January 2007
For Immediate Release:

Attenuations: Paintings and Works on Paper by Albert Fayngold

This winter, the CUNY Graduate Center will present the exhibition Attenuations: Paintings and Works on Paper by Ukrainian immigrant artist Albert Fayngold. Fayngold’s artwork will be on display in the Exhibition Hallway on the first floor of the Graduate Center from February 5 through March 5. Jointly sponsored by the Art Gallery and the Ph.D. Program in Comparative Literature, the exhibition may be viewed during regular building hours. The Graduate Center is located at 365 Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. (Pictured above:  On Brooklyn Bridge: Nocturne in Green, pastels on colored paper, 16 1/8''x 30 3/4", 2003.)

Attenuations is a collection of works that reveal Albert Fayngold’s nostalgic awareness of a home vacated nearly 15 years ago.  Within these reflective scenes is an embrace of a newly tangible New York City environment that tells of one artist’s unique process of acclimation.  The cityscapes included within the exhibition present misty views of both New York and Europe.  Fayngold’s unique attention to color and thoughtful application of tonal gradations speak of hazy memories.

Born in present-day Kiev, Ukraine, in 1971, Fayngold studied at the National Schevchenko School of Fine Arts and Architecture and the National Academy of Arts before immigrating to New York in 1992.  After receiving his degree in English literature from Long Island University in 1999, the artist returned to Eastern Europe and rediscovered his dormant love of the cityscape.  The urban vistas of Prague, Amsterdam, Rome, and Venice served as the fertile ground for his new subject matter.

In 2001, Fayngold returned to New York, where he is a student in the Graduate Center’s Ph.D. Program in Comparative Literature, and also currently teaches literature at Baruch College. His work has been shown in New York at the Brooklyn Public Library and internationally in Japan, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.

On Thursday, February 22, at 6:30 pm, Fayngold will participate in a panel discussion at the Graduate Center, “Double Agents: An Evening with Contemporary Russian Artists,” along with writers Laura Vapnyar and Gary Shteyngart, moderated by Professor Andre Aciman.  After the discussion, at 8:30, the public is invited to an opening reception for the art exhibition.

The Graduate Center is the doctorate-granting institution of the City University of New York (CUNY). An internationally recognized center for advanced studies and a national model for public doctoral education, the school offers more than thirty doctoral programs, as well as a number of master’s programs. Many of its faculty members are among the world’s leading scholars in their respective fields, and its alumni hold major positions in industry and government, as well as in academia. The Graduate Center is also home to twenty-eight interdisciplinary research centers and institutes focused on areas of compelling social, civic, cultural, and scientific concerns.  Located in a landmark Fifth Avenue building, the Graduate Center has become a vital part of New York City’s intellectual and cultural life with its extensive array of public lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and theatrical events.  Further information on the Graduate Center and its programs can be found at www.gc.cuny.edu.