16th Biennial Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition at Colorado State University

Note to Reporters: Selected print-quality images of posters in the 16th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition are available for media use only. Contact Jennifer Clary at (970) 491-3603 or jennifer.clary@colostate.edu for images.

Works of top poster artists and designers worldwide will be featured in the 16th biennial Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition hosted by the Department of Art in the School of the Arts at Colorado State University. The biennial event is the only exhibition of its kind in the United States. Now in its 30th year the exhibition will be featured, for the first time, in one venue at the University Art Museum, Oct. 2 – Dec. 22.

Featuring works of 82 artists from 28 countries, the 16th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition – or CIIPE – exhibits and interprets poster design, showcases examples of visual communication to an American audience, and promotes international understanding and dialogue through the graphic arts.

The exhibition is open Oct. 3 through Dec. 22 in the University Art Museum at the University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St. The exhibition kicks off with a free public reception and poster sale from 7-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. Exhibition winners will be announced during the reception, and a full color catalogue of the exhibition and works in the exhibition will be for sale on a first-come-first-served basis. General museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Additionally, satellite exhibitions throughout Fort Collins will feature specific historical, geographic, and thematic subjects. An online component to the exhibition, titled Graphic Responses, will feature works from graphic artists from around the world as well as works from Colorado State students, based on their visual responses to current world events.

Each biennial year the exhibition features an artist whose lifework is marked by excellence in poster design with a public lecture and a solo exhibition. Majid Abbasi serves as honor laureate for the 16th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition and is CIIPE’s first laureate from Iran, a country that is experiencing a blossoming of contemporary graphic design.

“We are excited to bring Mr. Majid Abbasi as a special guest and exhibition judge of the 16th CIIPE. He has been featured numerous times in past shows, and we are delighted to host him for his first visit to the United States as he brings unique perspectives on Iranian graphic art and society to our community,” said John Gravdahl, CSU art professor and co-coordinator of the show.

Abbasi will introduce his own work and the work of other contemporary Iranian designers in his honor laureate lecture, The Originality & Graphic Design Today, 5 p.m., Sept. 30, Griffin Concert Hall at the University Center for the Arts. His work will be highlighted at the Curfman Gallery in the Lory Student Center. The show, Persian Variations: An Exhibition of Majid Abbasi’s Book Covers & Poster Designs, runs Oct. 2 – Dec. 11. An opening reception will be held from 6 – 9 p.m. on Oct. 1.

“Majid is a specialist in Iranian typography and viewers will enjoy his creative use of an unfamiliar alphabet,” said Gravdahl.

The Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition was founded in 1979 at Colorado State and highlights excellence in poster design from leading and emerging graphic designers from around the globe. The exhibition presents a comprehensive look at the medium, its aesthetic and social implications, and its viability in the digital age.

“The visual ingenuity displayed in the posters is extraordinary as artists take on a number of issues, and come up with myriad visual solutions that are quite astounding in their impact,” said Linny Frickman, director of the University Art Museum at Colorado State University.

Join the museum curators at the University Art Museum for the Tasteful Tuesdays series from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 20 for an insightful conversation about why posters still matter in the age of digital communication.

“Posters may seem low-tech solutions, but the recent use of Shepard Fairey’s poster in the Obama campaign is the ultimate example of the impact that this medium still has. In our Tuesday discussion we will consider this example and discuss the validity of posters in a virtual society,” Frickman said.

The 16th biennial Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibit was made possible, in part, through a grant from the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Fund, which was established to enhance the cultural development and atmosphere of Colorado State. Other supporters include Fort Fund and the Colorado Council on the Arts.

All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.sota.colostate.edu/ciipe/2009. 
 

16th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition Schedule

16th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition

Oct. 3 – Dec. 22, University Art Museum, University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St.

Opening Reception, Ribbon Cutting and Poster Sale

Oct. 2, 7 – 9 p.m., University Art Museum, University Center for the Arts (UCA), 1400 Remington St. Opening Ceremonies and reception on outside steps of UCA, weather permitting.

Honor Laureate Exhibition – Persian Variations: An Exhibition of Majid Abbasi’s Book Covers & Poster Designs

Oct. 2 – Dec. 11, Curfman Gallery, Lory Student Center on CSU campus
Opening Reception, Oct. 1, 6 – 9 p.m.

Honor Laureate Lecture: Majid Abbasi’s The Originality & Graphic Design Today 

Sept. 30, 5 p.m. Griffin Concert Hall, University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St.

Persianissimo; An Iranian Contemporary Poster Exhibition

Sept. 27 – Dec. 22, Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, 201 S. College Ave.
Opening Reception, Sept. 30, 7 – 9 p.m.

The Letters of Europe – Alphabet of Bulgaria Exhibition

Sept. 28 – Oct. 17, Clara Hatton Gallery, Visual Arts Building, Lake St. on CSU campus

CIIPE Directors Exhibition

Sept. 28 – Oct. 17, Clara Hatton Gallery, Visual Arts Building, Lake St. on CSU campus

CSU Graphic Design Students – Graphic Responses Exhibition

Sept. 28 – Oct. 17, Glass Gallery, Visual Arts Building, Lake St. on CSU campus

East + West Chinese Global Warming Exhibition

Sept. 28 – Oct. 29 ,Directions Gallery, Visual Arts Building, Lake St. on CSU campus

High School Student Posters

Sept. 28 – Oct. 17, Hatton Gallery, Visual Arts Building, Lory Student Center on CSU campus

4th Block Eco Posters

Oct. 17 – Nov. 29, Loveland Museum and Gallery, 503 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland

Shigeo Fukuda and His Circle
Sept. 29 – Nov. 9, First National Bank Gallery at the Morgan Library, Lory Student Center on CSU campus
Opening Reception, Oct. 1, 5 – 7 p.m.

Hatton Gallery Lectures and Educational Programs with International Poster Guests

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 30, 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Hatton Gallery, Visual Arts Building, Lake St. on CSU campus

Tasteful Tuesday’s CIIPE: Why Posters Still Matter in the Age of Digital Communication
 

Oct. 20, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., University Art Museum, University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St.

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