentations, he unveils the juxtaposition of indigenous and European styles, subjects and motifs, translating them to a public that ranges from scholars to diverse students. Valentín believes that participation in the arts and cultural activities has the potential to strengthen our communities, mobilize activism, and empower people by conducting social change. As he joins the leadership of a generation of Latinx cultural workers who are redefining the role of cultural institutions and their relationships with communities, he also safeguards the legacy of artists around him. He has studied and worked in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Peru, France and Russia; and holds a B.A. in Language and Culture, a B.F.A. in Visual Arts and a M.A. in Hispanic History and Spanish Language & Literature: Option in Translation.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH 

6-7PM ET

PRESENTATION BY SAMUEL ADOQUEI:

“THE SKIN TONES PROJECT:” CELEBRATING THE BEAUTY OF EVOLUTION

STREAMED LIVE VIA THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE’S FACEBOOK

This talk will expand upon “The Skin Tones Project,” a companionate project of Adoquei’s written works and his mission as an artist working in traditional oil painting. The presentation explores the history of western art and portraiture, with a humanitarian approach to its future. 

In addition to discussing portraiture as a vehicle for abandoning prejudice and honoring human beauty in its many forms, the speaker will offer practical and technical tools for artists on how to render a range of skin tones in paint. 

Adoquei plans to include the unique benefits of studying these ideas at The Art Students League.

More info here: The Art Students League presents Samuel Adoquei 2020

About Samuel Adoquei:

Samuel Adoquei is a prolific artist and author. As a student first arrived in the United States, he won the Gold Medal in Oil Painting and Best Traditional Oil Painting awards at the Knickerbockers Artists Annual International Exhibition, and he remains the only African artist to teach at all of prestigious art institutions and academies in New York City. The artist’s paintings have appeared on the covers of books, magazines and newspapers, including a New York Times article about his painting, “The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.” In 2019 a short documentary film about the artist, “The Unseen Beauty” directed by Gabriel De Urioste, was screened nationwide, including at the Manhattan Film Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Adoquei’s artworks have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., and at other galleries and museums. The artist’s portraits are in the collections of The Harvard Club, New York City; Columbia University, New York City; Elliot Museum, Stuart, Florida; The National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida; The Long Island Museum of Art; Châteaux Pecany, Bergerac, France; and in many other private collections. Recently, the city of Pomport, Bergerac, France awarded Mr. Adoquei the City’s Medal of Honor for his contribution and dedication to the arts and culture of the area. In 2011, Mr. Adoquei was invited to join the Board of Advisors of the Portrait Society of America.

About the Art Students League of New York:

The League was founded in 1875 by students breaking away from the National Academy of Design. That independent spirit remains at The League today, where students pursue their work unconstrained by dogma, politics, or burdensome tuition. We educate students in the language and process of making art in an environment where anyone who wishes to pursue arts education can realize his or her full potential. The League fulfills this mission by offering affordable, high-quality education and instruction in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and assemblage. Artists who have studied at the League include Georgia O'Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, James Rosenquist, and Ai-Weiwei, among others.