I am thrilled to be the 2022 Artist-In-Residence at the Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, NY. I started the part-time residency at the Law School in spring 2022 and it will continue through spring 2023. I am the first official Artist-In-Residence at the Law School who will work at the School for a year.
While classes are in session, I am in residence at the Law School on Thursdays. I work in an open, public area near the library. This allows the law school community to see what I’m working on, watch my process, and interact with me, if they want to. To date I have finished three collage portraits while at Pace: a portrait of Congressman John Lewis titled Good Trouble; one of Justice Sotomayor; and one of Justice-Elect Ketanji Brown Jackson. (My portrait of Justice Sotomayor will be displayed in the Law Library.) I have also started a commission of a Pace Professor.
As an artist I spend much of my time painting alone in my studio. The residency at Pace puts me right in the middle of the Law School community. Students eat lunch or study nearby, the staff does their work, and occasionally a professor stops by. It takes me out of my usual work world and puts me into contact with a cross section of students and others. The students talk to me about class or finals, and it brings me back 35 years to when I was a law student. It also exposes me to their energy and optimism, which we all need these days.
Being in this new environment has also given my studio art practice a jolt of energy. Working in a shared public area, and not in a conventional private studio, I find I’ve reached a new level of focus, which has allowed me to be very productive during my time at Pace. Working steadily, finishing one portrait after another has helped me experiment with different collage materials and methods of making my work. For example, my current portrait of Stacey Abrams combines altered text from The New York Times with various altered photographs of Ms. Abrams. I have done portraits with text and with photographs, but have not previously combined them. I am looking forward to exploring the Law Library and discovering new collage materials for my work.
The Pace residency is scheduled to conclude in Spring 2023 with a talk about my work, possibly a painting demonstration, and an exhibition of the work completed during the residency period, which is already drawing inspiration from the people of Haub Law School and its rich history.
Geoffrey Stein is a lawyer turned painter who is the first artist-in-residence at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
