Artist Whitfield Lovell will speak at Pratt Institute about his influences, artwork, and career as part of the 2010-2011 Visiting Artists Lecture Series (VALS), from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Tuesday, October 12, in the Engineering Building, Room 371, on Pratt’s Brooklyn Campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Pratt Visiting Artists Lecture Series is an annual year-long series organized by the Department of Fine Arts in the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute to welcome nationally and internationally recognized fine artists to share their experiences with the Pratt community.

Lovell will speak about the methods, craft, and influences behind his paintings and installations.

Lovell has exhibited works at numerous solo and group shows including at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Seattle Museum of Art. His work is housed in numerous private collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Columbia University, Harvard Business School, Yale University Art Gallery.

Lovell earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Cooper Union School of Art and taught at the School of Visual Arts for nearly 15 years until 2001.

Lovell has received a number of awards, including a 2007 Fellowship Award from the MacArthur Foundation, sometimes referred to as the “genius grant.” He has participated in visiting artist programs at Rice University, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, University of North Texas, San Francisco Art Institute, and the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia.

Lovell is the third artist of 12 invited to speak as part of the 2010-2011 Visiting Artists Lecture Series. The fall program continues with David Levine on October 19, John Kelly on November 2, and Erin Shirreff on November 16. VALS is coordinated by graduate students Biljana Djokanovic and Ryan Gilmartin under the supervision of Professor Dominique Nahas in the Department of Fine Arts.

Visitors can enter Pratt Institute’s campus on DeKalb Avenue or on Willoughby Avenue between Hall Street and Classon Avenue.  The closest subway stop is the Clinton-Washington station on the G line.  For directions to campus or parking information, visit www.pratt.edu/directions.