Some Are Standouts

At Rochester Contemporary

137 East Avenue

Rochester, New York

Here we are at the beginning of a new season, and the art community here is a buzz.  Talking with Bleu Cease, the seasoned Director at Rochester Contemporary, he mentions that this is the 19th year for the 

6 x 6 show that recently opened at 137 East Avenue.  He said that this year there is slightly more than 6000 entries for the show which is now up on the gallery walls!  You could say that there is really something for everyone in this year's exhibition.  At $20 per piece you could start an art collection, or add to the one you have already started!

Great variety at the 2026 Summer Show for  6 x 6

Since it is my birthday, I treat myself to a couple of interesting works of art, and I have just the right place in mind for them at my studio!  It is remarkable what people can do with such a small dimension of 6 inches by 6 inches!  I look for the standouts, these are the pieces which I find are memorable, but you might have already passed them up!  I know some of the artists in the show - I can tell by the colors and the technique.  I usually send in a few of my paintings to this summer happening.  In the end, we want to support this great effort at RoCo, and this is one way we can help them raise funds for what they present each year.

The big wall at RoCo, there is something for everyone

When you go and visit this yearly show, sometimes the art on the top row is hard to really see clearly ( at least for me ), but you can go online and view the show - especially if you have some time and can't actually go to the gallery.  Also, if you have been to RoCo and bought something but you can't pick it up in July, you can have them send it to you ...you just have to ask!

The 6 x 6 show is one way for the gallery to raise funds for the year ahead, and I applaud the volunteers who do the hard work of mounting the show on those tall walls, HATS OFF TO YOU ALL!

Lee Hoag presents "Evoke" at

R.I.T. City Art Space

30 Adventure Place

Rochester, NY

Down the street, across from The Strong Museum of Play, there is the new R.I.T. City Art Space.  They recently moved into this new location, and it is an attractive space for modern art, and here I found sculptural works by Lee Hoag.  Lee's exhibition is called "Evoke" and the show runs until August 1st, 2026.  You may have seen some of his artwork in a Finger Lakes exhibition, and it really does speak for itself.  I don't think you could confuse Lee's art with other things you might see in an area art gallery. His artwork does remind me of a time  ( maybe in the 1970s ) when the artworld had to reckon with minimalism.

Lee Hoag's "Mind Field" (Lost Our Minds)

In some ways, Lee Hoag's emphasis is on industrial design.  His surfaces are always immaculate, and evocative, and they leave a lasting impression.  The structures he works out are strong and they have an aesthetic appeal, but not necessarily a utilitarian view.  In other ways, I think his conception is a kind of critique of an already established order, maybe of an outgrowth of capitalism.  Go see for yourself!

Lee Hoag presents "Medusa" at R.I.T. City Art Space

 

Saddle Up

 

Thru July 15th, 2026 "Horse Power" at

Main Street Arts

Clifton Springs, New York

Yes, we had a beautiful day for a ride out to Clifton Springs to attend the opening of "Horse Power" a large group show at Main Street Arts, 20 West Main Street.  When we arrived, there were many people in attendance, and 57 artists whose work had been selected for the exhibition.  I saw a window display of sculptural work by Jappie King Black, a noted artist from Brockport.  The pieces she displays are haunting and have a dark, fragile personality.

Over the years I have seen many group shows at Main Street Arts, but this theme exhibition has a wide range of larger and smaller pieces with many paintings and some photography, all about horses.  There is a strong sculptural work that greets us as we all walk in.

A surprising thing about this presentation is the fact that I don't remember another theme show that has a focus on this animal - as popular as horses are.  I do remember having seen some wonderful horses in a carriage competition held in Pittsford at the Walnut Hill Farm, but that was many years ago!

Jacquie Germanow at Main Street Arts with her painting " Innocence on The Run"

Our friend, Jacquie Germanow has a beautiful and evocative acrylic painting in this show and we stopped to admire it and speak with the artist.  Her painting of a horse/unicorn is surrounded by waves of color, and if you look closely there are arrows pointing in the air giving this animal a very vulnerable appeal.  We spoke about the fact that she had just varnished the painting, and I had to ask her why... she said it had many layers of old paint and some colors were lost and needed refreshing!

"Abundance" by Ann Clarke ( textile collage and embroidery )

This show also has remarkable variations, and a fabric collage caught my attention.  This work is called "Abundance" and the artist is Ann Clarke.  In this artwork, the horse image comes along with a panoply of other focus features, and I just thought that the embroidery and composition must have been a real challenge to put this work together!

"MoonShadow" a painting by Valentina Yannotti

If you visit Main Street Arts, be sure to go upstairs ( you could even take the elevator! ) to see the art on the second level because there are some fine pieces like this painting above, by Valentina Yannotti.  Right nearby there is a wonderful photo ( is it printed on glass? ) called "Black Knight" by Diane W. Dersch. This black and white photo has a terrific texture, and really captures this alert animal!

"Black Knight", photography by Diane W. Dersch

 Upstairs there is a fabric collage by Beth Brown that I think you might enjoy!  All told, this show is fun, and it brings home the wonderful variety of approaches that artists can take with a subject that is certainly NOT ordinary!

 

Opening & Closing

 

At Monroe Community College

The Mercer Gallery

We can thank those who come out to support the arts and we celebrate the fact that we do have a lively art community here in Rochester, and you can come and see the Annual Member's Show at The Mercer Gallery.  University art galleries in our area serve a vital function and that is they offer the opportunity to see a wide array of artworks that otherwise might be hard to find!

On Sunday, May 31st, the opening  for The Print Club was well attended, with almost 40 different artists represented in this Annual Member exhibition.  Most art galleries act like retail stores, trying to make sales.  Since the Covid pandemic it has become a lot harder for retail sales to gain back their strength.  So, in the breach the university gallery - like the Mercer Gallery,  introduces the public to lots of new things...

As I have been working on a book project about The Print Club, I was eager to see this new show, and I also participate by showing one of my recent prints in this Annual Member's Exhibition.  Before I even went in to see the show I was introduced to Keely Wu, a young artist and printmaker who is just finishing her first year teaching printmaking at R.I.T.

Two prints by Keely Wu: "Hamster Death"  and "Just A Bird"

Once inside The Mercer Gallery, I found two framed prints by Keely Wu - and in this show they have character/characters:  "Hamster Death" ( a drypoint etching and screen print ) and "Just A Bird" ( screen print ).  There is a bit of the comic in both of these figurative, and colorful prints.  This is just the beginning...

Prints large and small at The Mercer Gallery

The Print Club 95th Annual Member Exhibition

A deep dark print by Nick Ruth was given "Best of Show" award  ( above on the left ) and there were several honorable mentions given to other artists.   I think one of the prints that stood out was by Myles Calvert of a gigantic teapot.  The wall label said it was a woodblock print, so I just wonder how this image was made!

Print by Myles Calvert

More than 20 years ago, I was once the President of The Print Club, and now in attendance is the current President, Richard Kegler, who spoke about the Member's show and gave out awards.  Richard has a letterpress monoprint in this exhibition with the title "Stars Not Aligned", and it has curious patterns or superimposed grids making an abstract environment.  Another past President was at the show, and she exhibited a lithograph of an interesting monument with a title of "The Stone Empress" ( see below )...

Katherine Baca-Bielinis

Many different styles of prints you can find at The Mercer Gallery, so just check the hours there online, if you can take a break and see the show.  I think there is something for everyone  to enjoy'1

Landscape prints by Laura Wilder

 

Closing & Opening

 

"The Faces and Facets of Freedom"

Theme Group Show at Oxford Gallery

267 Oxford Street, Rochester, NY

Walk into the Oxford Gallery to enjoy the theme show "The Faces and Facets of Freedom".  It is a wistful goodbye to our community.  Not that we are saying goodbye to freedom in this moment of political turmoil, but for our community we must know that the Oxford Gallery will be closing.  Great thanks must go out to Jim and Ginny Hall who have steered this ship for over these past 30+ years!  Being an active agent in the visual art scene here in Rochester is a real achievement!  We know it is a lot of work to run an art gallery and requires a serious commitment.

Paula Crawford's painting of the Statue of Liberty greets you in the gallery.  "Lady Liberty" is an oil on canvas, and I was pleased to see the interesting color patterns in Paula's artwork.  On this occasion, I was reminded of visiting this monument when I was a little kid with my family ( and then we were allowed to walk up flights of stairs to view the harbor and the New York City skyline from a perch in the Lady's Crown! ).

Theme shows like this one have been a feature of the Oxford Gallery schedule for years, and I have the feeling that Jim and Ginny enjoyed the idea of giving creatives a prompt that would inspire artists to conjure up some interesting results.  Each individual artist in this case would have a different approach to the concept of "Freedom", and the visitor to the gallery might then find some of the works in this exhibition to be a bit provocative, especially the paintings by Thomas Insalaco.

 "This Is Not A Banana" oil on canvas

Thomas Insalaco

Often in group exhibitions like this one in Rochester, I tend to look at the paintings and sometimes the sculptures get overlooked.  That is not the case with the bright piece by Olivia Kim that commemorates the great respect we have in our area for Frederick Douglass.

Olivia Kim's Frederick Douglass statuette

With a theme like "Facets of Freedom",  a viewer can project themselves into a situation like the one portrayed in David Dorsey's painting, "Saturday Morning".  Here, he shows an engaging family moment, with kids having fun, enjoying a sunny day, and this all puts me in a good mood!

"Saturday Morning", oil on linen by David Dorsey

Bill Kayser, born in 1936, was a colleague of mine when we were teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology, and it is great to see that he is still being productive.  He has two works in this exhibition, the larger one called "Breach" is a kind of collage mounted on the wall.  I guess in his case the notion of freedom is embedded in thinking about a greater sense of abstraction without being so literal!

Bill Keyser's "Breach"

Being out in nature is one of my favorite things, so I have a real attraction to an oil painting by Phyllis Bryce Ely in her work called: "Freedom to Roam".  This might represent freedom and the couple of Bald Eagles in this show also has that effect.  On the other side of this equation of course there is the lack of freedom, and for that we get a sense of restriction and detention found in the quartet paintings by Jim Mott.

                                   "Visiting Omar, ICE Detention, Batavia" 

                                                                       by Jim Mott

Jim Mott's acrylic paintings in various shades of grey set up a contrast bringing us back to the reality of regional politics and the enforcement of the ICE Detention centers.

As the Oxford Gallery closes we can thank all of those people who come out to support the arts, and in my next post I write about the Mercer Gallery at Monroe Community College, and the opening of a large group exhibition for The Print Club of Rochester!  So Stay Tuned!  I urge you all to go and see the Oxford Gallery before the end of their final show!

Juxtaposition

 

John Rhoden sculpture show at

The Memorial Art Gallery

Rochester, New York

When going to a museum, you might make the journey to see works of art you are familiar with and that you have enjoyed in the past.  This is like going to visit an old friend! Indeed, there are pieces at The Memorial Art Gallery that I go to see like their Stuart Davis painting   ( "Landscape with Garage Lights").  Of course there are other paintings I enjoy like the Cezanne upstairs, or maybe the Fairfield Porter landscape on the main level.  I had met Fairfield Porter in my first year at Cornell, and followed his work for years!

This visit is to see a show of sculpture by...who is this?  John Rhoden? At The Memorial Art Gallery the exhibition is "Determined To Be", and it is a nice surprise!  It seems that this artist is long overdue for some recognition ( and that could be said of many other artists ).  Maybe it was OK for John during his lifetime, he may not have been drawn to the limelight.  The artist certainly had a figurative impulse, and I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of video with Garth Fagan dancers!  This combination was a brilliant idea!

John Rhoden sculpture with video images of Garth Fagan Dancers

Outside of The Memorial Art Gallery, where has John Rhoden's sculptures been exhibited?  His creative drive is evident, and I wonder if there were shows of his that I had missed?  Over the years there may have been a racial bias at work in the art world that is being exposed here.  In any case his work is terrific, and I am glad that The Memorial Art Gallery has made a statement with this in mind.

From my point of view, I think that Rhoden's wood sculptures are the pieces that most interest me, and they carve out a direct path into the history of sculpture, especially in regard to the lineage of African American art.  I am glad that museums are finally waking up to the fact that there are groups of artists that are overdue for their share of the spotlight.  We have so much to learn from this!

"Reflections: The Light Within"

watercolors by Luvon Sheppard and Steve Hill

Over on East Avenue, at The Rochester Museum & Science Center, we went to see my colleague Luvon Sheppard's watercolors which he painted outdoors along the Erie Canal with his friend Steve Hill.  On the day that we visited the show, the place was alive with all kinds of kids out and about!  Glad to see that the teachers could schedule a school trip!  There are so many features that the kids find exciting in this museum, but just not enough time to take everything in..

Luvon Sheppard's recent watercolors made along The Erie Canal

The show is called "Reflections" and - it will be on view on the Third Floor of the RMSC for the better part of a year.  Luvon's paintings are modest in size, but they have a big ambition to capture some of the poetry of the outdoor experience along the canal.  

Steve Hill is a painter who went on the excursions along the canal to document what he found there, and his paintings will also be on view for the year.  I know this territory myself, having painted along the canal many times, and I think that both Steve and Luvon have a wonderful sense of light and air in their work!

I know that Luvon and Steve also share a bit of history - having been teachers at the workshop called: "All Of Us" in the early 1970s.

On a different note:  It has come to my attention that one of the mainstays of the art community - the Oxford Gallery will be closing soon!  Hats off to Jim and Ginny Hall for keeping things going there over the years.  Of course they were not the only gallery owners there - it has a long history, and I was pleased to show a number of my own paintings at the Oxford Gallery and even made some sales!  This gallery has been an anchor for an art community and they will be missed!

Finally, here is a recently published article about my own artwork that you may want to read.  There is a link to this piece online, so ENJOY!  https://usawire.com/alan-singer-art-industry-technology-tradition/

Meet The Requirements

Luvon Sheppard At The Memorial Art Gallery

Rochester, New York

We spent years in the same office, but I did not know that Luvon Sheppard was a high school wrestler!  I did know that Luvon was born in Florida, but I did not know that his father was always away.. I do remember that we attended a memorial service for Luvon's mom after she passed, and that we have her edict "Meet The Requirements" pasted up on our refrigerator!

Three days ago, we went to "Meet The Artist" at The Memorial Art Gallery, and heard a wonderful interview with Luvon that was a real inspiration.

Interview with Luvon Sheppard in April 16, 2026

Mr. Sheppard has been teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology for over 50 years!  Today, his specialty is watercolor and he is also into collage.  Images of his artwork were projected onto the big screen as the interview progressed, and as the "Book of Luvon" opened, one could get a real sense of the contributions he has made to our community, and our country.

Luvon also owns the Joy Gallery on West Main Street, and there he has supported many exhibitions by other artists over the years.  This is a real factor in our area - to provide opportunities for artists to show their stuff!  It was pointed out in the interview that Luvon has been engaged for years beginning with his community based effort to establish "All Of Us", bringing arts to a wider audience here in Rochester.

 

A new venue has opened with Museo de Arte at 3495 Winton Place established by artist Kathy Clem

In the evening we attended the opening at the Museo de Arte, and we met with Kathy Clem who mingled with the crowd.  Her idea was to open a new space for the community and present a project that is a big group effort to create artwork for a building within the gallery space.  It is called the "Felted House" and not only is the little building wrapped in felt, but there is also artworks inside on the wall and ceiling that offer attractive felt work done by a large group of art volunteers.

Bravo!  Kathy Clem is inspired with a wide view of community engagement and she also has space to create new work and show this to the public.

Museo de Arte is conducting an open call for your art!

Applications are due by late August, 2026

There is still much work to do, and at The Museo de Arte there is an open call to the community to submit artworks for a show that will open in October of 2026.  So, get involved, applications are due by the end of August!

Tomorrow Is Today

Luvon Sheppard holds his portrait in a recent show at R.I.T.

We are in a quickly changing environment, it will soon be Spring, and the flowers are already blooming in our yard...  I wanted to write about my colleague Luvon Sheppard, and let you know that he will give a talk at The Memorial Art Gallery this coming Thursday, April 16th from 6 to 7 pm.  There is a need to book tickets, so you can go online and check it out!  Luvon is also the subject of a survey show of his recent artwork at the Rochester Museum and Science Center.  This exhibition at RMSC features his plein air paintings from along the Erie Canal and it will run from now thru March 21, 2027! The RMSC does have an admission charge, so be prepared!

While I was teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology, Luvon and I shared an office, and so we have a lot in common, not the least is the fact that we both have painted watercolors along the Erie Canal, so I am looking forward to seeing what he has done there!  Luvon has made a real contribution to the arts scene in Rochester, also because he has offered many exhibits at his Joy Gallery on West Main Street, which I have written about in this blog over many years..

Bill Finewood at Pittsford Fine Art

4 North Main Street, Pittsford, NY

Today, we have strolled into Pittsford Fine Art , a cooperative gallery at North Main Street, and I had to chat with another colleague of mine from R.I.T. and that is Bill Finewood who you see above.  Bill is a realist artist and illustrator, and he has spent many hours out west near Glacier National Park.  His painting shown here, is the result of hours of work out in nature, as well as in the studio, and it is really convincing.

Bill is the featured artist this month in this gallery which has a number of different  painters whose work can be a real inspiration for us all.

Suzi Zefting-Kuhn

at Pittsford Fine Art Gallery

Another artist who I am familiar with is Suzi Zefting-Kuhn, and she has recently moved her studio operation away from the  Hungerford Building to a new studio space nearby.  She also goes on expeditions and her painting of giraffes is the result of one such tour of Southern Africa.

Lately, I have been lucky to have interviews published, and my artwork is getting seen.  A new magazine is out that features two of my recent prints, and the publication is called  Abstractics.  Below is a copy of the cover for this new volume ( it is not my work  the cover ).

Now, I have to get back to my big project, which I look forward to - and that is a history of The Print Club of Rochester.  I have been doing a lot of writing and research for this organization, and there is really an interesting history to tell!  Eventually there will be a exhibition of prints that will be held in Rochester, and it will be quite something to behold!