10th Annual CUIMC Fine Art Exhibition Opens

Scores of people flocked to the opening reception for the 10th annual CUIMC Fine Art Exhibition on Friday, enjoying the more than 200 pieces of art—paintings, photographs, collages, and sculpture—

created by faculty, students, staff, their relatives, and pediatric patients of Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Their work will remain on display on Lower Level 1 and 2 of the Hammer Health Sciences Center through next year.

Erika Kuciw, an executive assistant at ColumbiaDoctors, has been with the medical center for about two years. She was excited to have three photographs on display for the first time at the event. “I had one person ask me if they were actually paintings, which is really nice. Part of it is that they’re printed on canvas, which changes the look a bit,” she said.

David Forrest, VP&S Class of 1964, had several drawings on display. While those attracted interest, it was the life-sized figure titled “The Renaissance Man: Portrait of the Psychoanalyst,” by artist Christiane Corbat, that drew widespread attention—possibly because of its uncanny resemblance to Forrest.

Forrest, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, sat for the artist, who covered his upper body and face in plaster. Once it was dry, Corbat painted the figure’s face to look like Forrest’s, added a cape, and put a drawer with file folders on the outstretched arms. Forrest beamed as he stood next to the image and posed for photos.

Event organizer Irina Kulichenkova, GSAS’18, says artists of all skill levels who work in all types of media were welcome to submit work for consideration. Kulichenkova, who also curated the exhibition, is a graduate student in the VP&S Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics.