SUNY Ulster will host Altered Landscapes: At Risk — Forest & Field from Sept. 24 through Nov. 20, with an opening reception on Sept. 24 from 4 to 6 p.m.
September 10, 2026 – Stone Ridge, NY – At the heart of the exhibition is an examination of the shifting relationships among people, climate, and regional ecosystems. Through painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography, Altered Landscapes explores environmental changes affecting local ecosystems while examining themes of climate change, ecological loss, resilience, and adaptation.
The exhibition features seven Hudson Valley artists serving as SUNY Ulster’s fall semester Artists in Residence: Chrisso Babcock, Sergey Jivetin, Monique Luchetti, Sara J. Pasti, Lawre Stone, Enne Tesse, and Lori Van Houten.
“Altered Landscapes, made possible by the Ulster Community College Foundation, Inc., brings together the work of seven Hudson Valley artists who invite us to look again at the familiar trees, field plants, soil, and landscapes that surround us,” said curator Kristin Flynn. “Through painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography, the artists offer new ways of seeing the natural world and the subtle — or dramatic — ways it is changing.”
Flynn, a Hudson Valley artist, created and led the fashion design program at SUNY Ulster following a career in the apparel industry, including work as a designer at Nike. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design and an Associate in Applied Science from Rochester Institute of Technology, and she studied painting at Marylhurst University.
The featured artists bring diverse backgrounds and mediums to the residency:
- Chrisso Babcock creates miniature terrain pieces spotlighting broken and overgrown billboards as they decay and are reclaimed by nature. He is the founder and an educator at Coyote Kitchen Workshops and previously worked as an outreach coordinator at Sustainable Hudson Valley. He holds an Associate degree from Excelsior University and a Bachelor degree in Food and sustainability from Empire State University.
- Sergey Jivetin is a recipient of fellowships from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Peter S. Reed Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. His work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design, and the Dallas Museum of Art. Sergey has a B.F.A. from Parsons School of Design and an M.F.A. from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
- Monique Luchetti holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Fine Arts in painting from Ohio State University. She has held solo exhibitions at Lola Shepard Curatorial Projects + Gallery in New York and the Brattleboro Museum, and she has been featured in group exhibitions at Stonecrop Gardens, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the Re Institute.
- Sara J. Pasti works as an arts and development consultant in the Hudson Valley and previously served as the Neil C. Trager Director at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and a Master of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking from Rutgers University.
- Lawre Stone is a New York-based artist whose work is rooted in traditions of spiritual abstraction. She serves as associate director of the Bard M.F.A. program and sits on the board of directors for Millay Arts. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Fine Arts from Bard College.
- Enne Tesse uses fabric and found objects to blend installation, sculpture, written word, and social commentary. She has exhibited at MoMA PS1, the Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from SUNY Purchase and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts.
- Lori Van Houten has exhibited her work for 40 years and has completed artist residencies in Mexico and India. Her work is held in collections at the New York Public Library, the International Center of Photography, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art. She holds a B.F.A. from Syracuse University and an M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University.
For questions or to get more information, email flynnk@sunyulster.edu.
About SUNY Ulster
SUNY Ulster is a community college of the State University of New York, serving Ulster County and the Hudson Valley with high-quality, affordable education to over six thousand students annually across 70 academic programs. The college offers transfer and career programs, workforce training, and lifelong learning opportunities that prepare students for success in college, careers, and their communities.
About the Muroff Kotler Visual Arts Gallery
The Muroff-Kotler Visual Arts Gallery serves as a center for creative artistic activity at the College and for the outside community. It also functions as an environment for teaching, performing, and exhibiting. The Gallery is located in Vanderlyn Hall and is open Tuesday through Friday 12:30-3:30 p.m. during exhibitions.
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