Fall Faculty Exhibition at Stuart

Princeton, NJ, October 9, 2018 – Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, the girls independent day school for PS-12, announces the fall gallery exhibition in Stuart’s Considine Gallery will include work by faculty members Andres Duque, Phyllis E. Wright, Andrew Wilkinson, and Jessi Oliano. The exhibit will include paintings, photographs and objects that reflect our changing environment and is inspired by the use of nature and organic forms in the work of Stuart’s architect Jean Labatut. The public is invited to view the art faculty show on display in Stuart’s Considine Gallery, from October 19 through November 20, 2018. The gallery is open from 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday, when school is in session.

“Jean Labatut integrated buildings into the surrounding natural environment through the use of materials and camouflage techniques,” says Andres Duque, gallery director. “In the book Princeton Architecture, authors Greiff, Gibbons, and Menzies’ description of the Stuart campus includes, ‘Roughened concrete and glazed brick echo the shapes, colors and textures of the boulders and trees.’” Mr. Duque continues, “It is Labatut’s beautiful work with nature that inspires our fall art exhibition.”

The Opening Reception is Friday, October 19, from 5:00 – 7:00 PM

Gallery Talk with the artists is Tuesday, October 23, from 1:00 – 2:00 PMThe public is welcome.

Andres Duque studied at the Berchmans Jesuit High School in Cali, Colombia and completed his BA in Fine Arts and Anthropology at Los Andes University. Mr. Duque worked on peace initiatives, urban planning and national communication projects in Colombia. He worked in the capital city hall promoting environmental transportation systems and innovation in Bogota. Mr. Duque came to the United States to continue his education in anthropology at California State University Bakersfield and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he graduated with an MFA in Film, Video and New Media. He received the SAIC Fellowship, the Graduate International Student Grant and the Impact leaderships award at SAIC. He develops projects inspired by nature in his role as a fine arts teacher and gallery director at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. He also teaches at the Arts Council of Princeton and the Summer Institute for the Gifted.

Phyllis E. Wright received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, and her Master of Fine Arts from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She lived in Baltimore for 20 years, teaching for a decade at the George Washington University. She returned to hometown Princeton in 2003, where she has been teaching art to Middle and Upper School students at Stuart since 2007. She loves to travel, paint, make prints, take photos, and work en plein air with oil pastels. To learn more about Ms. Wright visit www.phylliswrightart.com.

Andrew Wilkinson is formally trained in both fine art and media communications and combines both disciplines to create captivating reconstructions of everyday objects into works of art that challenge even the most devoted perception. Iconic cultural imagery is gently riled up to encourage a reevaluation of nostalgia and settled perceptions. Of his work, Mr. Wilkinson cites, “The artist is the custodian of identifying what is current and exploiting the content into another accessible medium. I aim to constantly exploit the aspect of accessibility.” Mr. Wilkinson teaches photography and graphic design in the Upper School at Stuart. His work has been featured in galleries throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Arizona, as well as other venues overseas in Russia and Beijing. Mr. Wilkinson has received national recognition with reviews by the New York Times, Visual Arts Journal, Ad Busters, Trenton Times, Phoenix New Times, Bucks County Herald, Princeton Packet, US1 News, Town Topics, Princeton Magazine, The Inteligencier, and more. Visit www.arwilkinson.com to learn more.

Jessi Oliano joined the Fine Arts Department at Stuart this year to teach photography. In addition to teaching at Stuart, Jessi is a priority adjunct professor in the Communications and Journalism Department at Rider University, where she focuses her instruction on graphic design and photography. Her knowledge in art and design comes from over 14 years of professional experience in the fields of graphic design, web design, and photography. She successfully balanced classes with freelance work to graduate with honors in 2003, and again in 2006 with a MA in Marketing from Rider. She also operates her own business called Jessi Franko Designs, LLC. When she is not teaching, taking photos, or designing, she enjoys spending time with her new baby, rock climbing with her husband, running, traveling, and paddleboarding.

About Stuart: As the only all-girls school in Princeton, New Jersey, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart is uniquely positioned to provide an environment where girls put academics first, are willing and able to take risks, and explore every opportunity. Nestled on 55 wooded acres, our challenging curriculum takes advantage of the way girls learn in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math—as well as the arts, humanities, and athletics. Founded in 1963, Stuart enrolls girls in JK-12, and has a co-ed Early Childhood Program. Stuart is part of an international community of 150 Sacred Heart schools and is an independent Catholic school that embraces students of all faiths and backgrounds. Our graduates go on to become confident, intelligent and articulate leaders for positive change in our world. Visit www.stuartschool.org for more information.

Pictured: "Forgotten Forest," by Phyllis E. Wright, "Red Rhinoceros Beetle," by Andres Duque