Opening: Overstate, Understate, Tell theTruth: Paintings from St. Petersburg, New York, and Yerevan

Paintings by Benjamin Lussier, a PhD candidate in Columbia’s Department of Slavic Language and Literatures. From the artist:

I began this series of paintings about 8 months ago when I decided to take my easel abroad with me to Saint Petersburg. A painter just beginning to seriously explore the plein air tradition, I found painting on location a fantastic way to get to know the city, which I already knew quite well, in an even more intimate way. As a graduate student, I have the great privilege of traveling abroad between semester, a tremendous opportunity, but one which can also be disorienting. For me, plein air painting is an ideal way for me to feel more present and grounded in cities I am lucky enough to visit and to share my impressions of these beautiful places with the people who live there, as well as with friends and family when I get back home.