A painting in Hope Gangloff’s exhibition at New York’s Susan Inglett Gallery (open through Mar. 23) proclaims the artist’s solidarity with students at the Cooper Union. The New York school of art, architecture and engineering is considering beginning to charge tuition of undergraduate students after a century of full scholarships.
“The Cooper Union is where I became a painter,” Gangloff, a Cooper graduate, told A.i.A. in an e-mail today. “I learned that painting is not a solitary act, it’s something you do with other people. This collaborative spirit is what defines my artistic practice—especially as a portraitist, for whom every painting is a collaboration with the model.”
Gangloff’s 6-foot-high canvas, Meta-Progress (2013), shows Cooper architecture student Olivia Ahn wearing a sash that reads “Save Cooper Union,” standing in front of Christian Schussele’s 1862 painting Men Of Progress, which depicts revolutionary inventors, including the school’s founder, Peter Cooper.
“With Meta-Progress, I wanted to show how the ‘men of progress’ of the 19th century created an institution that fosters the men and women of progress of the 21st century,” Gangloff told A.i.A. “Olivia and other students are the proof of this progress.”
PHOTO: Hope Gangloff, Meta-Progress, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 72 by 48 inches. Courtesy: Susan Inglett Gallery, New York.
