Founded in 2010 by the Steven Myron Holl Foundation, ‘T’ Space has quickly become a natural place for the arts, nature, and humanism to meet in the Hudson Valley. Boasting a gallery-cum-performance space designed by Holl, a 30-acre nature preserve, and a summer residency program for emerging architects, ‘T’ Space seeks to inspire a contemporary multidisciplinary perspective on the arts, continuing the work begun by the Hudson River School in the nineteenth century. Marden’s Cold Mountain series is a fitting start to ‘T’ Space’s 2019 season. (For more information about Steven Holl and ‘T’ Space, see Claire Lambe’s previous article in Roll Magazine HERE.)

“I am Nature.” In a 1991 interview with Pat Steir, Brice Marden (born 1938) referred to Jackson Pollock’s immortal declaration as one of the greatest statements of the twentieth-century. Said with such innocence and conviction, an artist making such a statement becomes – according to Marden – “Cold Mountain, the place, the attitude, the poem, the idea, and the person.”

He refers to the Chinese poet Hanshan, who was active during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and whose name translates to and writings inspired the Cold Mountain series. Marden first became interested in Taoist philosophy and Chinese calligraphy in the mid-1980s, culminating in Cold Mountain’s 35 images produced in 1989–91. Marking a notable departure from his previous monochromatic panel paintings, these calligraphic drawings in black ink and gouache allowed for Marden’s work to reach new levels of intimacy and fluidity. His studies suggest, rather than reproduce, Hanshan’s poetry, while simultaneously evoking the work of Pollock and other mid-century abstractionists.

“Cold Mountain Study “(29), 1988–91. Ink and gouache on MBM Ingres d’Arches paper, 7 7/8 x 9 3/8 inches. © 2019 Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Photography by Bill Jacobson, 2019

Unable to read Chinese, Marden took the unspooling lines of the characters and transformed them into pure imagery. Beginning in the top right corner, he dipped a stick in ink and drew Hanshan’s poems, each four vertically arranged couplets of five characters. The use of the natural implement of the stick heightens the work’s connection to nature and the finished product, a tangled web of intersecting strokes, is immediately evocative of Marden’s desire to “make something more like fugues, more complicated, back-and-forth renderings of feelings.” Hanshan’s original poetry would have been similarly organic, written on rocks in the remote mountains that he called home. Who he really was, if “Cold Mountain” was his name or if he was an anonymous poet named for his subject, or indeed if he existed at all, is not certain, but the poetry ascribed to him has endured over millennia. The poem below, in which Hanshan describes himself, shows how fitting it is that Marden’s calligraphic drawings are not calligraphy but marks free of literate interpretation, not intended to be read as writing:


Cold Mountain is nothing but clouds
secluded and free of dust
a hermit owns a cushion of straw
the moon is his lone lamp
his bed of stone overlooks a pool
his neighbors are tigers and deer
preferring the joys of solitude
he remains as a man beyond form.

 

“Cold Mountain Study (18)”, 1988–91. Ink and gouache on MBM Ingres d’Arches paper, 7 7/8 x 9 3/8 inches. © 2019 Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Photography by Bill Jacobson, 2019

Raised in the idyllic village of Briarcliff Manor in Westchester, New York, Brice Marden received his MFA from the Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1963. As a student under the tutelage of such artists as Alex Katz and John Schueler, Marden began to explore – in paintings, drawings, and prints – the intersection of Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, arriving at the rectangular format and muted palette that characterize his works in the 1960s and 1970s. These early abstract panels, presented on a singular canvas or in diptychs and triptychs, suggested his enduring interest in varied subjects as alchemy and religion, mythology and architecture.

Over the course of his long career, Marden’s work has reflected a wide range of influences, from Robert Rauschenberg (for whom he worked as an assistant in the mid-1960s) and Jasper Johns, to the broader strokes of Asian culture and the arid landscapes of Greece. In 1971, Marden and his wife, Helen, travelled to the Greek island of Hydra for the first time – a place they found so inspiring that they bought their first home on it only two years later in 1973. In 1983, Marden and his family traveled in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India, leading to the subsequent incorporation of elements of Asian traditions into his work. His later works’ heightened use of color and calligraphic gesture reflect these competing interests as evidenced in this piece, 2 Red Rocks 5, made between 2000 and 2002.

“2 Red Rocks 5 “(2000/2002), Kremer inks on Lanaquarelle paper, 15 x 20 inches. © 2019 Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Photography by Bill Jacobson, 2002

The works in this exhibition at ‘T’ Space, and illustrating this article, are small pieces, but many of Marden’s works, particularly his paintings, are monumental in size. He is also a consummate printmaker and his Cold Mountain ‘Zen’ series of sugar-lift etchings are an exceptional use of this technique – a technique also much loved by Picasso.

Marden has been represented by the Gagosian Gallery since 2017, before which he worked with the Matthew Marks Gallery for over 20 years. Now based between Hydra; Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania; New York City; and our very own Tivoli in the Hudson Valley, Marden has been honored with a 2006 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which then traveled to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, Germany, and the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at institutions including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Serpentine Gallery in London. To see his work here in Upstate New York and at such an exciting  venue as ‘T’ Space is a real gift for our area and not to be missed. There is a sliding scale admission of $0 — $20 for this show and, while you’re there, do allow time to explore all that ‘T’ Space has to offer on its 30 acre nature preserve which is dotted with sculpture and is also home to Steven Holl’s extraordinary little architectural gem, the “Ex of IN” House.

Featured image: Cold Mountain Study (20), 1988–91. Ink and gouache on MBM Ingres d’Arches paper, 7 7/8 x 9 3/8 inches. © 2019 Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Photography by Bill Jacobson, 2019

All images reproduced courtesy of the artist.

‘T’ Space is located at 137 Round Lake Road in Rhinebeck, New York.
More at www.tspacerhinebeck.org.

“Marking Time” and “Unidentified” are part of a collaborative project titled Warhol x 5, a retrospective of Andy Warhol’s life and work in the form of five overlapping exhibitions held at five collegiate museums in the Hudson Valley between the months of January and November 2018. Each exhibition explores a unique aspect or theme of Warhol’s work and features works donated by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts as well as other works by Warhol in the museums’ collections. The five museums will collaborate and share resources, enabling each to develop and expand on their respective themes.

Andy Warhol, Tracee Ross, 1981 Polacolor 2. 4 ¼ x 3 3/8 inches
Collection of Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Gift of © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

The project began in January at the Frances Loeb Art Center at Vassar College with “People are Beautiful,” an exhibition focused on ideas of beauty in portraits – that ended on April 15.

Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Saltzman and Unidentified Woman, ca. 1985. Gelatin silver print, collection Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., The Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, 2008.019.127

The Dorsky Museum began the next leg of the relay with “Marking Time” in February.

Andy Warhol, Unidentified Woman #27, 1984. Polacolor ER. 4 1/4 x 3 3/8 inches Collection Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Gift of © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Next is “Warhol: Unidentified,” focused on images of unidentified people, which will be on view at the Center of Curatorial Studies (CCS) at Bard College from April 8 to May 27. 

Then, from June 29 to September 15, “Younger Than Today” brings Warhol’s images of childhood to the University at Albany Art Museum.

Andy Warhol, Portraits of the Artists (from the portfolio Ten from Leo Castelli), 1967. Screenprint on 100 colored polystyrene boxes, Collection of Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, Gift of Sarah-Anne and Werner H. Kramarsky, 1983.02.01.03

Lastly, “Andy Warhol: Subject and Seriality,” runs from July 22 to November 18 at the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College. The theme is Series and Seriality in Warhol’s work. In addition to the five exhibitions, joint programming and curriculum opportunities will be provided for each of the participating campuses.

With it’s concentration on the “Unidentified,” CCS at Bard’s press office reminds us that in 1968 Andy Warhol declared, “in the future everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.” Now, with the democratization of media through channels like Instagram and YouTube, a rise to fame is far more accessible than when Warhol made that famous declaration. Much of Warhol’s work is populated with icons still recognized today but also in his oeuvre is a vast array of faces whose identities have been lost to time — Polaroid headshots and candid photographs that are characterized more by anonymity than fame.

Andy Warhol, Unidentified Man (Glasses), 5/1979. Polacolor Type 108 4 1/4 x 3 3/8 inches. Collection Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Gift of © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

“Andy Warhol was highly attuned to our social practice of using celebrations to mark anniversaries, whether of births, deaths or centennials, and whether of people, places or things,” said Reva Wolf, Professor of Art at SUNY New Paltz and curator of “Marking Time”. This “anniversary” or “commemoration” theme can be found in many of Warhol’s works, such as his famous Marilyn Monroe series, which was made in 1967 on the fifth anniversary of Monroe’s death at the age of 36. This is just one of many examples, and “Marking Time” is correspondingly divided into five sections emphasizing Warhol’s images of time-marking occasions: Holidays, Commemorations of Things, Commemorations of People, Anniversaries of Deaths, and Birthdays and Other Celebrations. As part of a Fall 2017 course on Warhol, SUNY New Paltz students authored both the informative texts located throughout the exhibition and the essays in the accompanying catalogue.

Andy Warhol, Christmas Poinsettias, 1982, polacolar ER, collection of Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Gift of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2008.7.99 (On loan to the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.)

In the ‘Holiday’ section are Polaroid photographs of poinsettias and of a heart-shaped candy box used by Warhol to make prints to give as gifts on Christmas and Valentine’s Day. In ‘Commemorations of Things’ are silkscreen images made on the centennial of the Cologne Cathedral and on the centennial of the Brooklyn Bridge. Warhol was asked to create the official poster for the celebration of the bridge in 1983. With its vibrant colors and use of mirroring, the poster (and corresponding screenprint) is reminiscent of his pop art work of the 1960s.

Among the people included in ‘Commemorations of People’ are art dealer Leo Castelli and feminist politician and activist Bella Abzug. In ‘Anniversaries of Deaths’ is one of the focal points of the exhibition: Flash—November 22, 1963, a series of screenprints depicting the press response when President John F. Kennedy was shot. This series, made in 1968 to mark the fifth anniversary, repeats in various configurations pictures that became embedded into the American mind in the days after the assassination. It memorializes JFK while reminding us, the public, of our indirect experience of this historical event and criticizing us for our tendency to obsess over tragedy.

Andy Warhol, Plate from FLASH–NOVEMBER 22, 1963, 1968,” lithograph and silkscreen on paper, collection of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, gift of Alexander E. Racolin, 1992.07.77.01-.11

Several black-and-white photographs—many of them featuring cakes—make up the final section, ‘Birthdays and Other Celebrations’. Some of the subjects are identified and others are not.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Warhol received his training in commercial art as a pictorial design major at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). Upon graduating in 1949, he moved to New York City and began his career as an illustrator when he was hired by Glamour magazine as a freelance commercial artist. He became one of the leading figures in the art movement known as pop art.

Featured Image: Andy Warhol, Brooklyn Bridge, 1983. Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board, extra, out of the edition, designated for research and educational purposes only, collection of University Art Museum, State University of New York on behalf of the University at Albany Foundation, gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2013:2451

All images reproduced here are courtesy of the exhibiting museums and galleries and have been approved for use in publicity materials by the Andy Warhol Foundation.. Please visit the museum or gallery websites for further information, gallery hours and directions.

Chiara Harrison Lambe was born in Ireland, raised in the Hudson Valley, and currently divides her time between Brooklyn, NY. and Berlin, Germany. She holds a degree in Art History from Bard College.

Artists as Innovators opened on August 30 in the Alice and Horace Chandler and North Galleries. The public opening reception will be held on September 9, from 5-7pm, and the art works will remain on view through November 12. This exhibition showcases the NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship program, which has, over the past 30 years, supported more than 4,000 artists in various fields in the visual arts, performing arts, and literature. Fellows have often addressed controversial issues such as women’s rights, sexual orientation, consumerism, globalization, and many more pressing topics. The long list of noteworthy NYSCA/NYFA Fellows include Barbara Kruger, Doug Aitkin and Shirin Neshat in the visual arts, Tony Kushner and Suzan-Lori Parks in theatre/literary arts, Spike Lee and Mira Nair in film, and Meredith Monk, Julie Taymor and Yvonne Rainer in the performing arts. Examples from this exhibition of what to expect are the work of Tony Oursler whose sculpture combines wood, digital print and video to explore the “Big Brother” world of biometrics in #ISO, 2015, and Ida Applebroog’s disturbing depictions of ordinary people such as the grinning suitor with his bouquet of flowers in Winnie’s Pooh, 1993.

Tony Oursler, “#ISO,” 2015, image courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong. (Photograph by Elizabeth Bernstein)

Artists as Innovators looks back over the years through the lens of over 20 Fellows, all of whom went on to enjoy significant achievements in their artistic careers. Participating artists include Elia Alba, Ida Applebroog, Dawoud Bey, Sanford Biggers, Ross Bleckner, Wendell Castle, Tara Donovan, Chitra Ganesh, The Guerrilla Girls, Christian Marclay, Marilyn Minter, Lori Nix, Tony Oursler, Faith Ringgold, Martha Rosler, Dread Scott, Andres Serrano, Shinique Smith, Carmelita Tropicana, and Fred Wilson.

As part of the exhibition tour, SUNY partners will host complementary exhibitions and programs. After the opening on Saturday, September 9, the next event will be a reading by NYSCA/NYFA Literary Fellows on Saturday, September 16 at 2pm. Join Fellows Saïd Sayrafiezadeh (Playwriting/Screenwriting ’96, ’06, Fiction ’10), Edwin Sanchez (Playwriting/Screenwriting ’89, ’00, ’06), Luc Sante (Nonfiction Literature ’14), and Akiko Busch (Nonfiction ’11) for an afternoon of readings. The following Saturday, September 23, a panel discussion on the history of the NYFA Fellowship Program will be held at 2pm, featuring Artists as Innovators curators Judith K. Brodsky and David C. Terry, catalog essayist Paddy Johnson, and exhibiting artist Lori Nix (Photography ’04, ’10).

On September 30 at 2pm, exhibiting artist Carmelita Tropicana (Playwriting/Screenwriting ’91) will be performing. Known for her irreverent humor, subversive fantasy and bilingual puns, she has been straddling the worlds of performance art and theatre in the New York art scene since the 1980s. Then, on Wednesday, October 4 from 12-3pm, Fellow Linda Montano (Conceptual/Performance Art ’86) will perform as Bob Dylan in SUNY New Paltz’s Student Union Building from 12-1pm, Sojourner Truth Library from 1-2pm, and Fine Arts Building Rotunda from 2-3pm.

Ida Applebroog, “Winnie’s Pooh,” 1993, image courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

Next, on Sunday, October 8 at 2pm, watch Lives of Performers, a film by Fellow and experimental choreographer Yvonne Rainer (Film ’90, ’95) at the Rosendale Theatre (408 Main Street, Rosendale), in conjunction with the theatre’s “Dance Film Sundays.” On Sunday, October 14 at 2pm, there will be a “Slide Slam”-style presentation by SUNY New Paltz faculty who have received NYSCA/NYFA Fellowships in Visual Art: Jamie Bennett (Crafts ’90, ’99, ’11), Amy Cheng (Painting ’90, ’96), Kathy Goodell (Sculpture ’93,’97), Carmen Lizardo (Photography ’04), Emily Puthoff (Digital/Electronic Arts ’11), and Nadia Sablin (Photography ’13).

The next event falls on Saturday, October 21 at 2pm, when there will be a gallery talk, ‘Embracing Upheaval,’ with exhibiting artist Wendell Castle (Crafts ’86). Castle will share anecdotes from his career and discuss the ways in which art, creativity, and critical thinking combine to influence an artist’s approach to their work. Lastly an event that will be of particular interest to art practicioners, on Monday, October 23, from 5:30 to 7pm, attend an information session on the NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship application process, led by NYFA staff. The application for the 2017–2018 award cycle opens in Fall 2017 in the categories of Fiction, Folk/Tradition Arts, Interdisciplinary Arts, Painting, and Video/Film. The winners receive $7,000 cash awards with which to fund their vision or voice. More information about the Fellowship is available at https://www.nyfa.org.

The Dorsky is one of six museums on State University of New York campuses that are partnering with NYFA to present Artists as Innovators, which will travel throughout New York State until Spring 2020. The other museums are SUNY Cortland, Alfred University, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Plattsburgh, Stony Brook University, and Westchester Community College – the precise schedule is on the Dorksy website.

Featured Image: Ross Bleckner,“Dome,” 2015, image courtesy the artist. Photograph by Jeffrey Sturges

All images reproduced here are courtesy of the artists or the artists’ representatives. Please visit the museum website for further information, gallery hours and directions.*Galleries are closed October 7th through 10th for SUNY Fall Break

Chiara Harrison Lambe was born in Ireland, raised in the Hudson Valley, and currently divides her time between Brooklyn, NY. and Berlin, Germany. She holds a degree in Art History from Bard College.

First, go to the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz (1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz) for Artists as Innovators: Celebrating Three Decades of New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships. This is a group exhibition showcasing a program that has supported over 4,000 artists in various fields in the visual arts, performing arts, and literature. NYSCA/NYFA Fellows have a history of addressing pressing and often controversial issues such as the status of women, sexual orientation, equality, consumerism, globalization, and more. Artists as Innovators opens on August 30 and will be on view until November 12, with a public opening reception on September 9, 5-7pm. (A more in-depth piece on this show and the programs that accompany it will be coming soon.)

Tony Oursler, “#ISO”, 2015. Wood, graphic, video, dimensions approx. 60 x 40 inches. Image courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong. (Photograph by Elizabeth Bernstein)

At Davis-Orton Gallery in Hudson, NY (114 Warren St), Hudson Valley artist Pat Horner presents her solo show Collage Montage. For Horner, whose practice early in her career was in photography, collage is a form of visual writing. Drawing from her imagination, memories, dreams and beliefs, she works with themes of family, nature, feminism and gender, and politics. In her hands, mixed media becomes a common language to express her feelings and stimulate an emotional response in the viewer. Horner’s work tells stories about relationships between the sexes, war, fashion, indifference, and power. In addition to using photographs, several pieces in this exhibit have added texture using fabric, thread, digital reproductions, cutouts and paint. Collage Montage runs from September 2 to October 1, 2017. The artist’s reception is on Saturday, September 9, 5-7pm.

Pat Horner, “Beauty”, 2017, collage of digitally printed collages

Also in Hudson, opening on September 16, the John Davis Gallery (362½ Warren St) presents four shows in its Main Galleries, Sculpture Garden, and Carriage House. In the Main Galleries and Sculpture Garden, Benjamin Butler shows his New Work. Describing his art practice, Butler says, “My sculptures and drawings reflect the sensibility that all complex forms and phenomena emerge from simple but persistent processes.”

Ben Butler, “Description of a Stone”, 2017, cedar, 68 x 51 x 74 inches.

On the first and third floors of the Carriage House, Louis and Henry Finkelstein present a selection of paintings titled Seeing; Here, Together, Now. Louis Finkelstein, a second generation Abstract Expressionist, raised his son Henry to carry on his practice. With similarities and differences of approach, motif, manner, and influence, the works in this exhibition offer a glimpse into the nature of the relationship between father and son.

Also exhibiting at John Davis Gallery are Laurel Sucsy on the second floor of the Carriage House and Lee Marshall on the fourth. The works of all five artists will be on view until October 8, with an opening reception on Saturday, September 16 from 6-8pm.

In Woodstock, Ken Dreyfack’s solo photography exhibition Silent Stages opens at the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum (WAAM, 28 Tinker Street) on Saturday, September 2. There will be an artist’s talk at 3pm and opening reception will continue from 4-6pm. This show consists of 16 black and white images shot over the past three years. In his artist’s statement, Dreyfack writes, “I want to amass the right mix of ingredients to spark the idea of a story, not one that I’ve imagined but stories that viewers conjure up on their own, unresolved narratives laced with mystery, alienation and maybe even a touch of evil.” Dreyfack’s work will be on view until October 1.

Ken Dreyfack, “Selfie”, photograph.

Also opening at WAAM this September is a group show of works by WAAM members and, in the museum wing, L’heure entre chien et loup (the hour between the dog and the wolf), a selection of works from the Hudson Valley Visual Art Collections Consortium including a drawing by Philip Guston that wonderfully echoes the title, continues through October 1. This is curated by painter/printmaker and Columbia University, Professor Gregory Amenoff.

Philip Guston, “Curtain,” 1980, lithograph 31 x 41 inches, Collection of the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Karl Fortess.

In October, WAAM will present three new shows including FOCUS: Technology Friend or Foe juried by Bryan Czibesz of SUNY New Paltz, a solo show of recent works by Matt Frieburghaus, and Book Art curated by poet and critic John Yau

Across the river, at Bard College’s Hessel Museum (30 Campus Rd, Annandale-on-Hudson), the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard) presents No to the Invasion: Breakdowns and Side Effects. The exhibition, which opened on June 24 and will be on display until October 29, showcases work from the Barjeel Art Foundation Collection, dating from 1990 to 2016, and referencing significant histories and conflicts across the Arabic-speaking world. No to the Invasion examines how art operates within volatile social structures, political regimes, and economic systems. Its timespan recalls a sociopolitical landscape inflamed by the shifting regimes of power following the fall of Pan-Arabism, the end of the Cold War, the start of the Kuwait War, and the end of the Lebanese Civil War. The exhibition title is borrowed from a 1990 linocut print of the same name by Kuwaiti artist Thuraya Al-Baqsami, produced three days after the start of the Iraq-Kuwait war and intended as a resistance poster against the invasion.

No to the Invasion is especially relevant today, with radicalism and neoliberal capitalism thriving and people increasingly displaced by battles in Syria and Iraq. Drawing upon events both current and historical, the exhibition follows the course of artistic practices and sociopolitical narratives from 1990 to today to examine where art and politics meet. The exhibition proposes an expanded meaning of the term ‘invasion,’ going beyond connotations of incursion, trespassing, and violation to conjure a sudden surge or confrontation. These works investigate and refuse such invasions on one’s space or body by the media, global capital, or regional magnates.

Installation image from “No to the Invasion: Breakdowns and Side Effects.” CCS Bard Galleries, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. (Photography by Chris Kendall)

Also showing at the Hessel Museum is Picture Industry. This group show, featuring works by over 80 artists, reflects upon transformations in the production and distribution of photography, beginning with its origins as a scientific tool. Picture Industry, which opened alongside No to the Invasion on June 24, is on view until December 15.

Other Exhibitons opening in the Hudson Valley this September include:

Cross Contemporary Art in Saugerties ( 99 Partition Street): Brian Woods’ solo show through September 25 is followed by Christy Rupp’s newest fantastic creations on September 30, reception 5 – 8 pm. Rupp’s exhibition coincides with the month-long “Shout Out Saugerties” cultural festival—four weekends of programing celebrating art, literature, dance, theater, human rights, ecology, and more. Not to be missed.

Christy Rupp, “The First Harvest with Asher B Durand” 2017

In Woodstock at the Woodstock School of Art (2470 Route 212): the Woodstock Monoprint Invitational Exhibition, September 2 – October 14. Opening reception is Saturday 2, 3 – 5 pm. This exhibition will showcase prints created in the school’s new print studio – a must-see for all fans of fine print media.

Also in Woodstock at The Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, (34 Tinker St.): Drawing Sound, an exhibition and live performance of graphic scores by artists Marilyn Crispell, Jo Ganter, and Raymond MacDonald. This is an active collaborative venture between music and visual art and runs through October 8.

Wired Gallery in High Falls (11 Mohonk Rd.): Ulster Alums, September 2 – 24 with a reception on the 2nd from 5 – 7 pm. Wired Gallery is showcasing the work of a select group of SUNY Ulster alumni artists curated by Cheyenne Rossler. Wired will follow this on Sept 30 by what promises to be an exciting exhibition of new work by Roberto Azank.

Lois Cremmins (Wired Gallery), “98 and Humid.” 2017. Collage, pen and ink.

PS 209 POP-UP in Stone Ridge (3670 Main Street): Ingrid Lisowski and Lori Van Houten are showing new work in an exhibition titled Elements. The opening is September 16 from 5-7pm. The show also includes a collaborative installation by the two artists.

The Matteawan Gallery, Beacon (436 Main St.): Ky Anderson’s first exhibition at this gallery, titled Small Stories, opens on September 9 with a reception from 6 – 9 pm and runs through October 1.

Ky Anderson, “Empty Shield”, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 19 x 19 inches.

Also in Beacon, Theo Ganz Studio (149 Main St), is pleased to present The Art of Cape Dorset — a selection of prints and sculpture, September 2 through October 1, 2017. Highlights will include two works from the late Tim Pitsiulak based on his iconic Arctic wildlife drawings.

Featured Image: Pat Horner, “Kiki,” 2016, mixed media collage, 11 x 16.5 inches

All images reproduced here are courtesy of the artists or the artists’ representatives. Please visit the museum or gallery websites for further information, gallery hours and directions.

Chiara Harrison Lambe was born in Ireland, raised in the Hudson Valley, and currently divides her time between Brooklyn, NY. and Berlin, Germany. She holds a degree in Art History from Bard College.

Debra Priestly, “Hymn,” 2014, wood, paint, black flocking, 62” x 16” x 7”

On April 8, Saugerties will be transformed into a living, breathing sculpture show. To coordinate with International Sculpture Day, this super-show will take place inside three galleries and in various outdoor venues throughout the village. The participating galleries are 11 Jane St, a new venue located at the eponymous 11 Jane Street; Cross Contemporary Art (in their newly acquired space at 99 Partition Street); and Emerge Gallery (228 Main Street), whose exhibit “Metal & Wood” will include assemblages as well as wall and standing sculptures. Artists at Emerge include Fay Wood, Loel Barr, Ed Berkise, 2 Nutty Artists (Janet Costello and Heather Gottfried),  Robert George, Ruth Edwy, Michael Ciccone, Shelly Davis and Amy Puccio. This exhibition will be on view from April 7 to May 1, with an opening on April 7 from 5–9 pm as a part of Saugerties’ First Friday. The shows at CCA and 11 Jane St will also be available to preview that Friday before their official openings the following day.

Amy Puccio, “Sugar & Spice,” 2013, assorted wood pieces, mixed media, acrylic, 17” x 13.5” x 2”

The first annual Saugerties Sculpture Show is supported by the town and village of Saugerties and will feature outdoor sculptures in such spots as the new Bella Luna Restaurant Courtyard (124 Partition Street), Cantine Field, outside 11 Jane St and Saugerties Lumber, and in various shops throughout town. Bob Malkin of “Think Big,” the 80s retail phenomenon in Manhattan’s Soho district, is volunteering larger-than-life sculptures of mundane objects to the storefronts of Saugerties—you will find a giant comb in the window of a barber shop, a huge wineglass in a local wine shop, a super-sized clothespin in a drycleaners, and a gigantic champagne cork in the window of a bar! And, at the CCA space, look out for Christy Rupp’s simultaneously witty and deadly serious turtles created from the detritus of, in this case, the laundry room. Additional exhibitors include Debra Priestly, Ian Machell, Susan Mastrangelo, William Greenwood, Alex Kveton, Estate of Jeffry Schiller, Draga Susanj, Colin Chase, Nadine Slowik, Stuart Farmery, and Adrian Frost.

Jeffrey Schiller, “Vore,” 2010, welded metal, installed in the courtyard of Bella Luna

Alex Kveton, “Metropolis No. II,” painted aluminium, 84” x 60” x 24”

In High Falls, Wired Gallery will also celebrate sculpture with a playful two-part exhibition by Sam Tufnell from April 8 to May 7. The work on view will be divided between Wired’s premises at 11 Mohonk Rd, and the nearby High Falls Emporium Sculpture Garden at 10 Old State Route 13 (corner of Old Route 213 and NY-213) in the form of an outdoor installation. Tufnell has become known for his 3D still lifes, in which he casts mundane items like plastic toys, cans and bottles or, as in the case of Dad, paraphernalia from pop culture, in clear or brightly colored translucent resin. These casts are then lit, or powered, from within, which gives them an ethereal quality. It is these sculptures that will be at the gallery.

Sam Tufnell, “Dad,” 2015, resin, electricity, 9.5” x 9” x 11”

A graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, Tufnell’s distinctive illuminated sculptures have been exhibited in Miami, Palm Beach, New York City, and other cities around the U.S. He was the recipient of a Solo Award at Artexpo New York 2013. The exhibition at Wired Gallery marks Tufnell’s first solo show in the Hudson Valley and is curated by Colin “Cojo” Jorgensen. There will be an opening reception on April 8 from 5–7:30pm, during which, at sunset (approximately 7pm), a lighting ceremony will take place at the foot of the cliffs by the Sculpture Garden, unveiling a site-specific installation, Gnome Mountain, consisting of 13 solid-colored luminous “Power Gnomes” arranged on the rocks. At the flip of a switch, they will be brought to life; there they will remain, glowing sentinels guarding the craggy cliffs of High Falls, NY indefinitely.

Sam Tufnell, “Gnome Mountain,” 2017, resin, electricity, cliff, town, dimensions variable.

“Gnome Mountain”, as it will henceforth be known, is situated less than ten miles from the Hudson Valley Landmark sculpture Gnome Chomsky, former Guinness World Record Holder 2007 for “World’s Largest Garden Gnome” (now the 3rd largest) by artist and gardener extraordinaire Maria Reidelbach at Kelder’s Farm on Route 209 in Kerhonkson, NY.

All Images are courtesy of the artists or their representatives.

Featured Image: Christy Rupp, Red Tide (detail), 2017. Plastic and metal, 48” x 38” x 36”

For further information, including gallery hours, please call or visit the galleries’ websites:
Cross Contemporary Art, 81 + 99 Partition St, Saugerties: crosscontemporaryart.com
Emerge, 228 Main St. Saugerties: emergegalleryny.com

Chiara Harrison Lambe was born in Ireland, raised in the Hudson Valley, and currently  divides her time between Brooklyn, NY. and Berlin, Germany. She holds a degree in
Art History from Bard College.

The 2016 Hudson Valley Artists showcase, “Campsite”, continues through November 13 at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, on the SUNY New Paltz campus. To see Roll’s full coverage of this marvelous exhibition go here.

Thomas Lail, “Dome II”, 2011 – 2014. Found cardboard, hardware, carpet. 48 x 96 x 96

A solo show of Carl Van Brunt’s hypnotic digital paintings, “Blue Sky Mind,” runs through November 6 at the Theo Ganz Gallery, 149 Main Street, Beacon.

Carl Van Brunt-Crazy Town 2016 archival digital painting 22x12x40 in.

Ending on November 6, is the Woodstock Artists Association Museum (WAAM) October show, 28 Tinker Street, Woodstock as well as the show in Hudson at the John Davis Gallery featuring works by Pamela Cardwell, Jock Ireland, Paul Harbutt and Leticia Ortega Cortes. Then a new solo show will open on November 12 at the John  Davis Gallery featuring Claude Carone —opening reception, 6-9pm, 362½ Warren Street, Hudson.

Also in Hudson, at Carrie Haddad Gallery, an exhibition featuring landscapes, cityscapes and interiors titled, “Inside Outside”, with works by Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, David Austin, Sue Bryan, Richard Britell, Robert Goldstrom, Judith Miller, Steven Poser, Patty Neal, Bill Sullivan and Darshan Russell, runs through December 4th. 622 Warren Street, Hudson.

The latest exhibition at the Hessel Museum of Art, “We are the Center for Curatorial Studies”, will be on view through December 16. Curated by Paul O’Neill, Director of the curatorial studies Graduate Program, this show is equal parts art exhibition and research project—a culmination of years of artist projects, exhibitions, collaborations, and programs; Split into six individual ‘Departments’ or ‘Cores’, the exhibit examines curatorial practice by placing more than 30 works, including standalone artworks, new commissions, and ongoing art projects. These works challenge what it means to exhibit art by exploring the intersection between and juxtaposition of subjects, objects, images, information, structures, and display spaces.

Coming together to form a whole, this complex exhibition will facilitate the discussions, public presentations, and teaching that make up the CCS Bard graduate program. Artists include Gerard Byrne, Vlatka Horvat, Sara Cynwar, Jasmina Cibic, and Ronan McCrea. The Center for Curatorial Studies, 33 Garden Road, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson.

Jasmina Cibic: detail of the performance “Show the Land in Which a Wide Space for National Progress is Ensured,” 2015, wallpaper, gold, paint, dimensions variable. Photo: Boris Burić

Cross Contemporary Art, 81 Partition St. in Saugerties, presents “Tread Lightly” with works by Josh Dorman, Brian Fekete, Christy Rupp, and Rodney Allen Trice. This group of artists use various original, appropriated, and re-purposed imagery to tell an open-ended poetic story. The combination of unexpected elements (tires, old prints, machine parts, animals, maps, medical texts, decorative papers) creates unique spatial experiences and artistic commentary. Curated by Alan Goolman and Jen Dragon, the exhibition opens with a reception for the artists on Saturday, October 29th, 5-8pm and runs through November 27th.

Christy Rupp, “Oil Change,” 2010, cut paper collage, 11 x 16 in.

Also in Saugerties, look for the recently opened Emerge Gallery, whose focus is, like its name suggests, on emerging artists. It is currently showing work by a selection of artists from Brooklyn, entitled 96.8 Miles: Brooklyn to Saugerties, 228 Main Street.

The Woodstock School of Art is celebrating the completion of a major renovation to its print studio with a benefit exhibition of the first prints – mono prints – made in the new space. The print studio has been extended and refurbished to enable the best practices and latest non-toxic techniques in printmaking, and will be a great boon to area artists. The exhibition, an invitational, is curated by Kate McGloughlin who, along with Master Printers Anthony Kirk, Lisa Mackie and Kathy Caraccio, worked with a select group of artists, emerging and established, each of whom created a suite of mono prints. One print from each suite was donated to the school to be included in this exhibition. Among the artists participating are such luminaries as Milton and Shirley Glaser, Mary Frank, Richard Segalman, Mariella Bisson, Julio Valdez, and Donald Elder; sales will benefit the Woodstock School of Art Building Fund, through December 17. Woodstock School of Art, 2470 Route 212, Woodstock.

Master printers at the Woodstock School of Art. L to R: Anthony Kirk, Lisa Mackie, Kate McGloughlin, Kathy Caraccio. Photo: Dion August

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is hosting a solo exhibition of work by Valerie Hammond entitled “Reverse Reflection Prints and Drawings”, curated by Portia Munson, the show also includes ceramic sculpture and a large-scale paper installation. Hammond’s art is both gorgeous and eerie; previous shows included memento mori-like wax sculptures of disembodied hands emerging from flowers, and tracings and prints of arms and hands that combine her interests in botanical photography and medical illustration. “Blue Anemone”, which is among the works on view at the Kleinert/James, was created at Wildwood Press, a printmaking residency in St. Louis. Opening on October 22, through November 27. The Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, 34, Tinker Street, Woodstock.

Valerie Hammond, “Blue Anemone,” 2011, relief printed lithograph on handmade Kozo paper, 72 x 48 in.

An exhibition of  photography, “Getting Closer: An Intimate Landscape”, at Wired Gallery also opens on October 22. Curated by Steve Gentile, the show features nine Hudson Valley-based photographers who explore the landscape of the region in an exciting variety of styles, each artist bringing their own particular vision to the project. Participating artists are: Ana Bergen, Michael Bogdanffy-Kriegh, Liz Cooke, Deena Feinberg, Jeanne Hildenbrand, Tom Luciano, Kelly Merchant, Andy Milford, and Steve Gentile. Through November 20.  Wired Gallery, 11 Mohonk Road, High Falls.

Tom Luciano, “Untitled,” 2016, photograph, 18 x 23 in.

Vassar College’s Palmer Gallery is hosting a solo show of photographer, journalist, and Vassar alumna Amy Kaslow. For the past 30 years, Kaslow has traveled the world with her camera to capture the reverberations of war on survivors. The exhibition, “Victims, Perpetrators, Eyewitnesses and Survivors: Life after War”, features over 25 works that chronicle, among other tragedies, the aftermath of ethnic strife in the Balkans, the war between Iran and Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Rwandan genocide. The work is on view from October 24 through November 18; the opening reception, Thursday, October 27, at 5pm. Palmer Gallery, 124 Raymond Ave., 711, Poughkeepsie.

Amy Kaslow, Soweto, South Africa, 2000.

Last but not least, in Beacon, the Matteawan Gallery is showing works on paper in “The Flat File Show”. Drawings, prints, and photographs by over a dozen artists are available for viewing and purchase. This exhibition will highlight the variety of works in the flat file in a celebration of the artists they have worked with over the years. Artists include Christopher Albert, Gabe Bown, Marieken Cochius, and Kazumi Tanaka. 436 Main Street, Beacon.

Marieken Cochius, “A Space Once Occupied, Now Empty #18,” 2016, ink and pastel on paper, 16 x 24 in.

Featured Image:  Josh Dorman, “Alone with the Owls,” 2014, mixed media, 26 x 26 in.(at Cross Contemporary Art)

All images reproduced here are courtesy of the artists or the artists’ representatives. Please visit the museum or gallery websites for further information, gallery hours and directions.

Chiara Harrison Lambe was born in Ireland, raised in the Hudson Valley, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a degree in Art History from Bard College.

All this, of course, only happens to a lucky few – but sometimes, and increasingly with the help of the Internet, lightning strikes. The New York gallery 247365 (24/7, 365) approached Chicago-born artist Leah Guadagnoli in the fall of 2015 after discovering her paintings through her website. Ms. Guadagnoli, b. 1989, lives and works in Brooklyn. She earned her MFA from Mason Gross School of Art at Rutgers University in 2014 and recently completed a residency at Yaddo, an artists’ community in Saratoga Springs, New York. In December, two of her paintings appeared in 247365’s booth at New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Miami Beach. Both promptly sold, an indication of great things to come for this young artist.

“Addison Assassin”, 2015
 — 57 x 35 x 4 ½ inches — 
wall paint, oil, molding paste, upholstery, canvas 
and polyurethane foam on insulation board.

Guadagnoli’s first solo exhibition, titled Addison Assassin, opened Friday, January 8th at 247365, located in New York’s Lower East Side (details at end of article), and is set to close on February 7th, 2016. The title of the exhibition references the small village of Addison, located west of Chicago, where the artist spent much of her childhood. The exhibition also shares its name with one of Guadagnoli’s paintings that sold at NADA Miami Beach: “I wanted it to be there in spirit,” she said.

The exhibition itself, like its alliterative title, makes an immediate, bold statement. Her sculptural paintings break from the mold with their bright colors, unique patterns, strong geometric shapes, and careful use of negative space. The scale of the artworks ranges from 55 to 72 inches. Guadagnoli uses a combination of paint, fabric, upholstery, and furniture padding to achieve her final product: an asymmetrical abstract painting that leaves the conventions of her medium far behind her. Her work wrests free from the picture frame, jutting out from the wall – in some cases as much as 8 inches – as objects in their own right. Using patterns and materials that recall floor and wall coverings found in public interior spaces from the 80s and 90s, such as cinemas, casinos, and waiting rooms, her paintings look at the anti-aesthetic of the recent past to confront notions of taste, exclusivity, and social convention. Despite the variety of materials employed and the three-dimensional quality of the work, the artist insists that these pieces be classified as painting, rather than sculpture or assemblage. Although Guadagnoli’s work surely descends from Pop Art, it also recalls the Abstract Expressionist wall assemblages of John Chamberlain, with a touch of Braque.

“Slow Dance in My Underpants”, 2015 — ​72 x 58 x 7 inches — oil, acrylic, fabric, pumice stone, canvas, wood, ​and polyurethane foam on insulation board

Hung opposite the entrance, Guadagnoli’s piece Slow Dance in My Underpants, with its maniacally buoyant color palette, greets all who enter 247365’s intimate space at 57 Stanton Street. This almost alphabetical painting arrests the eye as a contradiction: its varied surface seems to encourage interaction and yet, as a painting, it asks to be examined at a safe distance. “People always try to go up and touch them, and I think it is for two reasons,” the artist explained to me: “they are plush and it is difficult to tell which parts are painted and which parts are fabric.”

Each painting is presented without wall text; knowing their measurements and makeup, as well as their titles (which range from the succinct, Paradise and Channel 46, to the thought-provoking, It Rhymes with Shadow and I Was In The Future Yesterday), requires an examination of the checklist. This subtle element of mystery only adds to the impression that these works somehow burst into existence whole, no one part emerging before the rest. Is it the shape that inspires the color, the title that inspires the pattern? When asked about her process, Guadagnoli said, “I usually start with line drawings of the forms. Then I go through the piles of fabric I collect to see which one seems like the best fit. I have, however, begun designing and printing my fabric to gain more control over the patterns.”

“My Dad’s Favorite Color is Purple”, 2015 — 72 x 43 x 7 inches — oil, acrylic, fabric, vinyl upholstery, molding paste, orange peel wall texture, canvas and polyurethane foam on insulation board

In My Dad’s Favorite Color is Purple, Guadagnoli continues to play with pattern, shape, and orientation. The alignment of each individual piece is offset by the interplay of different fabrics, drawing the eye in a full rotation around the central two-tone circle. Distracted by the painting’s many surfaces and multiple levels, it is difficult to think of where her nontraditional painting materials – such as the fabric, vinyl upholstery, and orange peel wall texture – may have originally belonged, before finding new life in her studio. But life they have found – and it seems that Guadagnoli’s unique approach may propel her into that stratosphere of the art world that remains a dream for the majority of emerging artists. For further information on the exhibition and the gallery, please scroll down.

Addison Assassin — Installation at 247365 Gallery

Leah Guadagnoli -  Addison Assassin -  On view
: 1/8–2/7, 2016
247365
, 57 Stanton St
, NY. NY, 10002

Open Wednesday though Sunday, 12–6pm -
Email — communications@twentyfourseventhreesixtyfive.biz

Artist’s website: Here

Featured image: RWB, 2015 – 56 x 48 x 4 inches. Oil, acrylic, upholstery, fabric, canvas, and polyurethane foam on insulation board.

All images are courtesy of the artist and 247365.

Chiara Harrison Lambe was born in Ireland, raised in the Hudson Valley, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a degree in Art History from Bard College.