JPMorgan Chase Art Program director to speak March 17

JPMorgan Chase Art Program director to speak March 17March 12, 2009Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

The painting program in the School of Art and Design in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) will present the talk “In the Company of Art: A Celebration of 50 Years of the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection” with Lisa K. Erf, director of the JPMorgan Chase Art Program, Tuesday, March 17, at 7 p.m. in Room 132C of the Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer Art Building.

Erf holds global responsibility for the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, one of the oldest and most extensive corporate art collections in the world. Started by David Rockefeller in 1959, the collection numbers more than 30,000 artworks installed in 450 offices worldwide and is composed of a diverse range of paintings, drawings, prints, photography, sculpture, textiles and video art embracing all cultures, time periods and media. Reflecting the adventurous impulse that sparked the first acquisitions, the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection is especially known for its commitment to supporting contemporary artists who are shaping the future through their innovation and creative vision.

Erf is currently organizing a five-city tour of the contemporary art exhibition “Of People and Places: Contemporary Works from the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection,” which will travel throughout the United States. A second exhibition, “Collected Visions,” which was organized for an international audience with venues in Istanbul, Turkey, and Dubai, will be presented at the Bronx Museum of the Arts beginning in March and will feature a special education program for youth and family audiences. Both exhibitions are part of “In the Company of Art: A Celebration of 50 Years of the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection” in 2009.

Formerly head of the art program for First National Bank of Chicago (later Bank One Corp.) Erf has had a professional career that has included academic, commercial, public art and nonprofit institutions in addition to the corporate sector. She received a B.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.F.A. in studio arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and completed further studies at New York University. She is an artist, writer and lecturer, and resides with her family in Westchester County, N.Y.

For more information, contact Stephen Zaima, professor of painting, at (315) 443-4613 or szaima@syr.edu.

VPA is committed to the education of cultural leaders who will engage and inspire audiences through performance, visual art, design, scholarship and commentary. The college provides the tools for self-discovery and risk-taking in an environment that thrives on critical thought and action. Learn more at http://vpa.syr.edu.