February Art Highlights

Through 3/2- SNOW/WINTER, HAPPY HOUR, RECENT WORKS, KRISTY’S CREATIVE KIDS, and AMERICAN SCENES: LIFE IN THE CITY, at Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM), Woodstock. SNOW/WINTER is a new exhibit juried by award-winning WAAM active artists Bobby Blitzer and Frank D’Astofolo, to be shown in the Founder’s Gallery. HAPPY HOUR is a show of works in the Solo Gallery by Rei Frass, daughter of Norwegian artist Pronk Torjusen and alumni of the Fashion Institute of Technology. RECENT WORKS occupies the Main Gallery, a collection of members’ works completed within the last year, juried by Scott Richter. The YES! Youth Exhibition Space features KRISTY’S CREATIVE KIDS, 60 small works by members of the Kristy Bishop Studio, all by students between 6 and 16. The Towbin Museum Wing presents AMERICAN SCENES: LIFE IN THE CITY (through 6/8), featuring drawings, paintings, and prints of all aspects of city life, from park benches and soup kitchens to skyscrapers and society portraits, curated by Josephine Bloodgood. Woodstock Artists Association and Museum, 28 Tinker St., Woodstock, www.woodstockart.org, 845.679.2940. Fr/Sa 12-6 PM, Su 12-5 PM

Sa 2/23- Women’s Studio Workshop presents their 11th Annual Chili Bowl Fiesta, Rosendale Recreation Center, Rosendale. This popular local mid-winter fundraiser operates on a simple, yet effective premise: buy a bowl, and it shall be filled with spicy goodness. The bowls (over 700 of them) are all hand-crafted by the skilled hands of members of the Women’s Studio Workshop, the “spicy goodness” is donated by high-quality local chefs from Main Course, Bacchus, The Egg’s Nest, New World Home Cooking, Red Brick Tavern, Rosendale Café, and Mohonk Mountain House (to name a few). Vegan and Vegetarian options will be available. General admission is free, early admission (2 PM) is $5. Rosendale Recreation Center, Rte. 32, Rosendale, www.wsworkshop.org, 845.658.9133. 4-7 PM

Through 2/25- LITTLE BIG THINGS, a group show at Van Brunt Gallery, Beacon. Nine different artists explore the potential largeness of the small, packing big ideas into compact spaces. Colin Barclay scales down his landscapes to fit seven 3” by 9” paintings. Thomas Sarrantonio offers a series of a single tree at different times of day, reflecting on the cycles of time. Scott Daniel Ellison confronts big fears in small settings, while Juan Garcia-Nuñez combines shadowy figures with abstractions and. . . teeth. Susan English goes fully miniature while keeping interest (down to 4” by 5”), Katherine Streeter contributes humorous narrative paintings, and Julie Tooth explores abstractions with her signature oval shapes. Carol Struve’s color meditations take the form of monoprints, while Simon Draper makes found wood that’s been repainted and time-worn into oddly revealing boxes. Some have doors to open, multiple layers. Van Brunt Gallery, 460 Main St., Beacon, www.vanbruntgallery.com, 845.838.2995. Th-Mo 11 AM- 6 PM

Through 3/25- STYLES AND SUBJECTS, solo show by Karl Volk at Montgomery Row Second Level, Rhinebeck. Karl Volk has been a tireless artist, educator, and curator in this region for years. Though born in Brooklyn, he spent his formative years in war-torn Germany, returning to New York as a teen, and going on to get his degrees from Brooklyn College and NYU. He’s taught for 25 years in the Spacenkill School system, and presently curates for the Unitarian Universalist Society in Poughkeepsie, while studying (still) at the Woodstock School of Art and Barrett Arts. This collection of landscapes, still-life watercolors, multi-media collages, and prints encapsulate a lifetime of skill and experience. Montgomery Row Second Level, 6423 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, www.montgomeryrow.com, 845.876.0543. Mo,We,& Fr 9 AM- 7 PM, Tu & Th 9 AM- 8 PM, Sa & Su 10 AM- 6 PM