Piece From Art Exhibition Donated to SBU by Artist's Grateful Family

A piece from a recent exhibition at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts has been given to the university by the artist’s family, and St. Bonaventure students were allowed to choose the work.

The exhibition “Sticky Fingers: The Art of Alex Masket” ended a six-week run at the Quick Center Nov. 28. It featured the work of Masket, a 23-year-old artist with severe autism who uses markers, duct tape and peel-and-stick numbers and letters to create intricately arranged and beautifully balanced works of art dominated by color and form.

Masket attended the Quick Center opening with his parents, who are left to try to explain the creative genius of their functionally nonverbal son.

Elaine Masket, Alex’s mother, said the family was so impressed by their visit to campus that they decided to donate one of the pieces from the exhibition to the university’s Permanent Collection.

“Alex has had 10 exhibitions and we’ve never done this before,” said Elaine Masket. “We were very moved by the university’s extraordinary hospitality and the Quick Center’s absolutely beautiful and extremely sophisticated installation. We are honored that St. Bonaventure accepted our offer of a donation.”

The Quick Center let students select the work in balloting before the Thanksgiving break.

“I was really overwhelmed by the level of student response and involvement with the Alex Masket exhibition,” said Joseph LoSchiavo, executive director of the Quick Center. “Students were involved in the planning phase, in the opening event, in reflective activities and in class work. So, it seemed only natural that students should be the ones to choose which work would enter the university’s Permanent Collection.”

The students selected the piece “Untitled (The White Sea),” a 5-by-9 foot painted canvas with adhesive overlay. The piece was created by Masket for the Quick Center exhibition.

The work is hanging in the Quick Center’s Theater Atrium where it will remain throughout the academic year.