We are thrilled to introduce a new Symposia! program with CANADA Gallery co-founder/artist Wallace Whitney, along with artists Astrid Dick and Michael David.

Wallace Whitney has combined a decades-long practice as a terrific painter along with being a visionary gallerist.  He is one of the founders of the legendary contemporary art gallery CANADA, an artist-run gallery started in downtown Manhattan right after 9/11 when few in the art world would venture below Houston Street.  CANADA has grown to become one of the most influential contemporary art galleries in the world.  

The program provides a rare access to Wallace, including his in-depth critiques of your work, a focus on professional practices, and Wallace’s story telling about his experience in the New York art world in the last quarter century.

Specifically, there will be several individual critiques with Wallace, accompanied by one or two additional mentors, as in our experience several voices can lead to a richer discussion.  You will meet with Astrid and Michael to receive further in-depth feedback in a less structured setting before and after Wallace’s critiques.  

Running parallel to the critiques, Wallace will share his experience of starting and running CANADA Gallery, bringing art history to life!  Wallace will go into the still under-told story of the challenges and opportunities involved in being an artist while also running such a successful gallery - getting to know the NY artistic scene in depth and seeing it evolve, meeting hundreds of artists in their studios, and playing a role in the making of the careers of multiple artists.   

Importantly, he will share his insights on how he goes about choosing work for the gallery’s program, how the work fits into a historical context, and contemporary art.

A key aspect of the program is that it takes place over eight months, allowing the time and space for an artist’s work to evolve, to respond to the feedback given, over three rounds with Wallace providing unparalleled access to one of the seminal figures in the contemporary art world, between meetings with Astrid and Michael.

The program will culminate in an exhibition based on selections presented to Wallace, Astrid and Michael

Course Tuition: $4250.00
Scholarships and payment plans available.

Wallace Whitney: is a NY based painter. His work has been the subject of many solo exhibitions, most recently Take the air at Ceysson & Benetiere in New York. Wallace is also an educator who has taught at the University of Tennessee and the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. His practice includes writing about art including catalogue essays for numerous artists and for magazines. Wallace has curated exhibitions in the United States and abroad, most notably Unfurled: Supports/Surfaces 1966–1976 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit in the spring of 2019.  Wallace is a co-founder of the artist-run gallery Canada.

Michael David: Guggenheim Fellow, recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, Yaddo and Edward Albee Fellow, Michael David has been exhibiting internationally since 1981, first with the historical Sidney Janis and then with M. Knoedler & Co. Exhibiting widely throughout the United States for 40 years, he has been the subject of much historical and curatorial acclaim. His most recent solo shows “The Mirror Stage” and "Night Time with Dreams and Mirror" were held at Johnson Lowe Gallery in Atlanta, GA. His work is included in many prominent private collections and the permanent public collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, The Brooklyn Museum, The Houston Museum of Contemporary Art, the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Margulies Collection in Miami and the Edward Albee Foundation in Montauk NY, and was the subject of a one-person exhibition at Aspen Museum of Art.  Considered an inheritor of Abstract Expressionism, David’s abstract work primarily centers on the use of a densely layered surface to facilitate a direct and immediate spiritual experience. He often incorporates religious iconography and symbolism, art historical themes such as the nude, and contemporary politics into his paintings resulting in a critical dialogue between the layered abstraction of the surface and the integrated representational imagery. Over the last decade, David established the Fine Arts Workshop in Atlanta and the Yellow Chair Salon, working with artists on an immersive one-on-one basis, helping to develop their voice and professional practices, finding exhibition opportunities and taking their individual expressions to the next level. His mentorship practice expanded to include residencies and workshops in Atlanta , Dallas, TX, Truro, MA and Brooklyn, NY. He has taught painting at Princeton, was head of the Graduate Painting Department at SCAD in Atlanta, and lectured and served as keynote speaker at many universities and art centers across the United States.  Over the last 12  years David has established, directed and curated two of the most successful galleries in Brooklyn: Life On Mars and M. David & Co.

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Astrid Dick is a painter working and living in Paris. Dick has been a recipient of the Milton and Sally Michel Avery Visual Arts Fellowship at Yaddo and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, among others, and shown her work through solo and group shows in Europe, the US and Argentina, such as the Grand Palais in Paris and the Manoir de la Ville de Martigny, Switzerland. Most recently, she had shows at Moments Artistiques in Paris, MDavid & Co. Gallery, ArtCake and Below Grand Gallery in New York, Johnson Lowe Gallery in Atlanta, and her work was reviewed in CULTURED, Hyperallergic and The Brooklyn Rail, among others. Her art writing has appeared in ArtPress, the Brooklyn Rail and Two Coats of Paints, among others. She holds a PhD in Economics from MIT. She has taught undergraduate and graduate university courses at INSEAD in France, where she was tenure-track faculty, as well as New York University and Columbia University.