2011 June » Artkestry

Generations of Art Hang Together in Brockport

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Jun 092011

By CHRISTINA LAUREL
Written for Artkestry

If you are looking for an unusual outing on Father’s Day, Brockport’s A Different Path Gallery is the venue I recommend. The father-son-daughter art exhibition, “Generational Influence,” is open through June 26. For hours and directions, visit the website www.differentpathgallery.com. Historically, the generational influence flows from parent to child, but don’t make that assumption here.

Apetz

The paintings of Milford Apetz and daughter Jennifer Apetz hang side by side; one abstract, the other literal. Would one assume that the father’s generation would favor the traditional, while the daughter would have been influenced by expressionism? Surprise! Milford’s acrylic “Fantasy 1′-11″ is an energetic horizontal abstraction in blacks, whites and gold-tones; zen in one aspect with bold sumi brush-style strokes while other areas feature layers of paint dubbed in then erased, palimpsest-style. Landscape forms emerge, especially with the visual influence of Jennifer’s representational “Rockscape” hanging next door. Her watercolor takes the viewer’s eyeline from the boulders beneath her feet to the cloud-filled sky above.

Harvey

Richard Harvey and son Eric Harvey share a medium – digital printing – to a point. That point of departure is Richard’s digital manipulation of his own drawings, with hands-on applications of other media, while Eric’s prints begin and end with digital manipulation. Subject matter varies as well: Richard’s hallmark is his inexhaustible exploration of the human face, while Eric pushes ordinary objects – cymbals, cash register tape – toward abstraction. Richard’s “Catlike” monochromatic monoprint is compelling in its directness. His “Primal Guardian” sculptures, with black slab bodies and metallic arms pinned to their sides, stare at the viewer open-eyed and silent. There is in Richard’s work the successful blending of old, actually ancient with his use of encaustic wax, and new. Eric embraces the new; both share a quiet strength in their work.

Wolsky

The exposed brick wall of A Different Path Gallery is such a natural backdrop for father/daughters Jack Wolsky, Bonnie Wolsky Farid, and Marsha Wolsky-Carson that the work almost dissolves and disappears. Almost. Bonnie’s “Fairchild Garden” watercolor series invites the viewer to take on an insect perspective while exploring the dry grass that weaves its neutral tones across the paper’s surface. I can hear the grass bristling and the insects humming. Marsha’s brighter palette surfaces in the springtime greens of her “Rhythm and Marks” series, although she shares the earth tones of her sibling in her mixed media and monoprint. Organic and geometric incised white lines dance and intersect in her colored pencil pieces. I read Jack’s “Sounding” series in encaustic as dark musings, the voice of an interior and private dialogue. Yet among the three, there is an art conversation that I am allowed to overhear, as if pausing at the open studio door.

Having grown up in a household where my late father was an artist, I know personally that the artistic influence can flow in both directions. The greatest influence I received was the inherent naturalness of the artistic life. That, coupled with a support for the exploration of medium and style, was a gift from father to daughter. “Generational Influence” is a positively affirming exhibition. You just might find that upon your return home, you and your father will be inspired to pick up a pencil or paintbrush, or sit down at the computer to digitally manipulate your images. Enjoy!

Nature is the Thematic Choice of Juror for Camera Rochester’s Spring Show

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Jun 022011

By CHRISTINA LAUREL
Written for Artkestry

Follow the yellow in the almost-monochromatic “Valley Eagle #1″ by Archie Curry around four walls to the rusted yellow pickup truck in “Out of Commission” by John A. Ejaife; you will find a wealth of photographs capturing nature in Camera Rochester’s Spring Show at Barnes & Noble/Pittsford. Perhaps this is the bent of Juror Peter Marr, himself a nature and bird photographer as well as retiree of Eastman Kodak Company. Or perhaps it is the irresistible lure of nature itself. Either way, the 33 entrants and their 96 entries offer an eye-pleasing exhibit in the B&N Community Room upstairs. The exhibit is free and open to the public through June 26, during retail hours, with the caveat that during book-signing or other B&N events, the exhibit can only be seen from an audience perspective.

Camera Rochester at B&N

While there are scenes of Highland Park and the regions’ lakes, other photographs capture nature around the world: the Caribbean surf, a Maine lighthouse, Florida wetland birds, a Japanese street scene, a Bali fisherman, Utah canyons, a child in China, Santorini architecture, the Canadian Rockies, Belgium architecture, along with an iguana, polar bear, and deserts. Clearly, these photographers travel to create their personal postcard memories.

It would be oh so helpful if the photographs were identified further by medium: C-print, silver gelatin print, digital, digitally-manipulated, etcera. Some of the photographs in the latter category are easy to spot: the mirror imaging of tree bark by Michael Parisi in “Demons in the Park,” the kaleidoscoping of leaves and buds in Susan Kaye’s “Composition in Yellow and Green,” and the Van Gogh-esque painterly treatment of Bev Cronkite’s “Sunflowers.”

If nature is not your thematic choice, you can enjoy David Kotok’s airport scene “It’s Nice to De-Ice,” Betsy Phillips’ “Santa Fe Door,” Jeno Horvath’s sepia “Steam Power” series, the mystery in Kate Lipsky’s “Christo” series, or Jerome Kaye’s interior scene “American Art Gallery, Washington, DC.”

Because photography is an art form, I look for more than interesting subject matter – which is sometimes a danger in and of itself. How do you use the camera to create art from a scene that is inherently beautiful to begin with? Dan Neuberger’s “Caribbean Surf #1 & #2″ find the Golden Mean in composition, while Wu-Hsiung Yang’s black and white “Waiting for Spring” evokes a stark poetry from a barren tree in the paleness of sky and snow; while Sheila Nelson’s receding snow on an antique auto grill – aptly titled “Fingers” – is a masterful value study.

Camera Rochester is a club for amateurs and professionals that meets monthly, offering photo competitions and educational programs to its members. Best to check out their website: www.camerarochester.org. The Members’ Show Choice for the spring exhibition is Bob Hinkelman’s “Piano Key Butterfly,” agreeably the standout, with its perfectly poised specimen in brilliant red and black alighting the wildflower Indian Paintbrush, a match for the butterfly’s red hue and saturation. Set against a verdant background, this piece proves that complementary colors do indeed make each other “pop.”