ArtSpace

By Sue Stovall

Summer in the Catskill Region brings an unparalleled opportunity to see art outdoors. From sculptures placed around a city to site-specific works in store windows; from galleries exhibiting the area’s finest artists that we know and love to galleries showing the work of new and exciting artists; from a chance to visit artists in their studios to a museum show of artistic responses to the Earth Charter, art this summer can be a fun experience for the entire family.



Galerie BMG is presenting Abandoned, a collection of work by Joni Sternbach, featuring hauntingly beautiful images of places long forgotten. This wonderful exhibition includes a combination of ambrotypes on glass plate, steel tintypes and large format gelatin silver prints, offering a diverse display of these unusual photographs.



The images, created using the 19th century wet-plate collodion process, seem out of time and place, like sequences from a dream. They are obscure, yet familiar, causing one to think about the scene you are about to enter. They are places that appear as the lost remains of a time gone by, offering a glimpse into a world no longer remembered.



Ms. Sternback is currently an Adjunct Instructor of Art at New York University and conducts workshops on wet-plate collodion photography at the International Center of Photography in New York City and the Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh, PA.



The show will run from August 5 through August 29. The public is invited to a reception with the artist, scheduled for Saturday, August 13 from 5 to7 pm. In addition, a demonstration by the artist of the wet-plate collodion process is scheduled the same day at 2 pm.



Galerie BMG is at 12 Tannery Brook Road in Woodstock, NY. The gallery hours are Friday through Monday from 11 am to 6 pm or other times by appointment. Visit their Web site at www.galeriebmg.com. For details on the location of the demonstration or for more information, please call 845 679 0027.



There’s another exceptional exhibition in Woodstock conceived by Sonia Sudak to enhance the visibility of area artists and develop collectors. Passionate About Art presents a collection of contemporary paintings and drawings borrowed from the collections of ten local collectors. Each of the ten artists in the exhibition will also have on exhibit two recent works, which will be for sale. The show opens on Saturday, August 13 from 5 to 8 pm at the Kleinert/James Gallery of The Woodstock/Byrdcliffe Guild and runs through September 25.



The collectors include Arthur A. Anderson (who recently donated a new wing to the Samuel Dorsky Musuem), Ira Brandes, Keven & Beverly Sweeney, Adele Calcavecchi and Jane & Happy Traum. The artists are Leslie Bender, Mariella Bisson, Don Elder, St. Julian Fishburne, Pat Horner, David Hornung, Jenny Nelson, Richard Sefalman, Pablo Shine and Carol Uehara.



The Kleinert/James Gallery of The Woodstock/Byrdcliffe Guild is located at 34 Tinker St. in Woodstock, NY. To contact Sonia Sudak, please call 845 679 5646.

The Wright Gallery of Kingston, NY is showing the superb paintings and prints from the last two years by artist Ann Haaland. This will be Ms. Haaland’s third solo exhibit at the Wright Gallery, which has previously shown her nature-based creations in watercolor, oil and pastels. Those who know her work will be very pleased by this collection and those who have not seen her work should make this show a must-see.



Ms. Haaland considers herself primarily a colorist. This latest body of work showcases her unique approach to landscape, specifically trees. By using strong, unexpected color combinations and relying on simplified line and form, Ms. Haaland’s work reflects many modernist influences that she has uniquely combined for something that is fresh and different from what has been expected of Hudson River Valley landscape art.



Ms. Haaland, who maintains a studio in New Paltz, has been working towards her own vision of landscape painting for the last couple of years, finding her muse along the Wallkill and Highland rail trails as well as the carriage trails up in the Mohonk Preserve. “It is a daunting task to replicate the serenity as well as the energy of nature here,” Ms. Haaland said. “I search out these quiet places for a variety of reasons, sometimes for solace, sometimes for inspiration. There is color and light everywhere, but their power is subtle. The seasons bring different experiences to different people. I want to reflect that energy, that sense of reverence and the mystery of something that is right there in front of us, familiar and yet not completely understood.”



Ms. Haaland is the recipient of the 2002 Woodstock Artists Association Lucille Blanche Award given at the opening exhibit, The Season Begins, for Best in Show. Her work has been exhibited nationally and is represented by galleries and consultants in California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. She has been involved with the Highland Cultural Center, the Arts Society of Kingston and the Woodstock Artists Association.



The exhibition at the Wright Gallery, at 50 N. Front Street in Kingston, NY, will begin with an opening reception on Saturday, August 6, from 5 to 8 pm and will close on Saturday, August 27 with a “Meet the Artist” talk from 2 to 4 pm that afternoon. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5:30 pm. For additional information and artwork images contact Ed Butler at 845 331 8217.



Also in Kingston, this month at the Coffey Gallery is a solo exhibition of highly original, handmade paper sculptures and collages of Terry Ann Tomlinson. For Ms. Tomlinson, the medium of handmade paper embodies the fragile and temporary quality of all aspects of life. She writes: “When making paper, I am connected to nature and its cycles in a direct way. The theme that spontaneously reoccurs in my work is about transformation through the process of birth and death. Even the paper I make goes through a process of being destroyed as its original plant form, only to be reborn as a work of art.”



Ms. Tomlinson explores the possibilities of paper to the utmost. With cast paper she creates variations of shapes, some abstract, others alluding to natural objects. These she assembles using a combination of repetition and contrast. The artist also uses nagashizuki, a Japanese papermaking technique, and traditional kozo and gampi fibers. In some pieces the paper is embedded with a variety of materials such as metal, feathers, mica and other natural materials resulting in beautiful textures and colors.



Ms. Tomlinson has exhibited in numerous local galleries, including the Elena Zang Gallery, the Kleinert/James Gallery and the Woodstock Artists Association. She recently displayed her work at Bellas Artes Gallery and Elementos Gallery in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.



The Coffey Gallery is located at 330 Wall Street in Kingston, NY. Gallery hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm and Thursday through Saturday from 11 am to 8 pm. For more information, please call 845 339 6105.

While we are on the subject of art in Kingston, if you haven’t been to the Sixth Kingston Sculpture Biennial make a point to treat yourself to over sixty sculptures placed throughout the city, most of which are outdoors where they are visible for free 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is a “knock-out” experience that the entire family will enjoy. For more information, please call 845 399 9800.



Another city is opening its arms to art for the public. On August 13 the city of Beacon will host over 25 contemporary artists who have been invited to create site-specific works of art as a means to engage the community, residences and businesses through a month long exhibition displayed in store windows located along Main Street. Over 25 local businesses will be participating in this unique event allowing the use of their windows for the display of art. Windows on Main Street will start on August 13 and run through September 4.



The art on display will bring attention to the historical specificity and uniqueness of Beacon’s community, and will take into consideration the site and/or history of each business in the creation of the work. The project is a way for residents and businesses along Main Street to celebrate the past and future arts and culture of Beacon.



An opening reception for Windows on Main Street will take place on Saturday, August 13, from 9 am to 12 pm at Spire Studios located at 45 Beekman Street. For further information please contact Todd Spire at 845 527 8752 or see www.nyarts.com. Maps and information can be picked up at Hudson Beach Glass, RiverWinds Gallery, World’s Ends Books and The Framery, located at either end of Main Street.



I want to give you the heads-up on the upcoming Fall For Art, the ninth annual juried art show, sale and cocktail party hosted by the Jewish Federation of Ulster County and Cellular One. This wonderful event will take place Thursday, September 8, at Wiltwyck Golf Club in Kingston, NY, so make your plans to attend. Admission is $30.00 per person with a reservation, $35.00 per person at the door. Reservations can be made by calling 845 338 8131. The show runs from 6 pm to 9 pm. Participating artists will be on hand to offer patrons an insight into the creative process behind their work.



Last year, Fall For Art sold over $15,000 worth of art and established a purchase award for the new The Cancer Center at Benedictine Hospital as beneficiary, along with United Jewish Communities, Family of Woodstock, Area Soup Kitchens, scholarships for area youth, Angel Food East and Jewish Family Services.



This year, the Jewish Federation of Ulster County recognizes the retrospective exhibition of the Kingston artist Julia McEntee Dillon. The exhibition, organized by guest curators Sanford Levy and Charles Glasner, is sponsored by Friends of Historic Kingston in conjunction with the Ulster Garden Club. According to Executive Director Jane Kellar, “on behalf of Friends of Historic Kingston and its Board of Directors, I am thrilled to accept such a generous gift from the Jewish Federation of Ulster County. I am looking forward to an exciting evening in the company of talented artists and their spectacular works of art.”



According to Jane Myerson, newly installed President of the Jewish Federation of Ulster County, “the Dillon exhibition is a wonderful choice as one of the recipients of proceeds from the art show and sale,” said Ms. Myerson. “As is our custom, Fall For Art offers incentives for individual artists, provides support to artist communities and organizations and recognizes the power of art itself. Friends of Historic Kingston’s promises to honor, acquaint and educate the public about the distinguished Kingston artist Julia Dillon.”



Celebrated jurors, under the guidance of ceramist Marsha Kaufman-Rubinstein, include painter Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, painter Kari Feuer, photographer Matt Calerdo and potter Joe Triplo.



For more information or to make reservations for Fall For Art 2005, call the Jewish Federation of Ulster County Office, 845 338 8131; e-mail fall for art@localnet.com or visit the Web site at www.ucjf.org/fall4art.

The Samuel F. Dorsky Museum of Art, a part of the State University of New York at New Paltz, is having an inspiring exhibition, Recycled Revisited: Artistic Responses to the Earth Charter, running through September 18. The show reflects the responses of a dozen different sculptors to the Earth Charter, a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just society with a special emphasis on the world’s environmental challenges. The document asserts that environmental protection, human rights, equitable human development and peace are interdependent, and that environmental, social and political concerns must all be attended to if we are to have a sustainable future.



The twelve artists—Takashi Abe, Barbara Bachner, Rimer Cardillo, Dennis Connors, John Dahlsen, Anthony Krauss, Iain Machell, Meadow, Franc Palaia, Shelley Parriott, Elisa Pritzker and Cynthia Winika—employ a variety of media ranging from plastic bags, shoes, rocks and bones, to more traditional materials. Through issue-oriented, challenging works, the artists inspire an appreciation for the fragility of the social and natural environments and a sense of global interdependence.



Nearly all of the artists are members of the Arts Society of Kingston, and several also currently have sculptures on exhibit as part of the Biennial Sculpture Exhibition in Kingston, 15 minutes north of New Paltz.



The exhibition was curated by guest artist John Dahlsen and Dr. Alice Wexler, Associate Professor of Art Education at SUNY New Paltz. The Samuel Dorsky Museum is located on the campus of SUNY New Paltz at 75 S. Manheim Blvd., New Paltz, NY. There are parking lots nearby and the museum is wheelchair accessible. Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm. Admission is free, though voluntary contributions are encouraged.



On Saturday and Sunday, August 13 & 14, Windham Artfest 2005 with the Windham Arts Alliance has assembled the talents of seven of the area’s top galleries, plus seven acclaimed artist studios, to offer area visitors a unique opportunity to see and purchase original paintings, pottery, photographic masterpieces and jewelry. There is something to appeal to every taste, from early Americana and impressionistic work, to modern and contemporary pieces.



“Adding to the excitement will be an opportunity to win raffle prizes, which collectively are valued at thousands of dollars,” according to Peter Liman, chairman of the Artfest. Visitors may purchase tickets for $5 each at the various galleries and studios, and odds are high to win prizes such as original works of art from painters, potters, photographers and jewelers; a free weekend at Country Suites B&B, the host of the raffle; dinners at area restaurants, and gourmet food and “feel-good” baskets. All proceeds from the raffle go to the Windham Arts Alliance.

Participating artists and galleries include Big Hollow Art Studio, Maplecrest: Colorful, impressionistic oil landscapes by Peter Liman; Country Suites B&B, Windham: Featuring the mixed media paintings of Iris Kaplan and the pastels of Barbara Green; The Galleria, Windham: Exhibiting a wide array of painting styles from realistic to contemporary; GCCA Mountaintop Gallery, Windham: Works in all types of media by leading Greene County artists; Hugh Colmer Studio, Windham: A creative area artist who paints in acrylics with spirituality in mind; Naomi Blum Studio, Windham: Naomi is known for her dramatic, creative paintings using mixed media; Phantastma Gallery, Windham: Featuring the work of Albert Juergens, a prominent digital photographer who uses unique special effects, and Thomas Lindley, a leading international photographer; Robert Cepale’s Studio, Windham: Exceptional early Americana oil paintings, all based on research of historic times and places; Roshkowska Gallery, Windham: Featuring the best of American and international artists; Ruth Sachs Studio, Jewett: Ruth, a respected ceramics expert, and her daughters Tracie and Lisajoy, who craft jewelry, are accompanied by Sheila Trautman, a watercolorist; St. Theresa’s Church, Windham: The Patchworkers Quilting Guild will be exhibiting their unique quilted craft items; Sugar Maples (map) Center for Arts & Education, Maplecrest: Regional educational center to learn painting, pottery, ceramics, textile arts, sculpture and more; Susumu Sato Studio, Windham: Dramatic, award-winning photographic scenes of many unusual genres; Twigz & Things, Windham: Francis Driscoll, a famed area landscape photographer, exhibits scenes of every season on the mountaintop in the second-floor gallery of this beautiful antique and handcrafted gift shop; Wildfire Pottery, Windham: Ken Snyder, a well-known watercolorist, and his wife, Joan Snyder, ceramic artist, will exhibit their works, and Windham Fine Arts Gallery, Windham: Always a “must-see” for leading regional artists’ works.



Copies of a map and list of participating artists and galleries will be available at the front of the Windham Civic Center on Main Street in Windham. Artfest hours are from 10 am to 4 pm each day, with some galleries open a little later on Saturday.



Since its inception, The Inquiring Mind Bookstore/Gallery in Saugerties, NY, has been a showcase for exciting and intriguing art. The gallery owner, Gary Heckelman, who offers on one side of the shop a fantastic selection of books and CD’s, has now transformed the gallery space into a new artists collaborative, with the hope of encouraging an even larger area audience for viewing, discussing and hopefully purchasing art. The wonderful inaugural exhibit was last month and artists in a variety of media and styles were showcased, as an introduction to the smaller group shows that will follow. The next show, opening August 6, presents five well-known artists, all of whom have shown in the Hudson Valley and throughout the country.



Adrian Frost is concerned with ancient rituals, which can be seen as sacred tools constructed to support and encourage humans to experience the rich spiritual dimensions of life on this planet. His works often are large constructions, which require attention and participation and hopefully will have a transforming aspect contained within it.

Susan Phillips, a photographer and mixed media collage artist, is showing six photographs from an ongoing series of puddle reflections, which fascinate her because of their ephemeral and multi-layered nature. A very ordinary scene may lead to a mysterious, enigmatic and surreal world, perhaps a fictional underground society, which exists beneath the pavement, if the viewer enters this temporary, vivid, altered reality.



Rosalind Robertson has been concerned with painting, drawing, ceramic sculpture and music throughout her life. Her most recent painting effort involves working with natural elements such as the ocean, in a way that allows them to express to her what they are and represent. Thus, she engages with the elements to enter into a partnership and convey her findings to others, through the art produced by them both.



When Barbara Rosen first started to paint, she reveled in the pure joy of applying paint and color freely to paper and canvas, in an attempt to observe, clarify and simplify things in life. Eventually, she carried the energy of the colors from reality to abstraction, and began to work intuitively with collage and paint, seeking the perfect balance between color and form.



Jim Williams is a wizard of fabrics. His collages offer a subtle rendering of color using pieces of antique and other fabrics sewn together and mixed with pieces of paper and found objects. He asks the viewer to ponder over the meaning of each special piece.



The Inquiring Mind Gallery is located at 65 Partition St. in Saugerties, NY and is open daily. There is also Jazz on Saturday nights. For more information, please call 845 246 5155.



In August, Windham Fine Arts presents a show of four distinctively different artistic visions in a show entitled Through the Artist’s Eye. The show will feature the intriguing figure studies of Kathleen McGuiness, sculpture from Satish Joshi, the earthy, textured, mixed media work of Victor Khromin and an explosion of color from Marlene Rye’s abstract landscapes. The contrast in the four artists’ styles, training and medium will give this show diversity that can’t be missed. Meet the artists at the opening reception on August 13 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, which coincides with the Windham Artfest 2005. Through the Artist’s Eye runs until September 11.



Windham Fine Arts is located directly across from Center Church at 5380 Main Street in Windham. For more information on any events, please call 518 734 6850 or visit their Web site at www.windhamfinearts.com.



The Open Studio presents Breaking the Vicious Circle and Other Invocations through September 30. The exhibit will feature works by Maija Reed, Sarah Mecklem, Kate Temple, Julie Chase and Dina Bursztyn. These five artists works are loosely influenced by shamanic art and artifacts from different cultures around the world. The show includes assemblage, large drawings, collage, ceramics, large size sculptures, prints, artist’s books, mixed media and a collaborative installation wherein the public will be invited to participate.

A common interest among the artists is to reveal new meanings from the discarded, weathered and forgotten. Julie Chase creates new equations with familiar objects as in her assemblage “Baggage,” as well as in a series of altered antique photos. Kate Temple’s large drawings of pebbles, twigs and other treasures found while walking in the woods are arranged inside a circle conveying a sense of sacred space, while Maija Reed’s collage “Unhatched” is meant to induce a meditative state. Dina Burstyn’s “Lady Demons,” a life size sculpture, has at its center a “vicious circle” and is inscribed with bits of dialogue and monologue and can be read as a 3D book.



The Open Studio opened in April and was selected by the Times Union as the best new art gallery of 2005. Gallery hours are Friday through Sunday from noon to 6 pm and by appointment. It is located at 402 Main St. in Catskill, NY.



Finally, the Chace-Randall Gallery in Andes presents Black and White, photography by Keith Cardwell, E. Ira McCrudden and Patrick D. Pagnano, which runs from August 19 through October 2. A reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, August 20, from 5 to 7 pm.



All museum collected, Cardwell, McCrudden and Pagnano have mastered the art of black and white photography, finding choice moments of unstaged subject and light and rendering world class prints of the world as they see it. Pagnano takes us through the streets of Italy, Cardwell captures the rhythms of Cuba and McCrudden brings us the timelessness of New York.



From the United Kingdom, Cardwell made his name as a photographer publishing in many prestigious journals and magazines. He was the first British photographer to exhibit in Havana, Cuba, and curated, as well as exhibited in, Cuba Si—50 years of Cuban Photography, National Theatre, London, which traveled to 10 other venues throughout the world. He also became fast friends with the late Alberto Korda, best known for his work as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara’s private photographer during the years of the Cuban Revolution. Signed and sealed prints by Alberto Korda will also be available at the Chace-Randall Gallery.



Roxbury and NYC resident and the recipient of numerous awards and honorariums, Ira McCrudden has exhibited at museums all over the world, and has had solo shows at galleries all over the United States. His work is in many permanent collections including The Brooklyn Museum, The Institute of Design in Beijing and New York University.



Patrick D. Pagnano, too, sports an impressive list of credentials. His photographs have been exhibited at galleries and institutions around the world. His photographs are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Helmut Gernsheim Collection in Switzerland and many private collections



Pagnano was raised for the first five years of his life in his immigrant grandparents’ home on Taylor Street, an Italian/American neighborhood in Chicago. The influence of these early years always remained a wonderful memory and instilled a curiosity to go back to his roots. In 1975, he spent several months exploring most of Italy and photographing the street life of Italian cities and towns. He calls this group of photos “Persa la Bussola,” which roughly translates into “Lost the Compass.”



The Chace-Randall Gallery is located at 49 Main Street, Andes, NY. Summer gallery hours are Thursday, 11-5; Friday and Saturday, 11-7; Sundays and Holiday Mondays 11-5 and by appointment. For more information please call 845 676 4901 or visit www.chacerandallgallery.com.