Portia Munson: Little Suns, Hollow Bones
Solo Exhibition — May 9 – 31, 2015
Artist Reception: Saturday, May 9, 6-8pm
Cross Contemporary Art, Saugerties, NY
Portia Munson’s solo show, Little Suns, Hollow Bones, transforms the Cross Contemporary Art gallery into a world of flowers, plants, bones and creatures. From brilliant dandelion wallpaper to magical mandala prints of blossoms and small animal corpses, this exhibition addresses the artist’s interest in environmental issues while infusing the gallery with the spirit of spring.
“Wild Tulip” — Portia Munson — 2004
Although a conceptual extension of her 2013 Reflecting Pool exhibit at PPOW Gallery in New York City, Portia Munson’s upcoming Little Suns, Hollow Bones presents some new imagery derived from the flora and fauna of the Catskills and Hudson Valley region. Munson’s digital scanning of her subjects is a meditative exercise in organizing the chaos of nature as its elements are caught at a moment in time. Choosing flowers that bloom that day in her garden, Munson creates intricate patterns of color and form that, according to Claire Lambe in Roll magazine, “although preserved through the magic of digital technology, are as ephemeral as sand paintings,” and as a reviewer for The New Yorker stated,“(have) a seductive luminosity; each floral element appears to emit light.”
About Portia Munson
Portia Munson is a visual artist who works in a variety of media including installation, painting, photography & sculpture.
“Crocus Bulbs” — Portia Munson — 2009
Solo shows include exhibitions at PPOW Gallery, Yoshii Gallery and White Columns in NYC, among others. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US, Canada and Europe in such venues as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland; the Kunstahallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark; and in NYC at the New Museum, Ace Gallery, Exit Art, DC Moore Gallery and Affirmation Arts.
Ms. Munson has taught at NYU, Yale School of Art, Vassar Collage and SUNY Purchase. She holds a BFA from Cooper Union and a MFA from Rutgers. Portia Munson has received fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell, Skowhegan, Fine Arts Work Center Provincetown, Art Omi, and others. Her work has been reviewed and written about in many publications including The New York Times, Art in America, Newsweek, Harper’s, USA Today, The New Yorker, Flash Art and Artforum.
For more information please visit the Artist’s Website: here
Press:
New York Times:
Roll Magazine
Featured Image: “Cedar Wax Wing” 2011
About Cross Contemporary Art
Cross Contemporary Art is a gallery dedicated to showing mid-career and established artists who have a connection to New York City, Hudson Valley and Catskills region.
On May, 17, at 2pm, poets Lynn Behrendt, Brenda Coultas and Anne Gorrick will read their work at Cross Contemporary Art. The readings will coincide with Portia Munson’s installation. These three writers will share their poetry in a gallery filled with Munson’s images of flowers, plants, bones and creatures. All three poets are published writers with ties to the Hudson Valley and Catskills region. This event is free and open to the public
Cross Contemporary Art — Hours are as follows:
Open Thurs. through Mon. 12 – 6,
Tues. and Wed. by appointment or chance.
81 Partition st Saugerties, NY 12477
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Phone Gallery Director Jen Dragon 845.399.9751 for more information