Summer Session

The Summer Session offers a unique opportunity for interested artists who are not enrolled in any of the full-time programs to experience the intensity and rigor of the School's perspective in a condensed manner.

The Session is comprised of both two-week Marathons and longer atelier classes that focus on specific concentrations in either painting or sculpture. Students may opt to take the five-week atelier on its own, or the full seven-week path that includes both the Marathon and the atelier. All classes run Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm unless otherwise noted.

Drawing Marathon: Graham Nickson and Guest, June 7-18

Intellectually rigorous, physically challenging, and surprising in its stratagem for discoveries, this marathon gives the student a real understanding of the language and importance of drawing, today and in the past.  The quest for form, space, and scale is a strong element.  The role of drawing in painting is also explored.  It is a very ambitious program pushing personal vision to an extreme. $1625.

Drawing Marathon: Joseph Santore with Linda Darling, June 7-18

Ways of making form are explored, utilizing light, space, and air, while addressing problems of scale, composition, and structure. Students investigate the potential power and pressure of marks, experiencing a wide range of mark-making possibilities using different materials (charcoal, pencils, cut paper, black and white acrylic paint, etc.). Great drawings of the past are looked at and discussed, and the importance of drawing through the ages considered.  $1625.

Sculpture Marathon: Bruce Gagnier, June 7-18

Automatism and immediacy, the elements of the clay sketch are emphasized in response to the experience of the human figure in various poses. Reference will be made to the classic sketch technique of the modern masters.  Slides and visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will help students relate their studies to the traditional techniques of modeling.  The goal for the course is that the students establish a sketch technique related to the discovery of form, while simultaneously revealing an individual approach.  $1625. Additional materials fee: $50.

Arbor Vitae, Painting Marathon: Graham Nickson and Guest, June 21 - July 2

In this marathon, students will have the rare opportunity to work perceptually in the quiet splendor of Old Westbury Gardens, Long Island. Intense color research methods bring students into new territory in terms of their palette and their ability to understand and apply the use of metaphor within their own work.  Various strategies will be utilized to explore aspects of visual language: imagery, composition, scale, form, value, and hue.  Students engage in multiple daily critiques in order to enhance their ability to read paintings and to help track their progression.  $2075.  Additional Activities Fee: $250.

Governor's Island: Elisa Jensen and Guests, July 6 - 23

Working in oil paint, students will paint views of New York City and New York Harbor from Governors Island.  A series of small-scale works will be done to explore the possibilities of the motif as a preparation for two larger works. Work is examined as a group during on-site critiques.  The Island, located in the middle of the harbor, provides a private, park-like setting with interesting architecture and unique views of the majestic New York City skyline, bridges, harbor, and the industrial Brooklyn waterfront. $1950.

The Journey for the Painting: Ophrah Shemesh, June 21 - July 2

Drawing from personal experience, memory, and observation, students in this class will examine objectivity and expression and the elementary power of the medium of oil painting through various techniques. Participants will be introduced to ideas on color and meaning, particularly the three dimensions of color, theories of painting with respect to composition and expression, regularity and organization of the picture plane, and characteristics of form, subject matter, and expression. Particular attention will be paid to the importance of the mark as a means of expression and order. $1275.

Figure Painting Atelier: Joseph Santore with Linda Darling, June 21 - July 23

The possibility of achieving a monumental composition by studying ordinary objects is one of the ultimate goals of the class, scale being of great concern.  The language and complexity of color and color relationships is discussed. The physical aspect of paint, the "touch" or brushstroke, and the relevance of figure painting in contemporary art are major considerations.  What is the role of young artists as they grapple with the same issues that have obsessed figure painters over the centuries?  The cost of this atelier is $3350. If taken as the Figure Painting Path with the two week Drawing  Marathon, the cost for the 7 Week Session is $4200.

Sculpture Atelier: Bruce Gagnier and Guest, June 21 - July 23

Working individually on developing ones one's own imagery will be the main focus of this class. Students will be given private or semiprivate studio space to explore and expand their work. They will be encouraged to try a variety of ways to develop their knowledge of themselves and their ability to execute it in terms of well defined plastic qualities. Sessions will be devoted to developing the imaginative, tactile, and kinesthetic mind using various materials. A range of contemporary and historical models will be discussed via group critiques and slide lectures.

The cost of this atelier is $3350. Additional Materials Fee: $100. If taken as the Sculpture Path with the two week Sculpture Marathon, the cost for the 7 Week Session is $4200 plus $150 total for materials.

Landscape: Susanna Coffey, July 12 - July 23

This class will focus on the genre of landscape and its possibilities for expressing a sense of the personal and the contemporary. Set in the beautiful landscape of Reeves-Reed Arboretum, Summit, New Jersey, students will work daily on paintings made from direct observation and paintings composed from a variety of source materials. Group critiques and discussions will take place each day and/or evening in order to focus on each participant's artistic direction. Students will develop a strong sense of form, color, and composition in order to develop a personal and mature body of work. A visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be included in the first week. $1275, Additional Activities Fee $250.

Late Applications accepted.

For more information on the Summer Session, please contact Admissions via email or by calling 212-673-6466.