Mandeville Gallery

Discover

A gallery does not have to be a white rectangle. At Union College in Schenectady, the Mandeville Gallery occupies the second floor of the Nott Memorial, where two semicircular viewing areas form a mezzanine open to the floors above and below. The shape of the building becomes part of looking at an exhibition. Instead of treating the room as a neutral container, notice how a work relates to the space around it.

The gallery was inaugurated in 1995. Its creation formed part of the Nott Memorial's renovation, supported by a gift from David C. Mandeville in honor of his father and grandfather. The building's second-floor gallery role thus connects a family contribution with a new stage in the use of an established campus landmark. The Mandeville visit concerns this named gallery, rather than every art space or historic building at Union College.

A university interview published in 2000 provides an illuminating account of the early curatorial challenges. The then director, Rachel Seligman, described moving from a traditional gallery with flat white walls to a round space with windows, color and an open balcony. Her account makes clear why exhibition design requires more than choosing works. A curator also has to consider surfaces, light, the available wall area and the relationship between pictures and sculpture.

That interview describes modular exhibition walls and the possibility of different arrangements. Read it as a record of how the gallery worked at that time, rather than a guarantee that the same partitions or installation will be present today. Its broader lesson remains useful: the arrangement you encounter is a considered response to a particular exhibition. Look at the space between works as well as the individual objects.

The gallery's early programme sought connections between art, history and science. In the interview, Seligman discussed exhibitions that brought artistic practice together with scientific inquiry and engineering. The current institutional description emphasizes contemporary art exploring cultural themes. You need not arrive with knowledge of every discipline involved. Choose one question suggested by the actual display, then use labels and any accompanying material to see how the exhibition develops it.

For planning, distinguish the gallery itself from its administrative office. The Mandeville Gallery is in the Nott Memorial; the Gallery and Permanent Collection Office is in Schaffer Library. The operator describes ramp and elevator access at the Nott and public exhibitions subject to college-holiday arrangements. Confirm the current programme and access details before travelling, especially if particular requirements will shape the visit.

Ask about photography permission for the exhibition, and keep circulation clear if photographs are allowed. A broad relationship between an installation and the curved setting can be more revealing than a tightly cropped copy of a single work. Avoid assuming that a past show, an old photograph or a long-ago curator's arrangement is still in place. The pleasure of Mandeville Gallery lies partly in that ongoing negotiation: contemporary works are presented within a building whose shape continually asks exhibitors and visitors to think about how art occupies space.

Fun facts

1. Mandeville Gallery was inaugurated in 1995.
2. It occupies the Nott Memorial’s second-floor mezzanine.
3. Its viewing areas are semicircular and open to the floors above and below.
4. The gallery office is in Schaffer Library, separate from the exhibition location.

Read the official sources →

Capture

1. If permitted, show a broad relationship between a work and the curved setting rather than copying an individual artwork.
2. Keep the mezzanine’s circulation clear and follow staff directions about allowed viewpoints.

Social

Mandeville Gallery challenges the idea that every art room must be a white rectangle. #Cre8Travel

The gallery occupies two semicircular areas on the Nott Memorial’s second floor.

Inaugurated in 1995, it formed part of a new chapter for the Union College landmark.

A 2000 curator interview describes the challenges of windows, color and an open balcony.

Historical modular walls show that exhibition design is part of the story; today’s arrangement may differ.

Art, history and science have all informed the gallery’s programme.

Find the exhibition in the Nott Memorial, keeping it distinct from the office in Schaffer Library.

How does the shape of a room change the way you look at art?

Hashtags

1. #Cre8Travel
2. #NewYork
3. #CultureAndDiscovery

Sources & visitor information

• Source — Mandeville Gallery
• Source — Mandeville Gallery
• Source — Mandeville Gallery