66th art of the northeast
July 9 - August 20, 2016
THE CURATOR:
Steven Sergiovanni is an Art Advisor & Curator based in New York City. With over 20 years experience in the gallery world Steven was the former Director of Mixed Greens, a gallery established in the late 1990s to support emerging artists so they could gain a wider audience. Mixed Greens had a reputation as an approachable and inventive gallery where artists were given their first New York solo exhibitions. It was also a gallery who pioneered promoting artists online and in experimental spaces. It was one of the few Chelsea galleries to maintain an open call for submissions. Sergiovanni’s experience as director, gallerist and dealer hinges on a continued methodology of transparency.
Prior to Mixed Greens, Steven started his career at Jack Shainman Gallery and has since worked for several galleries including Charles Cowles, Holly Solomon and Andrea Rosen. He is a member of the New Art Dealer’s Alliance (NADA) and was the former Vice President of the Board of Directors for Visual AIDS, a Contemporary arts organization committed to HIV prevention and AIDS awareness. He is a member of Norwood Club, an arts club in New York City and has been an active member of the TED community since 2004. He regularly speaks at institutions such as FIT, NYU, Pratt Institute and New York Academy of Art. Steven holds a BA in Art History from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and a MA in Arts Administration from New York University. A note from the curator:
For the past 13 years a part of my job at Mixed Greens that I treasured was viewing artwork by artists who submitted to our open submission policy. This is something that is a rarity in the New York gallery world.
I had the chance to explore works by artists that I may not have been previously familiar with. This process was time consuming but always sparked conversation amongst our team and often led to new and exciting thoughts on curating. I was thrilled to be able to, in a sense, recreate that part of my life in viewing submitted work for the 66th Annual Art of the Northeast Exhibition. Having a chance to view so many talented and interesting artists’, in all mediums, gave me an opportunity to tune into the pulse of the local art scene. It was a pleasure to examine the work that over 500 people contributed. Taking time with each submission and treating them as my own private studio visit. Initially I chose a large group that spoke to me visually. I was looking for a variety of mediums and sizes but more importantly I wanted that visceral reaction when viewing the art. Once I had a smaller more manageable group I looked for cohesiveness and reoccurring themes and threads. I explored each piece, researched each artist and broke down the works into a several themes, mostly dealing with nature, environmental issues, landscape and materials. I’m delighted to have helped organize this show. I hope that the viewers will be able to, in some way, immerse themselves into the works. “Creativity takes courage” – Henri Matisse --Steven Sergiovanni, June 2016 about the exhibition:Begun in 1949 as the "New England Exhibition," the competition was founded by Silvermine Guild Members Miriam Brody and Revington Arthur to showcase the art of the region. Over the years, the exhibit has presented works by emerging and under-known artists, giving them a platform to reach a much larger audience than ever before.
Utilizing all of our galleries, AoNE is a prestigious and popular annual exhibition, and a focal point of the Center's calendar year. In 2014, artists from Washington. D.C to Maine have submitted over 500 entries. The winner receives a top prize of $3,000 and a solo exhibition at Silvermine Arts Center. Well-known curators of AoNE have included art critics, artists, curators and directors representing major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, The New Museum and the Whitney Museum. 
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