The Visual Artworker: Openings

"More Than" , acrylic on paper on plywood, by

Paul Garland at

Axom Gallery

In Axom Gallery's Exhibition Space we now have paintings by Paul Garland in the new show titled: "Approaching Fifty" which describes the many years he has been in the business of showing and selling his art in gallery settings. In these modestly sized paintings we can see the attributes of a seasoned artist in full bloom, and there are familiar aspects like the compositional device of the divided plane - left and right. Between the panels on some of these paintings there might be a bright red that appears to dramatize spatial relations in these mostly abstract works of art.

The first painting I saw upon entering the gallery is called "More Than", an acrylic on paper, which employs a central veil like a curtain in a window and on either side of a central divide there are planes that move you from the foreground to the middle and then to a texture in the background.

"Approaching Fifty" by Paul Garland at Axom Gallery

Paul Garland's paintings sometimes resemble a board game designed in India full of lush color and geometric forms. In a few new works he has created flower portraits to mix with the abstraction found in the majority of his work. Paul Garland has been painting for many years and this is his third solo outing at Axom Gallery, so if you care about contemporary art, don't miss seeing this show.

510 State Street - "Made on State"

opens to the public

Near the High Falls district is a new set of studios at 510 State Street that had a public opening on Saturday, and there was a good turnout to speak with the variety of artisans who have recently set up shop. The building has a large central public space for workshops, it has a communal kitchen, and this development will attract creative people from all over the area. I stopped to speak to Kelly Cheatle in the new spacious studio of Arigami as she worked on a foil balloon frame for a customer.

At "Made on State"

watching a video in the studios of Airigami

Two of my students from R.I.T. who graduated in the mid 1990's have gone on to illustrate books and they were also marketing a product they call: "Fairy Doors" - which are handcrafted in their new studio space. I spoke with Chris Pallace, and Kevin Serwacki about the process they use to make this art form that combines their inspiration for illustration with sculptural carving to a make a unique product that acts like a good luck charm.

Artist, Chris Pallace

Artist, Kevin Serwacki

demonstrates the process behind "Fairy Doors"

Later that same day, my wife Anna, and I walk downstairs for the reception at The Oxford Gallery to view the show of new artwork from Kristine Bouyoucos and William ( Bill ) Keyser. "Points of View" is the title of this show and it is a wonderful selection of recent art by two of Rochester's most interesting practitioners in printmaking, painting and sculpture. As you walk into the gallery, take a look at the various elements in a trio of prints by Kristine Bouyoucos after the symphonic work by Claude Debussy called "La Mer". In her prints, waves crash, the sun rises, and there is a vibration giving the viewer a poem in the form of a print to savor.

Kristine Bouyoucos' trio of prints based on Claude Debussy's La Mer

Bill Keyser at the opening of "Points of View"

The Oxford Gallery

That he taught fine wood working should come as no surprise as Bill Keyser brings his fine sense of craftsmanship to his sculpture and painting in this new show that features a wide variety of constructions that can be joyful, yet solid in their presence. The articulation of wood and glass becomes part of the experience of "Down Dog" which has an illustrative moment that catches the eye. Movement is not one of the things one first associates with the stability of sculpture but Keyser's "Walk Before Running" really wants to get up and go.