Make sure you tune in to The Leonard Lopate Show on Monday, April 30th at 1:15pm. STUDIO Founder Agnes Gund will be talking about Studio in a School, its history, and the importance of introducing children to the arts at an early age. You can listen to the interview live here.

In the Studio – an exciting exhibition of new work by teenage artists from our STUDIO Intensives program – opened last night at STUDIO’s gallery at 1 East 53rd Street in Manhattan.  The student artists mixed with families, friends, supporters and staff of Studio who celebrated the creativity of these talented young people at the opening reception.  Photographer and Studio Partner Nirit Resnick said, “The work is incredible and it’s inspiring for the students to have real artists as teachers, real models in the studio, quality materials to work with …. STUDIO treats them as real artists.”   The work on display includes graceful charcoal sketches of an artist’s model, stunningly realistic charcoal self-portraits, charcoal still lifes and vivid acrylic paintings of a seated figure.  Eighth grader Armani, who created a powerful self-portrait with sophisticated shadowing in a Saturday afternoon workshop, said “I had to make it fast… I had two hours.”   Some of the young artists prepared their college portfolios in the Studio Intensives.  Doralee, a 12th grader whose Giacometti-like charcoal figure drawings were part of the portfolio that helped her gain college acceptance, said “I have been drawing since I was four but I learned a lot in the Studio Intensive.”  Her grandfather, who had never seen her work before the gallery reception, said “She’s fantastic, she’s really talented.”  The show runs through May 10th.

For an exciting off-gallery-row opening night, come to STUDIO’s exhibition opening next Monday, April 23rd, from 5-7 pm, at 1 East 53rd Street.  In the Studio showcases the artwork created this year by talented teens participating in STUDIO Intensives workshops – which are led by STUDIO’s professional artists on weekends and during school breaks at our studio on West End Avenue.  Imaginative sketches, drawings and paintings from students in grades 7 through 12 from 22 schools and all five boroughs of the city are on display until May 10. Expressionistic charcoal drawings, acrylic  paintings and crayon self-portraits exemplify the imagination and fascination that art-making holds for young artists and celebrate the unique personalities, interests and creativity of these students.

Very young artists proudly pointed out their artwork to families, teachers and the staff, friends and supporters of Studio in a School at the opening reception of Littlest Learners on March 20 at STUDIO’s gallery on 1 East 53rd Street.  Fifty-three pieces of artwork from 25 schools will be on display for a month, representing work from several of STUDIO’s programs, all of which are taught by our professional artists. Students from pre-K through second grade were given the opportunity to explore art materials and their own imaginations. First-graders created self portraits with tempera paint.  A second grade class made a mural of their Queens neighborhood.  Creating art develops young children’s artistic, cognitive and social skills.  Their work may represent the beginning of a lifelong journey in the arts.

Young children thrive on opportunities to explore, discover, imagine, and create. STUDIO’s professional artists offer children these experiences through art activities and the results are joyous. Join us next Tuesday, March 20th, for the opening reception of Littlest Learners , which will feature work by artists from Pre-K through 2nd grade. Their art represents an introduction to working with fine art materials, and opportunities to hone observation skills, exercise imagination, and discover ways of communicating ideas and experiences. The exhibition will be on view in our gallery at 1 East 53rd Street until April 16.

STUDIO's gallery at 1 East 53rd Street was once again filled last night, with the opening reception of Art & Healthy Living, an exhibition that features 54 artworks created by third through fifth-graders participating in the Art & Healthy Living program. Art & Healthy Living is an innovative curriculum that combines art instruction with nutrition tips. Art is used to engage children in creative learning. More than 30 schools, from all five boroughs, are represented in the exhibition, which will be on view until March 14th.  

The Gallery at 1 East 53rd Street was abuzz last night at the opening of Imaginations Taking Shape. The young artists, their families and friends, teachers, and STUDIO artists filled the gallery to capacity. For most students, this was the first time their work was framed and on display and their excitement was palpable. The young artists demonstrate that imagination and experimentation with shapes, composition, color, texture, and layering combine to produce expressive works of art that will surely delight you. The exhibition is on view until Friday, February 10, 2012. Don’t miss it!

Make sure you stop by STUDIO's Gallery @ 1 East 53rd Street next Tuesday at 5pm for the opening reception of Imaginations Taking Shape. This exhibition presents collages created by students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade in New York City public schools, Head Starts and day care centers. Here you can see how a kindergartener portrays an underwater scene - covering the entire surface with torn shapes of different shades of blue and using contrasting yellows, pinks and greens to depict the floating sea life. Two fifth-grade students have carefully cut their own hand-painted paper to create a collage depicting the intricate and whimsical body of an insect.