(SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – June 19, 2014) “Did You Hear,” a print of an etching by SUNY Empire State College student José Colón, has been selected for the 2014 Best of SUNY Art Exhibition.

The juried Best of SUNY exhibit features a single work of art by each of 69 students from 26 institutions. Individual art departments across SUNY’s 64 campuses submitted entries.

“It was an unexpected surprise and truly a great honor to be part of a select few chosen to represent the State University of New York system,” said Colón. “I want to take this opportunity to thank Empire State College, the faculty and the State University of New York. It is their generosity and unending support that made all this possible.”

An eight-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, Colón served as a radioman in the Persian Gulf War Theater in 1991 and is employed by the Museum of Modern Art security department.

The 49-year-old native of Manati, Puerto Rico and a resident of Bronx, N.Y. is the father of two daughters. He enrolled with Empire State College in 2005, studied visual arts part time at the college’s office in lower Manhattan and has taken courses online.

Colón also earned credit for college-level learning gained in a nontraditional setting. He graduated June 12 with a B.A. in the arts and a concentration in visual arts.

“José is a wonderful artist and student,” said Betty Wilde-Biasiny, associate professor and faculty mentor in the arts and Colón’s primary mentor. “José created these humanistic etchings of a bygone era through a guided independent study with the college conducted at a nonprofit graphics organization in Manhattan. He went on to make additional paintings, prints and works on paper, a colorful portfolio of collaged and spray-painted urban imagery, which has been installed at the college’s Hudson Gallery in Manhattan. SUNY’s recognition of José is a testament to his artistic excellence. Better still, completing a degree speaks to his perseverance and determination as the working father of an amazing family.”

"We are very proud of José,” said Merodie Hancock, president of Empire State College. “His talent and determination to complete his degree is representative of the desire of many of the college’s students for a broad liberal arts experience and the need to be able to study where and when it fits their busy lives.”

“We are deeply proud to have our Best of SUNY art exhibition on display at the New York State Museum again this year,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Showcasing our top student works from the past year, this annual exhibit has become a must-see attraction for those who live in Albany, as well as the museum’s many visitors from across the state and nation. Congratulations to all of this year’s contributors.”

Zimpher and SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Joseph A. Hildreth, a professor of art studio-printmaking with the SUNY Potsdam Department of Art and a member of the committee that judged entries, presented Colón with his award at a reception held June 10 at the New York State Museum in Albany. The exhibit is on display at the state museum through Aug. 31.

“When I set out to create my prints, it was more of a personal venture and I wanted to honor the human figure in some way,” said Colón. “The period right after World War II, specifically the era before the computer age, is the focus of my work. The fact that my art appeals to an audience in an age of mass digital consumption brings me great satisfaction.”

“When I first met José about seven years ago, he would only use blue paint, like Picasso,” said Wilde-Biasiny. “José has since expanded his palate to use sienna and white and now works with a full spectrum of urban color. I always look for him when I go to MoMA because it was there that he learned so much about modern art.”

About the Annual Best of SUNY Art Student Exhibition

The annual Best of SUNY Art Student Exhibition includes traditional mediums of drawing, ceramics, painting, sculpture, photography and printmaking. Mixed media, photography, sculpture and digitally produced works also are included.

The SUNY student art shows were initiated in 2002 so that the work of SUNY’s most talented student artists would be seen by a wider audience. SUNY student art is also on display year-round at State University Plaza in Albany, SUNY Global Center in New York City and Gov. Cuomo’s Washington, D.C. office.

About SUNY Empire State College

Empire State College, the nontraditional, open college of the SUNY system, educates more than 20,000 students worldwide at eight international sites and at more than 35 locations in the state of New York face to face, online and through a blend of both, at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels.

The average age of an undergraduate student at the college is 35 and graduate students average age 40.

Most Empire State College students are working adults. Many are raising families and meeting civic commitments in the communities where they live, while studying part time.

In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each undergraduate student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career.

Working with their mentors, students design an individual degree program and engage in guided independent study and course work onsite, online or through a combination of both, which provides the flexibility for students to choose where, when and how to learn.

Students have the opportunity to enroll five times during the year.

The college’s 70,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more.

The college was first established in 1971 by the SUNY Board of Trustees with the encouragement of the late Ernest L. Boyer, chancellor of the SUNY system from 1970 to 1977.

Boyer also served as United States commissioner of education during the administration of President Jimmy Carter and then as president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

More information about the college is available at www.esc.edu.

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Media contact: David Henahan, director of communications

518-587-2100, ext. 2918

David.Henahan@esc.edu

518-321-7038 (after hours and on weekends)