The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is pleased to announce the exhibition, Burchfield-Penney Collects Buffalo State, at The M&T Center, One Fountain Plaza in downtown Buffalo through November 9, 2004. Burchfield-Penney Collects Buffalo State is an extension of the landmark exhibition New York Collects Buffalo State that the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State College, will present from July 9 through October 3, 2004.

"M&T Bank is a corporate leader in the support this community’s cultural institutions," said Ted Pietrzak, director of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. "We recognize their commitment to investing in the quality of life in the region and are proud and privileged to have had a long standing relationship with them to bring Western New York artists and art lovers together."

While the exhibition at the Burchfield-Penney will focus exclusively on alumni artists, the exhibition at the M&T Center also will include work by current and retired Buffalo State faculty artists whose works are in the Burchfield-Penney Art Center's collection. Current faculty artists will include Lin Xia Jiang, who is chairperson of the fine arts department, and former chair Peter Sowiski. Retired or former faculty artists Frank C. Eckmair and Jim Morris will be represented by works that are part of the M&T Collection at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, from the series purchased with funds donated by M&T Bank in 1989.

"The Burchfield-Penney Art Center's satellite space at the M&T Center affords the museum the opportunity to expand the concept of the multi-gallery presentation of New York Collects Buffalo State to our downtown audience," said Nancy Weekly, head of collections/the Charles Cary Rumsey curator at the Burchfield-Penney. "Comprised of works from the Burchfield-Penney's collection, this exhibition will include a large number of artists who are included in the museum presentation, such as Bruce Adams, Nancy Belfer, Robert Longo, and Joseph Piccillo. We hope everyone will visit both sites to experience how extensively Buffalo State College has cultivated the arts over its long history."

Buffalo State College has created an admirable legacy through its visual arts program, the largest in New York State. These exhibitions celebrate the excellence of artistic production in Buffalo—achievements that make the city proud.

Free public tours of the exhibition take place on most Tuesdays at noon. Call (716) 878-6020 to confirm. The M&T Center is open to the public.

About the Burchfield-Penney Art Center

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is a museum dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and distinguished artists of Buffalo Niagara and Western New York State. Through its affiliation with Buffalo State College, the museum encourages learning and celebrates our richly creative and diverse community. For more information, call (716) 878-6011 or visit www.burchfield-penney.org.

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and County of Erie. Additional operating support is provided by the Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Trust, the James Carey Evans Endowment, the Mary A. H. Rumsey Foundation and the Burchfield-Penney's members. Support for this exhibition, Burchfield-Penney Collects Buffalo State, was provided by M&T Bank.