Saturday, March 30, 2019

Spring Arrives




Art House Press, 2019
Cordell Cordaro & designer Marco Fesyuk

I met the artist Cordell Cordaro once and enjoyed chatting and seeing his artwork but I didn't get a chance to thank him for the work he does to publish the yearly installments of Art House Press.  This year I found a copy in the Hungerford Building of the new Art House Press ( see above ) and right away I saw that this issue was different!  Gone were the select portfolios of images by our local artists, and in its place are essays including a long one by Amy Vena who is a graduate of our program at Rochester Institute of Technology.  Amy has been working hard now at Bausch & Lomb dealing with their archive as well as giving thought and care to their art program for their headquarters and for the Geisel Gallery downtown in Rochester.

Amy Vena has written a thought provoking essay on the health and well-being of the visual arts in 'Rochester and what we can and should be doing to maintain and improve our situation.  There is a whole discussion of the political and economic ramifications of the arts in our area, and considering that there are many forces involved, community support for this sector of the country is essential.

Other essays in Art House Press provide a stimulant for the up-and-coming art collector, enumerating the benefits by the purchase of the perfect thing for your home or business.  For the artists this show of support can mean a great deal and it helps justify all the time and effort that they put into their calling.



Alan Singer's print "Enigma" at MuCcc 
142 Atlantic Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607

If you want to belong to a group that is connected to the fine arts in Rochester, try the Print Club! Now the Print Club of Rochester is dedicated to educating the public about printmaking and each  year it commissions an artist to create an edition so that each member will receive that print as one benefit of being part of the club.  During the month of April, the Print Club is hosting an exhibition at MuCcc - located at 142 Atlantic Ave, and the show will be on thru April 28th.  If you want to know more about The Print Club - check out their website:  
https://www.printclubofrochester.org/




 Graduate artist Marcia Liu
Now at the Bevier Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology

Each spring the graduate MFA candidates at Rochester Institute of Technology put their art on view to the public and this semester we have a series of shows that has just begun in the Bevier Gallery.  Just for starters we have dimensional design, sculpture, prints and even whirling furry objects that are hard to classify!  Come out and take a look at the imagination at work!



Graduate Thesis shows at Bevier Gallery
Rochester Institute of Technology


Talking about the places that visual art can take you, stop into the Geisel Gallery this month for a look at the paintings and drawings of artist Paul Brandwein.  His art is engaging and colorful, and you are not likely to have seen anything like this before unless you have dreams about microscopic life in technicolor.  Right at the door to his show we have a poster that proclaims the territory that Brandwein has discovered for himself.



Paul Brandwein at the Geisel Gallery
in the former headquarters of Bausch & Lomb
downtown Rochester

The welcome is an unusual one - a torus covered with a pattern that could be a virus of some sort!

Inside,  the show has a dazzle of color, and finely tuned and detailed workmanship.  At the end of a long hall there seems to be a very colorful surf-bord beckoning...



Paul Brandwein at Geisel Gallery

The paintings in this gallery are very imaginative and show is called:  "Forces at Play". 

 Each one of these works looks like Mr. Brandwein put a lot of attention to every square inch.  He writes that the paintings might suggest planetary orbits, embryonic life or even sub-atomic particles.  Even if you are not interested per se in science, these paintings might inspire you to think differently!  Check out his show this month....you will be glad you did!



Paul Brandwein
March - thru April 27, 2019
Geisel Gallery
Rochester, New York