CLASS NOTES

Firelei Báez A'04

Firelei Báez A'04, who is the Fall 2022 Alex Katz Chair in Painting and a 2004 alumna of the School of Art, presents a talk about her practice on November 30, 2022 at the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium at The Cooper Union. Through her process of painting and drawing in layers of material and narrative, Báez unearth women’s stories in the African Diaspora. Image and literary research inform conversations about resistance, climate, and healing while making connections between humans and nature. In recent years, Báez’s work has expanded into immersive installations providing critical interventions across disciplines. To read more and register for the talk, please click here.

Awol Erizku A'10

Awol Erizku A'10 was featured in ArtNews on September 1, 2022:

"Awol Erizku, a photographer whose work has appeared in major publications and museums, has joined the roster of Sean Kelly, which will represent him alongside London’s Ben Brown Fine Arts. Erizku creates photographs and installations that consider the representation of Black sitters throughout history. Many know him for photographing a pregnant Beyoncé, although his pictures have also included a portrait of the poet Amanda Gorman and more conceptual works. He has also made constructions of found materials, like basketball hoops, plaster Pharaoh busts, American flags, and masks."

To read the article in ArtNews, please click here.

Michelle Krochmal AR'98

Michelle Krochmal AR'98 bought and completely renovated a South Slope three-story wood-frame house in Brooklyn, NY, with an emphasis on energy saving features. An in-depth feature on the gut renovation was featured in the Brownstoner's article: "The Insider: Architect’s Own South Slope Row House Grows Up and Out, Prioritizes Energy Saving" on September 1, 2022. To read the article and see photos of the renovation, please click here.

Lea Cetera A'05

Chassis, an exhibition featuring sculptures by Lea Cetera A'05, was shown at the Phillida Reid Gallery in London, UK from September 2-October 1, 2022:

"We are proud to present Lea Cetera, Chassis, the inaugural exhibition at the gallery's new Grape Street location. Consisting of new and existing sculptural works incorporating found footage, kinetic machinery, steel cages and obsolete cables, Chassis stirs up a vortex of overlapping concerns: the dissection and manipulation of human and animal bodies; the distance between resistance and complicity; the consumption of images under capitalism; escape routes; and rainbow lobsters."

To read more about the exhibition, please click here.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.