Mark Maio: Against The Grain | Exhibition opening M&T Second Friday, October 10th, 2025 

Buffalo, NY, September 30, 2025 — The Burchfield Penney Art Center proudly presents Mark Maio: Against The Grain, opening on M&T Second Friday, October 10, 2025, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. The exhibition, and accompanying book of the same title, chronicle the history of Buffalo’s “scoopers”—Irish American laborers who unloaded grain ships from 1825 until full automation ended their work in 2003.

Photographer, educator, and inventor Mark Maio was the only outsider granted full access to the communities, silos, and ships during the final decades of this era. His work preserves this vanishing world through evocative photographs, recordings, and oral histories.

Maio also followed what Anthony Bannon coined “The Great Grain Route,” photographing the wheat harvest in Kansas, and following the grain up to Duluth, MN where it was loaded onto boats, and finally sailing across the Great Lakes to Buffalo.

Anthony Bannon, Ph.D., Emeritus Director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the George Eastman Museum, provided the written story for the publication as well as guidance for the exhibition curated by Senior Curator Tullis Johnson.

The exhibition features:

• Maio’s powerful photographs documenting the life and labor of the grain scoopers
• In-depth research on Buffalo’s industrial heritage
• Video footage captured inside of the grain ships
• Archival artifacts from the city’s grain industry

The publication and the exhibition opening coincide almost to the day with the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal. Many of the scoopers and residents of the Old First Ward are descendants of the Irishmen who helped dig the Erie Canal. The exhibition will be on view in the Wendt & Doolittle Galleries through April 26, 2026.

“Against The Grain traces the forces of immigration, geography, and innovation that shaped Buffalo and by extension, America.

In the early 1800s waves of immigrants, including the Irish, arrived seeking work and opportunity. Their labor fueled the nation’s growth. Buffalo’s location along the Great Lakes and at the western end of the Erie Canal transformed it into a gateway of commerce where people, goods, and ideas converged. Concurrently the invention of the grain elevator not only revolutionized global trade but also influenced architectural design worldwide, these new forms echoing the scale and function of industry. 

My Against The Grain photographs bear witness to that legacy - where human endeavor, geography, and invention reshaped both a city and this new experiment called America.” —Photographer Mark Maio

 

Opening Celebration – M&T Second Friday, October 10th, 5:30 to 8:00 pm.

Visitors are invited to celebrate the opening of Against The Grain alongside the premieres of Serenades for Settling (Tending Ostreidae), a collaboration by Stephanie Rothenberg and Suzanne Thorpe, and Nordic-American Decorative Art: The Bronze Work of Carl Sorensen. The evening will also feature live music and hands-on artmaking activities for all ages. The companion book, Mark Maio: Against The Grain, will be available for purchase in The Museum Store.

Presentation & Book Signing with Mark Maio – Saturday, October 11, 2025, 1:30 p.m.

A special presentation & book signing with Mark Maio will take place in the Burchfield Penney’s Tower Auditorium on Saturday, October 11th. Published by Bill Boling and Fall Line Press, the book includes Maio’s stunning photography, forward by Brooks Jensen, introduction by Mark Maio, and story by Anthony Bannon. This event is free with gallery admission. Burchfield Penney Members are invited to meet the artist and enjoy light refreshments at a Members Connect event from 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. prior to the presentation.

SUPPORT FOR THE EXHIBITION

Mark Maio: Against the Grain is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. We gratefully acknowledge The Baird Foundation, The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, Tony and Frances Maio, Gina and Erik O’Neill, and an Anonymous Donor for their leadership contributions. For their additional support, we gratefully acknowledge Jeannine and Daniel Mullan, the Great Lakes Foundation, and Marsha Henderson.

ABOUT THE BURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTER 

Established in 1966 on the campus of SUNY Buffalo State University, the Burchfield Penney Art Center is the museum dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and the art and artists of Buffalo, NY, and our region.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The Burchfield Penney receives generous public support from SUNY Buffalo State University, Erie County, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the City of Buffalo. Private support is provided by The Cameron and Jane Baird Foundation, the Cullen Foundation, the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation, M&T Bank, The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, the Joy Family Foundation, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Designated Inclusive Arts and Culture Organizations Endowment Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Inc., Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Trust, the Mary A. H. Rumsey Foundation, the James Carey Evans Endowment, and many additional individuals, corporations, foundations, and Burchfield Penney members.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

Contact: Julia Norris
Director of Communications
716 878 3457
norrisjl[at]buffalostate.edu