Author Archives: Christina

In this House of Sky

house of skyTEST

In This House of Sky

A 12-person exhibition
featuring contemporary
artwork
reflecting on
our celestial sphere

Show Dates:
May 25 – June 18, 2017

Opening Reception
Thursday May 25, from 6PM – 8PM

Gallery Hours:
Wed – Sunday 1PM – 6PM

Westbeth Gallery presents the artwork of 12 contemporary artists with a wide range of media and styles that explore the intangible space/time continuum conjured by the sky.

Participating Artists:
Yan Cynthia Chen, Susan Spencer Crowe, Reet Das, Karen Fitzgerald, Julie Gross, Ellen Grossman, Susan Knight, Paula Overbay, Jim Pignetti, Florina Sbircea, Mary Vengrofski, and Alice Zinnes.

The work of Ellen Grossman, Paula Overbay, and Karen Fitzgerald suggests gently modulating fabrics of space, each with distinctive energy signatures unspooling across fields.

Susan Knight, Susan Spencer Crowe, Mary Vengrofski and Yan Cynthia Chen work along a 3-d abstract continuum, each using materials in unexpected combinations such as clay with paper, water and string, wax with cardbaord. Their work strikes a balance between the world of dreams and imaginative presence.

Though in singular, distinctive ways, the work of Reet Das, Julie Gross, Jim Pignetti, Florina Sbircea and Alice Zinnes all use rhythmic color and form to suggest the pushing and pulling present in space and time, and the roiling dance of sky particles.

The exhibition has been curated by Karen Fitzgerald. A curatorial statement is available on request.

The exhibition opens on May 25, and runs through June 18th, 2017. Regular gallery hours are from Wednesday through Sunday, from 1pm – 6pm. The gallery is free and open to the public.

Special Event
A panel discussion will convene on Saturday, June 3, from 6-8:30pm, exploring the role of imagination in contemporary art.
For inquiries and additional information, please contact Karen Fitzgerald
646.369.7184 or Karen@FitzgeraldArt.com

Westbeth Gallery
55 Bethune Street
New York, NY 10014

Joan Hall
Collage and Assemblage
Past and Present

JOAN HALL June 14 Joan Hall Poster

Collage & Assemblage, Past & Present

Collage has rapidly gained popularity as an art form in the United States. I believe that there are sociological reasons for this. Everyone is in a hurry and the medium of collage conveys a feeling of spontaneity. With the advent of the computer and the Internet, our world had become fragmented. This is reflected in the bits and pieces that make up a collage and assemblage. Based on this, I have compiled a lecture/slide show on collage and assemblage from 12th century Japan to contemporary digital photo illustration
Presentationn includes works by Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Cornell, Rauschenberg, and many other artists. You will see how artists recycled everyday materials into artwork, using spare tires, shredded money, and even ones own blood! The use of collage in illustration has become a familiar sight. You will learn how collage artists cope with some hilarious, yet frustrating experiences in the publishing workplace. This program is both entertaining and educational.
Part 2 consists of my own artwork.
Native New Yorker Joan Hall’s artwork has appeared on covers of Time Magazine, The New York Times and numerous other publications. Her collages and assemblages have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City. She was commissioned by the American Cultural Center of the US State Department to lecture, exhibit, and conduct workshops in France, India, Brazil, and Mexico.

WESTSIDE EXPOSURE
Whitney Staff Art Show
Summer 2017

Graphic by Justin Romeo

Graphic by Justin Romeo

Westside Exposure: Whitney Staff Art Show 2017

From its origins in Greenwich Village in 1914 to its relocation to the Meatpacking District in 2015, the Whitney Museum of American Art has remained devoted to living artists at critical moments in their careers. Many of the Museum’s staff members, who provide crucial support to the development, implementation, and management of exhibitions, programs, and publications, are artists themselves. For the second time in its history, the Whitney’s Staff Art Show will be held in a public space, offering staff an opportunity to share their work with a broad audience and deepen connections with the Westside community. This exhibition will include over 70 works in a wide range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, printmaking, collage, and video, reflecting the diversity of artistic practice among the Whitney’s talented staff.

Opening Reception Video
Video credit:
Website: http://nycgalleryopenings.com

Curators: Michelle Donnelly and Melinda Lang

Opening Reception: June 22, 6–8PM

Exhibition Dates: June 23 – July 13

Gallery Hours: Wednesdays – Sundays, 1–6PM

Panel Discussion: July 13 (closing date), 6:30PM

Artists:

Jehad Abu Hamda
Karly Anderson
David Armacost
James Bartolacci
Phoebe Berglund
Jeff Bergstrom
Caitlin Bermingham
Teo Blake
Richard Bloes
Marissa Bluestone
Ali Bono
Holly Brennan
Tom Burckhardt
Lydia Cardenas
Natalee Cayton
Jaqueline Cedar
Heather Cox
James Cullinane
Luis DeAndre
Sarah Dinkelacker
Sam Dollenmayer
John Donovan
Kasim Earl
Reid Farrington
Kyle Freeman
Jesse Gelaznik
Manuela Gonzalez
Sophie Grant
Dina Helal
Leslie Hodge
Chris Ketchie
Yon Mi Kim
Morgan King
Elizabeth Knowlton
Queena Ko
Pamela Koehler
Franky Kong
Tom Kotik
Christopher Lesnewski
Ali Lewis
Kelley Loftus
Rob Lomblad
Deborah Lutz
Doug Madill
David Miller
Lorryn Moore
Brancey Mora
Victor Moscoso
Anthony Naimoli
Vishal Narang
Shóna Neary
Katy Newton
William Norton
Natalie Ochoa
Rose O’Neill-Suspitsyna
Anibal Padrino
Laura Pfeffer
Jason Phillips
Eliza Proctor
Greg Reynolds
Kristin Roeder
Justin Romeo
Joshua Rosenblatt
Dyeemah Simmons
Mark Steigelman
Greg Stone
Paula Stuttman
Eric Vermilion
Butcher Walsh
Jenyu Wang
Nathaniel Whitfield
George Wisegarver
Alex Zak
Nicolette Zorn

Judy Lawne Photographs:
My 7 years at Westbeth

JUDY LAWNE JOHN TURN VERSION

Westbeth and the West Village is a photographer’s paradise. These photos are a summary of my life here and includes photos of festivals, ordinary life, portraits of the staff and views from my apartment window.

I wish living here happened earlier in my photo life 40 years , but I am very lucky to live here

Westbeth Balcony and Cloud

Westbeth Balcony and Cloud

Blue Red Empire State Building

Blue Red Empire State Building

Daytime Window

Daytime Window

Bobby Harden and Val Ghent at Westbeth Music Festival

Bobby Harden and Val Ghent at Westbeth Music Festival

Hallway Shadows

Hallway Shadows

Victor and Rcke

Victor and Rcke

Judy lawne A BRIEF STORY OF
40 YEARS AS FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER.

I’m a native New Yorker. From the time I started in photography which was the mid 70s I worked and also lived both New York and S. California. I’m now permanently based in New York and also have had shows of my work in both New York & S. California.

In the mid 70’s I was in California and I started by assisting Albert Watson.
Shared O.Winston Links studio and he taught me black and white printing. I started being a bi-coastal photographer.

AT FIRST MY WORK was a Contributing photographer for Ladies Home Journal & Good Housekeeping. Fashion for L’OFFICIAL U.S.A. Then annual reports, and portraiture. Authors Portraits For their novels and in California Portraits of celebrities and talent in NY and California for William Morris AGENCY

Photographed the only ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN for Rockefeller Center. Mid 90s my client at Louis Vuitton asked me to document their Centennial at the Mercer Hotel in NY … that was my first event documentation and opened a new world of event photography, both NY & Calif. From LINCOLN CENTER NY, MUSEUMS, FRAGRANCE AWARDS and other MAJOR NY EVENTS to the MUSIC CENTER IN L.A. THE SHRINE, ACADEMY AWARDS & SAG AWARDS

In NY 9/11/01 and the Salvation Army asked if I photo day 2 -5 they would leave credentials for me to go to GROUND ZERO. can only pray it’ll never happen again.

MY PERSONAL WORK is nature from the beaches along the Calif. Coast TREES, OCEAN, MOUNTAINS, to Martha’s Vineyard and along the West Side of New York.

Modern Dance companies BALLET HISPANICO N.Y & LULU WASHINGTON L.A. is my photo passion too. Do miss my darkroom but now shooting digital and my computer is the new darkroom. Teaching photography on and off for years to young people after school and mentally challenged people also at risk people young & old.

It’s very rewarding and it feels that I learn more from them than I give.

Photography is a way of life and a great passion … The photograph “SHOWS A MOMENT OF TIME NO OTHER MEDIUM CAN CAPTURE”.

Yes, I’m very fortunate to have followed my passion and dreams regardless of the roller coaster ride the freelance world can produce. It’s worth it.

Sandra Caplan: Paintings Part Two

SANDRA CAPLAN Adriatic, 40'X32_, O_L, sandra caplan 2014

My past and recent work explores the possibilities of the still life, that is, the same and similar subjects, flowers, fruit and vegetables, photos, objects, placed on vividly colored and patterned fabrics. The still life is often set against an open sea view or landscape, near the shade of a palm or placed on a table top within the studio. An accent of a drape or architectural reference is incorporated at times, referring back to visual details found in favorite paintings or to the memory of a place. There is this reference to a landscape or city view depending on where the work originated.
These compositions offer a complex formality that is the culmination of acute observation, heightened by a painterly approach and highly developed color sense.

For further information please refer to the website: www.sandracaplan.com
or contact the artist at sandrray@gmail.com

Robert Bunkin
The Sculpture Series

Mbembe Head

Membe Head II, Flashe on canvas, 26 x 30 inches, 2015

Robert Bunkin is a figurative painter who has shown in galleries and museums in New York, nationally, and Italy.

He earned his BS in Art from the CUNY BA/BS Program, during which he studied with Philip Pearlstein and an MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University where he studied with Leon Golub and Joan Semmel among others. In 2000 he attended Leonetto Tintori’s Laboratory for Buon Fresco in Vainella Italy.

He has taught art history at Parsons School of Design, and both studio and art history at Wagner College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. He was a member of The Painting Center, NYC.

He has worked as an independent curator, organizing exhibitions on contemporary fresco painting, portraiture and self-portraiture and other topics. As the Art Curator at the Staten Island Museum, since 2011, he organized the inaugural exhibitions at the Museum’s new building at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in 2015.

The Sculpture Series is an on-going exploration of figurative sculptures that I select for the life they embody. As a painter engaged with portraiture as my primary subject, I find these sculptures as compelling as working for the life. Works come from diverse cultures and eras, and are made from marble, clay, wood and metal.