Steel Plant Building Features Richard Pitts ’‘Fragmented Memories’ Exhibit
Featured sculptures from artist Richard Pitt's 'Fragmented Memories' Exhibit, displayed in the Marist College Art Gallery. Credit: Anaiya Bobo ‘23
Throughout the course of each semester, Marist’s Steel Plant Art Gallery features a variety of art exhibits displaying the work of professional artists. This month’s exhibit, entitled ‘Fragmented Memories’ was created by New York City-based artist Richard Pitts.
A nationally-recognized artist and published author, Pitts' exhibit is a portfolio of images created over a span of more than five decades. The works, composed of drawings and prints from his sketchbook offer visual insight to his thoughts and experiences over the years as a teacher and artist. As a professor at FIT, he taught fine art and printmaking to students for over 40 years. Prior to that, he was a graduate of the Pratt Institute where he pursued a career in figurative art.
Pitts’s pieces in this exhibit are not limited to any single material. His collage and sculpture works experiment with many different mediums, utilizing pieced-together paper, paintings and more to communicate messages with viewers. Many of his sculptures also utilize relatively uncommon materials for sculptures like steel and aluminum.
The gallery’s well-lit setup helps showcase these unique aspects to attendees. Upon entering the gallery, students are immediately greeted by several multi-colored statues in the room’s center, each molded into their own shape and size. Along each wall of the room are a row of sketches and collages for students to browse as they encircle the gallery.
The front table of the room displays copies of the book further detailing each piece, categorized by art form with titles such as ‘Sculptures’, ‘Paintings’ and ‘Projects & Exhibitions’. The book-versions of ‘Fragmented Memories’ are set up photo essay-style, featuring the art alongside descriptions that delve into both the story behind the piece and details of Pitt’s past. All are available for purchase online.
“I find his work fascinating.” said digital media student, Claire Kenny ‘25. “I just think it’s really interesting how at first it might look like he’s just thrown it together, but there’s actually a lot of meaning behind where he places everything. When you look at it, you might miss something at first, but if you keep looking at it you start to see different things in it.”
On February 11th, Pitts held a reception at the Marist gallery to discuss his work with interested members of the Marist community. For three hours, students and faculty had the opportunity to share any questions or commentary that they had for him about the art. In addition to Marist, his work has been featured at art galleries across the country in cities like Chicago, New York City and New Orleans.
“I thought he was really interesting.” Kenny added, who worked and attended the reception. “I talked with him for a really long time. You could just tell that he’s a really interesting, intelligent guy and creative person that cares a lot about his work.”
The exhibit will be featured in the Marist College Art Gallery, located in Steel Plant Studios, from February 4th-28th, 2023. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday, from 12PM-5PM. Interested students and staff should stop by anytime to take a look.