unveiled at Village Gate atrium
A tradition of going out to see what is happening in the galleries on a May evening had some special electricity today with the unveiling of a mural at The Village Gate by local artist Steve Carpenter. A throng of people were on hand to celebrate a moment and the patrons were on hand with art lovers, friends and family, to see the new and very large semi-abstraction now ensconced in this public thoroughfare.
The artist, in a light blue jacket, was on hand to greet his admirers and you can also catch him now on a televised interview aired on WXXI this week. A video shot in his studio follows the mural's process and offers some insight into how and why the painting looks like it does. Featured at the opening, a smaller preparatory version was on view sitting on an easel, so you could get a compact sense of what the composition was about - figures merging with nature, colorful patches of paint that relates to the seasons. In a sense this is like a figurative Jackson Pollock, with a bit of Georges Seurat thrown in for good measure.
Down the street, I had a very interesting conversation with photographer Stephan Gersh, at his opening in the Spectrum Gallery at Lumiere Photo. In his exhibition, beautiful photos made in park land and other rugged locales, highlight natural wonders up close and personal. The digital prints on view make the most of a tonal range that is breathtaking and the subjects are in the grand tradition of Weston, Paul Strand, and Ansel Adams ( for whom Stephan Gersh once worked as an assistant ).
Joy Adams exhibition at Axom Gallery is titled
"Mad Sally with Things on Strings"
A few blocks away, the Axom Gallery has Joy Adams, who was on hand to welcome visitors to her show. I had seen some of these paintings before at the Memorial Art Gallery, but I prefer this setting where you can get really close to see the artist's handiwork. This selection features an alter-ego under the title of "Mad Sally with Things on Strings". These are illustrative artworks that remind me of Edward Hicks' peaceable kingdom menageries. "Mad Sally" is a kind of puppeteer who can control nature, but in one of the paintings she appears in her wedding dress, outside on a snowy day, clouds roiling, and other artifacts that hint of a melancholy and nostalgia for what once was.
Sue Leopard speaks with Jill Gussow
at the Print Fair at RoCo
presented by artist members of the Print Club
To the Rochester Contemporary Art Center for the print fair featuring artist members of Rochester's Print Club, who have set up tables to sell editions of their prints. The Print Club is a membership organization dedicated to the promotion of printmaking and collecting prints, and there were beautiful things to see and buy.
