Stern College Studio Art Majors Unveil Gray Matter Exhibition at YU Museum Giving talented art students a rare opportunity to exhibit in a major New York museum – and an exciting chance for art aficionados to view work from a new generation of creators – Yeshiva University Museum is hosting Gray Matter, a multimedia exhibition featuring selections from the graduating class of studio art majors of Stern College for Women. The exhibition, opening Wednesday, May 25, is designed by the students and features works in a range of media. The project is guest curated by Lynne Avadenka, a Detroit-based printmaker and book artist, whose exhibition How a Poem Begins: Lynne Avadenka and the Poet Rahel is running concurrently at the YU Museum, and was directed by artist Traci Tullius, who chairs Stern’s Studio Art Department. This 7th annual exhibition is dedicated to Abby Belkin (d. 2014), beloved wife of the late Dr. Samuel Belkin, former president of Yeshiva University, in honor of her profound and lasting impact on Stern College for Women and Yeshiva University. The exhibition includes provocative, playful and thoughtful paintings, sculpture, video art, installations, photography, and graphic arts. In addition to featuring student work, Gray Matter was designed through direct involvement of students, who worked under the supervision of exhibition designer Barbara Suhr. The exhibition is the capstone of a semester-long exhibition design course taught by Suhr at Stern College in spring 2016. “The Museum is excited and proud to showcase the work and talents of Stern’s students, and to give them the opportunity to design the presentation of and frame their art in a public context,” said Jacob Wisse, director of Yeshiva University Museum and associate professor of art history at Stern College. “We think the work of these young women will be eye-opening for many New Yorkers, and it reflects powerfully on the school’s rich melding of humanities and Jewish learning.” Artists in Gray Matter include: Shiran Bassal, Rachel Gartenberg, Esther Gersten, Rachel Gottlieb, Yael Katz, Raquel Miller, Yaelle Nusbaum, Jessica Namdar, Sarala Pool and Ayelet Rosenbaum. Yeshiva University Museum is dedicated to the presentation and interpretation of the artistic and cultural achievements of Jewish life. The studio art program at Stern College encourages students to find and develop their individual artistic voices. Within the college’s Jewish and liberal arts curriculum, the foundation-based program deepens students’ skills of visual and artistic expression, and prepares them for careers in diverse art-related fields. Gray Matter will be on display through July 24, 2016 at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York City.