September 21, 1998

Artist Joe Amrhein, co-founder of the Pierogi Gallery and curator of the Pierogi 2000 exhibit in the College Center Gallery, lectured in Taylor Hall on the curatorial process and on the primary inspiration for the exhibit—new artists’ struggle to show work in Manhattan. Pierogi 2000 displayed work by over 200 artists, both well- and lesser- known and including Vassar’s own Professor of Art Harry Roseman, in portfolios held in two large open cabinets. The exhibit’s name was a nod to the traditionally Polish population of the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, where the project started.

Blythe Dillon ‘99, who covered the lecture for The Miscellany News, reported that Amrhein “spoke of his personal frustration with the situation of galleries within Manhattan and how it has become increasingly difficult for unknown artists to show their work. He therefore converted his own studio, “Four Walls,” into a gallery.”