PNCA Announces Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series
January 26, 2016
Reception | Series Launch with Jordan Schnitzer
March 3, 2016, 6 – 8pm
Artist Talk | Wangechi Mutu
March 10, 2016, 6:30pm
January 26, 2016 – Portland, OR – Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is pleased to announce the launch of the Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series with the first exhibition in the series: Wangechi Mutu: The Hybrid Human, on view through March 12, 2016.
On March 3, 2016 at 6pm, PNCA will celebrate the launch of the Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series with a reception honoring Jordan Schnitzer. Wangechi Mutu comes to PNCA to deliver an artist’s talk on March 10, 2016, at 6:30pm at PNCA.
The Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series will present an annual curated exhibition from the dynamic and expansive collection of more than 9,000 contemporary prints of Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation at the Pacific Northwest College of Art 511 Gallery. The series will bring an invited artist in connection to the exhibition to engage with PNCA students, faculty, and the public through lectures, studio visits, and collaborations with the MFA in Print Media program. In addition to the Exhibition and Visiting Artist Series, selections from the Collection will be lent to the PNCA Object Library to be studied by students and faculty on a regular rotating basis.
“Being able to build exhibitions and scholarship through this access to the immense collection of Jordan Schnitzer is wonderfully overwhelming,” says Mack McFarland, PNCA’s Curator and Director of Exhibitions. “The breadth of the collection, coupled with Jordan’s support, will empower our Exhibitions Department to bring artists to PNCA for a meaningful amount of time to connect with the PNCA and Portland art communities.”
“From the first day my mother, Arlene, started classes at what is now PNCA, the school has always been a big part of our family’s life,” said Jordan Schnitzer. “I am so pleased to be able to give back to the institution that started my passion for art. This program will allow the PNCA professors and staff to draw freely from our growing collection of 250 major local and international artists for teaching exhibitions!”
The second exhibition in the series will be James Rosenquist, opening March 22 and running through June 4 with a reception on March 31. James Rosenquist will be the keynote speaker at Flux Portland: SGC International (SGCI) Conference where he is being honored with the SGCI Lifetime Achievement Award.
“This brings a unique opportunity for our students and community to explore printmaking at such an extraordinary level of access and importance in both contemporary and historical practices,” says Matthew Letzelter, Chair, MFA in Print Media. “In conversations with Master Printers on both sides of the country, they all express how amazing and impactful this collaboration will be. I’m very grateful to be part of this opportunity to be able to explore and study with students such a vast collection of works as we connect them to our curriculum.”
About the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation
Jordan D. Schnitzer purchased his first work of art when he was fourteen years old from the Fountain Gallery, the first contemporary art gallery in Portland, Oregon, owned and operated by his mother Arlene Schnitzer. It was through her and her gallery that his initial acquisition turned into a lifelong pursuit to collect, share, and promote the visual arts. Following his family’s commitment to support art and culture, Mr. Schnitzer has created one of the nation’s largest contemporary print collections, The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. He and his family foundation have funded and organized over 90 exhibitions of work from his collection which have traveled to over 72 museums, including exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum, the Bellevue Arts Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, the Detroit Institute of Art, and many others.
Jordan Schnitzer also serves as a Director of the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation and has served on over 31 civic and cultural boards, including the Portland Art Museum, the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon, the High Desert Museum, the Citizens Crime Commission, and the Friends of Astoria Column, and has received numerous honors and awards.
Mr. Schnitzer is President of Harsch Investment Properties, a privately-held real estate company that acquires, manages and develops properties for its own portfolio. Founded in 1950, the company owns and operates over 22 million square feet of office, multi-tenant industrial, multi-family, and retail properties in six western states. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Harsch has regional offices in Portland, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
About PNCA
As Oregon’s premiere college of art and design since 1909, PNCA has helped shape the region’s visual arts landscape for more than a century. Today PNCA is a dynamic platform for 21st century art and design education at its new campus in the heart of downtown Portland. PNCA offers four BFA programs with 10 concentrations, six graduate programs within the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies, and a Post-Baccalaureate program. For more information: pnca.edu