Reflections: Portraits and Self-Portraits from NIAD Art Center at SSU

a figure depicted from roughly the knees up, with a cream colored torso and a yellow start approximately where a belly button would be.

NIAD is proud to partner with Sonoma State University Art Gallery to present Reflections: Portraits and Self-Portraits from NIAD Art Center​, an exhibition curated by Executive Director Amanda Eicher, and Board Member Jay Youngdahl. ​

A​rtists in their own right, ​both are regular conversation partners with studio artists at NIAD​, find​ing an evocative and lasting dialogue with practices of self-representation, and the question of representation itself, in the works of the artists working in NIAD's studios.

The artists included in Reflections have developed singular styles over the course of years in NIAD's collective studio space, practicing three to five days a week, often reflecting inward on how best to visually portray the self, frequently representing the self through external interests and observations, always in community with the nearly 80 studio artists at NIAD.

Bringing these investigations into the same space, the curators have organized them into four groupings - Faces, Places, Sounds, and Soft - the area where figuration meets abstraction. In portraits from Jay Youngdahl's personal collection, the categories often meet and intermingle with each other, bringing in references that are cultural, biographical, and individual.

Reflections aims to allow artists to introduce themselves through their work, and to engage the campus community at SSU. NIAD is grateful to Sonoma State University, and its staff, faculty, and students for the invitation to widen this dialogue and reflect on the individual and collective power of these artists' practices.

Exhibition runs from September 5 to October 20, 2024. 

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 5, 4 - 6 pm

The opening reception is free and open to the public. Visitors driving to the SSU campus must purchase a $5-8 parking pass from any automated parking kiosk.

Artist/Curator Talk: Thursday, October 3, 4 - 5 pm

Free and open to all. Visitors driving to the SSU campus must purchase a $5-8 parking pass from any automated parking kiosk.