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Previous Shows at the Gallery
The 2008 Holiday Show
The human touch adds warmth to
the holidays—whether it’s the scent of home-baked
pies or
the personality that shines from original artwork. Design
Principles, in Stone Ridge is warming
things up with a special
holiday exhibit that runs from November 15th through the end of
January, with an Artist’s reception on December 6th from
6 to 8 PM, and Open House on December 13th,
from 1 to 4 PM.
"Reflections,
Chicago Botanical Gardens," photograph by Gary Allen
The show features artists and craftspeople from Ulster county,
artists whose works epitomize the region’s unique mixture
of country values and cosmopolitan tastes. Photographs by Gary
Allen reflect his on-going fascination with the surface qualities
of water. Lush pastels by Christine DeBrosky are a celebration
of pure color. Ceramics by Brinton Baker’s work has a refined
Japanese quality, while Laura Kellar’s glow with salt-glazed
earthiness. Custom furniture by Phil Mazzei--constructed of unusual
native woods (such as Kentucky Coffeewood, Cherry, Black Walnut
and Tiger Maple)--are at once rustic and elegant.
Salt-glazed
vase by Laura Kellar
Design Principles is always happy
to have an opportunity to show the paintings of Thomas Stratton.
His intimate views of rural and wilderness scenery, in watercolor
or acrylics are somehow both realistic and modern—they only
occasionally feature human figures (as the Romantics, did—as
a way to render a scene picturesque), but they also have a cool
modern detachment, almost a journalistic rigor, that seeks to
show things as they really are—if only we had Stratton’s
highly-focused observational skills.
"Stone
Beach," acrylic painting by Thomas Stratton
"Candy Cane Spiral," computer-generated
fractal by Chris Ursitti
At the other end of the technological spectrum, the exhibit includes
the computer-generated work of Chris Ursitti.
The Holiday Exhibit runs from Saturday,
November 15th through Wednesday, January 28th.
The Summer Show: Landscapes
Half a century ago, one of the then-reigning abstract
expressionist painters exclaimed, "It's no longer possible
to paint landscapes!"
While that may sound like the idle boast of someone
who's art made traditional landscapes passé --
there was an element of truth in it. Exposure to the
ideas of the new art made it impossible to view nature the same
way as older painters saw it. The same thing happened in the early
nineteenth century, when the Hudson River School painters first
saw that raw nature could be seen through the lens of the new
Romanticism. Later in the same century, when Monet and the impressionists
saw that the landscape -- indeed all of the visible world -- was
nothing more than the combined effect of the light it reflected,
it made it impossible to see nature as the Romantics had.
Once we've seen Monet's haystacks, all haystacks
are forever changed for us -- we can never regain our visual virginity,
once we've been exposed to a new way of seeing.
What our action painter should have said was,
"it's no longer possible to paint landscapes without taking
our ideas into account." Since his time, we've seen pop art,
op art, minimalist, post-modern, and a host of other "-isms"
that have altered our perception of the world. Today's artists
still paint landscapes -- but, in a twist on a well-known Oldsmobile
ad, "they're not your father's landscapes!" Every generation
recreates the world in its own image; today's landscape artists
cannot do otherwise. Their eyes have been altered by everything
that previous generations of artists have seen.
Perhaps we should be saying, "It's no longer
possible to paint old landscapes -- the landscape is
always new, because new eyes gaze upon it."
"Round
the Bend," acrylic painting by Thomas Stratton
"Skywalk,"
pastel by Christine Debrosky
"North
Lake," photo by Gary Allen
Design Principles, in Stone Ridge, New York, dedicated the summer
to the rediscovery of the landscape. The exhibit featured works
by photographer Gary Allen, whose work explores the effects of
light on water; photographer Matt Calardo, with a glowing juxtaposition
of raw nature and the agricultural efforts of man; Nora Crain's
pastels that revisit her childhood haunts near Cooperstown; dreamy
atmospheric pastels by Christine Debrosky; lush painterly portaits
of the outside world by Dan Green; Joel Kraft's photos that seem
to find water everywhere in the Hudson Valley landscape; Jim Smith,
who has dedicated much of his career to capturing the Shawangunks
on film; Thomas Stratton, whose brilliant oils and misty acrylics
display a side of nature that is minimally affected by human presence
-- or, at least, has had that influence softened by time; and
Kevin VanBuren, whose camera often uncovers a more intimate side
of "the Gunks."
"Ashokan
#12 ," oil painting by Dan Green
The exhibit, featuring landscapes by local artists, ran from Saturday,
August 16th through Wednesday, November 12th.
The Art of Food
The “starving artist” may be a cliché,
but food has always been a prime subject for artists--and not
just the hungry ones. The great Dutch still-life painters of the
sixteenth through eighteenth centuries lavished their attention
on detailed portrayals of fruits, fish, meats, cheeses and wine.
Food and drink adorned the frescoed walls, and mosaic floors,
of wealthy residents of Pompeii, a millennium and a half earlier.
In fact, the earliest known visual art--cave paintings like those
at Lascaux—consist largely of pictures of the animals that
provided their favorite foods. Some of these images are over ten
thousand years older than the Pompeian art.
Clearly, we’ve been thinking about our next meals for a
very long time, and not just with our stomachs.
"Pie Fixins,"
acrylic painting by Thomas Stratton
Today’s artists generally use more sophisticated media than
did the artistic Neanderthals, but the age-old fascination with
food persists. Fresco and mosaic have yielded to computer graphics,
digital photography, watercolor, oils, pastels and acrylics, but
the aesthetic appeal of fresh fruit and vegetables, sparkling
with dew, the saturated color of spices that suggest perfumed
warmth, and the glowing color of a glass of wine still inspire
artists today.
"Split
Artichoke," photo by Virginia Luppino
"Red Pears,"
oil painting by Dan Green
Design Principles, in Stone Ridge, is dedicating their gallery
for a time to the sensual pleasures of the table. The exhibit
features works by photographer (and food writer/editor) Gary Allen,
with images that find patterns in fresh ingredients; designer
Deborah Begley applies humor and typography to utilitarian objects;
Brinton Baker’s Japanese-inspired ceramics; John Bridges’s
paintings of stylized ingredients; photographer Matt Calardo,
with a radiant image of Hudson Valley abundance; painter (and
playwright) Richard Corozine, whose work recaptures sometimes
bizarre childhood experiences through food memory; juicy portraits
of fruits by Dan Green; Melanie Winston Hall’s whimsical
collages about shared tea; Virginia Luppino’s stunning black
and white photos of an artichoke, garlic and a pomegranate; Kaete
Britten Shaw’s amusingly stackable bowls; Phil Sigunick’s
pastels of foods that often allude to other appetites; Thomas
Stratton, whose watercolors and acrylics display his nostalgia
for rustic food production; and Genevieve Zajac’s photos
of Swiss festivities.
"Radishes,"
photo by Gary Allen
The exhibit, celebrating the pleasures of the table through art,
ran from Saturday, May 24th through Saturday, July 12th, 2008.
The artist’s reception took place on Saturday, May31st,
from 6 to 8 PM.
Design Principles offers original art, crafts and reproductions that make great gifts (even if you’re planning to give a present to yourself!). Our talented design team can create custom framing to enhance your collection or gift. The shop is located at 42 Hillside Drive, Stone Ridge, NY 12484. For further information call 845-687-7630 for an appointment at another time.
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