School of Visual Arts faculty members to participate in Catwalk Art Residency

Paul Chidester, professor emeritus, and Jean Sanders, associate professor of art, will attend the Catwalk Art Residency in October. The residency is a retreat for art making, collaborative projects and scholarly discourse located at the Catwalk Institute in Catskill, New York on the banks of the Hudson River. Founded by Purcell and James Palmer in 2004, the residency serves to support emerging and established artists working across all media. Chidester will attend Oct. 4 through 16, and Sanders Oct. 11 through 23. The artists will live in one of three residential spaces and have access to shared studios and workspaces. After teaching at Penn State for 30 years, Chidester has shifted to full-time studio work. His award-winning paintings have been featured in exhibits in the U.S. and internationally, and he has authored or co-authored six books. During his time at Catwalk, Chidester plans to continue an ongoing series of emblematic paintings, which can be seen on his website. “As a romanticist at heart,” Sanders said she will love being surrounded by the inspiring landscape of the Hudson Valley. Her works are a synthesis between digital conceptions and traditional print processes. She makes contemplative photogravure prints of her surroundings and overlays her concerns of current world issues, like global warming. “As most of my work is reliant on specialized tools and techniques I have at the University, a residency at Catwalk will provide me a time to construct canvases of images already created and allow me to photograph, curate and begin new ideas to print upon return to Penn State,” Sanders said. Catwalk Art Residency has hosted more than 500 artists since its inception. Typically, four to six artists are in residence at one time and residencies are generally between two to four weeks in duration. Most residencies take place during the spring, summer and fall seasons.