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Exhibitions |
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Rob Evans - November 20 Atmospheric Studies ROB EVANS' STUDIES are the splendid little jewels from which his larger, more involved studio paintings are derived. Often done on location, or en' plein aire, these small atmospheric studies capture the sense of a place, a moment in time. THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER VALLEY where Rob lives on a farm with his family overlooking the river, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Deer Isle, Maine, where he vacations, provide the inspiration for this latest series of works. RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY, Evans' work can be found in many public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York; National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran Museum of Art, both in Washington, D.C.; Achenbach Foundation of the California Legion of Honor of the San Francisco Art Museums, San Francisco, California; Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, Indiana; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Oregon; and the Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, New Jersey among others. His 11 foot long narrative painting, "Cicada," in the collection of the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA, is currently on long term display there as part of the exhibit "20 Years of Collecting at the James A. Michener Art Museum". His paintings have been featured in numerous books, newspapers and magazines and on public radio and television. EVANS' METICULOUS PAINTINGS and drawings have been featured extensively in solo and curated group exhibitions in museums throughout the United States and abroad including the Tretyakov Museum, Moscow; Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, D.C.; Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts; Contemporary Art Center of Virginia; Arkansas Art Center; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK; Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN; Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC; Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL; and an exhibition of American drawings organized by the Smithsonian Institution which toured internationally. In 2001 his work was included in the exhibit "Artists of the Commonwealth: Realism in Pennsylvania Painting 1950 - 2000" which toured museums throughout Pennsylvania and featured works by such prominent Pennsylvania artists as Andrew and Jamie Wyeth, Philip Pearlstein and Andy Warhol to name a few. AS AN INDEPENDENT CURATOR, Evans recently organized the traveling exhibit, "Visions of the Susquehanna: 250 Years of Paintings by American Masters," which traveled to six museums around the mid-Atlantic region. He received a BFA from Syracuse University in 1981 and has been awarded grants from the Ford Foundation, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the E.D. Foundation, the Eben Demarest Trust and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. He lives and works near Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. topGail Gray - October 16, 2009 20 x 20 Mixed Media on Canvas Paradigms Lost: John Milton meets Thomas Kuhn GAIL GRAY CHALLENGES THE VIEWER to step outside the box of conventional thinking, using the classical illustration of a paradigm shift as the basis for this collection of paintings. Inspired by the twentieth century philosopher, writer and physicist, Thomas Kuhn, she explores the influence of such radical breaks with tradition and their ensuing upended-ness. John Milton's "lost paradise is a metaphor for a paradigm shift in and of itself," she says. Total innocence, and the complete absence of responsibility are upended as one obtains "knowledge" with its pitfalls of uncertainty, pain, suffering and death. MARCEL DUCHAMP'S FAVORED USE OF PUN provided the vehicle to connect Milton to Kuhn, as she "immediately discovered the fertile connections" between the two. Duchamp took the ordinary and predictable, and turned them into the unexpected, challenging the viewers' notion of what was seen, as in exhibiting a urinal as "Fountain." "In every aspect," Gail says, "he has created an antithetical science." Such seismic shifts as described by Kuhn play out in social and political dynamics of every generation, the challenge being to find the language to communicate between the two. MORE CONSTRUCTIONS THAN PAINTINGS, Gray's works on canvas and paper are layer upon layer of media, each with it's own communicative strengths. Through deliberate study of process and experimentation, she explores the metaphoric qualities of the materials alongside the philosophical, historical and literary exploration of paradigm shifts. The work itself is both lyrical and measured, conjuring up impressions of a Warhol-like Einstein. A friend recently described Gail as "an artist on the frontiers of science," a description she claims to have readily adopted. GAIL'S FORMAL ART EDUCATION began at the Cooper School of Art in Cleveland, Ohio. She went on to receive a BFA from the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her interest in philosophy emerged after her children were grown and she enrolled in an introductory philosophy class at Elizabethtown College, and she continued her studies at Millersville University and through her involvement with the Evolution Round Table at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. GRAY'S RESUME INCLUDES numerous solo exhibitions throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Canada. A series of six Liturgical Banners, commissioned by St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster are on permanent display. Earlier this year her work was included in an exhibit at the Demuth Foundation in Lancaster, titled "A Novel Approach - Literary Inspiration." Her work was shown alongside Andy Warhol and Richard Prince in a national juried exhibition for the Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. topJanet Hammond - August 21 Notes of a Different Color JANET HAMMOND'S "Notes of a Different Color", encompassing a collection of portraits of musicians during practice, rehearsal and performance, embraces her favorite subject matter - the figure in ordinary surrounding. She is adept at capturing the moment, keeping the viewer entranced with her attention to detail. Her subjects cover a wide variety of ages, experience, and musical interpretation including a nun playing string base in orchestral rehearsal, an elegant young woman on a colorful, city street, playing the harp, an enamored teenage boy jamming on string base. WORKING FROM LIFE, Hammond believes a true portrait is captured spontaneously - "The painting slowly evolves out of what looks like a mess as I feel my way into it and see what happens. The work dictates what it needs, and there is as much scraping off of paint as there is putting on. I try to stay true to what created my initial reaction to the subject, and I let the painting tell me when it is finished." THIS COLLECTION BREATHES with her characteristic spontaneity and delightful play in light. Vignetted works within the larger work are small masterpieces in themselves, as she works in surroundings as she brings her subjects into further context with their music and instrument. "Like the fashionable and elegant portraits of John Singer Sargent, her art appeals to a cosmopolitan American audience. Janet has the same uncanny ability to flatter her subject without compromising her aesthetic ideals... achieving a quiet elegance in the heart of the matter, " Cathie Viksjo, Chester County Town and Country Living Magazine, Fall 2001 PORTRAITURE has won Hammond worldwide acclaim - her commissions have included both notables in the business and equine worlds as well as the private sector. She found enormous success in equine portraiture; having lived and worked in the heart of Northern Virginia hunt country. Combining her love of thoroughbred racing with that of painting and drawing, she established herself as one of the top five equine painters in the world in the early part "Equine portraiture was natural for me," she says. "I knew the inside and outside of horses. Yet as much as I enjoyed painting horses and equine scenes, I was truly fascinated by the people riding and surrounding the horses. I was interested in the figure - particularly the figure in light." HAMMOND STUDIED ART at the Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC, and the Maryland College of Art and Design, Silver Springs, MD. Her work is included in numerous public collections, including the MBNA America Bank, Wilmington, DE, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Wilmington, DE, Criswick Associates New York City, NY, Cavendish Investment Corporation, Toronto, Canada, harlequin Ranches, Calgary, Canada, and L'Apogee Restaurant, Steamboat Springs, CO. She has lectured and demonstrated portraiture at the Delaware Art Museum and the Brandywine Museum. Jazzfest FEATURE, THE REESE PROJECT will provide a taste of blues on the Arts Hotel terrace. A longtime favorite quartet will perform "Chicago style and Delta City Blues, as well as the traditional Blues tunes of the Jazz era and modern day Blues/Funk". Musicians Tom Reese, Aaron Walker and Laurie Reese, along with vocalist Bobby Brewer combine guitar, drums, flue and cello to create an exciting musical experience. topFlorence Putterman- July 17, 2009 Entwined Metaphors WALKING THROUGH FLORENCE and Saul Putterman's meandering airy home, one is struck by contrasts. Clean white walls allow the brilliant colors of Florence's art to impact your senses, while straight, simple lines of the architecture emphasize the flowing, organic lines of her work. Each piece is composed of energy and vibrancy drawing you further and further into its essence. ENTWINED METAPHORS is a collection primarily of acrylic on canvas, and features a number of colorful wood sculptures echoing the imagery of the paintings. Brilliant colors, metaphoric imagery and similes entwined within - there is nothing sleepy about Florence's work. Her work reflects the strength and intuition of the artist, herself. Florence says, "I grew up during the era when women's place was in the home, raising a family...I did not get any art training in my early years". She studied advertising and journalism as an undergraduate at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, waiting until she had raised her children before "beginning" her art career. Earning an MFA from the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, she began teaching and explored printmaking. PUTTERMAN COMES TO THE CANVAS with no preconceived ideas, beginning with washes of paint and waiting for the imagery to appear. Often emerging is a collection of dreams, animals and emotions - her love and respect of animals is often evident. Once she puts brush to canvas and "lets loose" images come together with results and messages more interesting than anything she could have conceived. ACCLAIMED AND AWARDED around the country, Florence received a National Endowment Grant to study Petroglyphs in the Southwestern Region of the United States in 1979, which she considers the turning point of her career. She was awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 1983 and 1984. Among numerous notable awards are the Distinguished Alumni Award, Pennsylvania State University, School of Arts and Architecture in 1988; the Gold Medal of Honor, Audobon Artists, New York City, NY in 1985; the Award for Excellence, Philadelphia Watercolor Club, Philadelphia, PA in 1995; a Purchase Award by the Stockton Arts Commission, Haggin Museum, Callifornia in 1998; and the Graphic Chemical Award, Colorprint Society, PlasticClub, Philadelphia, PA in 2005. PUTTERMAN'S WORK IS in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, and the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, and the Palmer Museum, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC; Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Polk Museum, Lakeland, and the Gulf Coast Museum, Largo FL. topCarol Galligan- June 19, 2009 Wing/Lotus Series When asked what inspired her series Wing/Lotus, Carol Galligan response was immediate..."the poetry of Jelauddin Rumi". Indeed, Carol has a well-worn copy of Rumi's "The Essential Rumi" open in her workroom as if she paints as she reads. "Rumi's poetry is about everything from bewilderment, emptiness, and a silence to flirtation, elegance and majesty," she says, "all presented with love, humor, warmth and tenderness." This series and exploration of the wing as symbol reveals the same sensibilities - journeys of the spirit, of movement, of the constancy through birth, death, resurrection and rebirth. The focus became a reflection of life as she sees it. This series was created in mixed media, mostly ink and acrylic, some on panel and others on paper. The underpaintings are black stencils of leaves and wings, on which texture and tone have been applied in a series of layers. Though the coloration is mostly grey, black and white, there is an undeniable luminosity seeping thru, punctuated in red, black or gold. The images are rich with symbolism and metaphor - a visual Rumi, if you will: "The morning wind spreads its fresh smell. Carol grew up in the small town in upstate New York. She received a bachelor of Fine Art degree from the State University of New York. Awhile later, while raising three children, she spent 13 years pursuing a master's degree in Painting from the College of Art and Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, New York. Unwilling to dip into the family finances to support her artistic endeavors, Carol worked at a local department store in the China and Bridal Registry Departments. Ever the artist, Carol viewed her job as an opportunity to practice her artistic eye, mixing and matching, advising and assisting clients with style and pattern selections. In 1980 Carol and her family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and she remembers the reluctance she felt moving to an area with "no artistic inclinations". She soon discovered how misinformed she was - Lancaster had a large community of dedicated artists and at the time, a single commercial gallery. The Lancaster arts community has not only grown, but has thrived, as have Carol and her work. She continually seeks opportunities to teach and encourage others in their own journey of artistic discovery, having taught at Lebanon Valley College, Franklin & Marshall College, and The Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, among others. Galligan's work has been shown primarily on the east coast, but she has participated in traveling exhibitions around the world, including Japan, Italy and Korea. Her work is in permanent collections including Fusion Art Institute, Shizuoka prefecture in Shimizu City, Japan; British Airways, Kennedy Airport, New York, New York; Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, Attorneys at Law, Miami, Florida; The Banker's Life Company, Des Moines, Iowa; Rite Aid Corporate Headquarters, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and more. topPA Arts Experience- April 17, 2009 The Susquehanna Valley Artists Trail IN THE GALLERY  IN THE BREAKFAST ROOM  LANCASTER ARTS HOTEL GALLERY is pleased to present an exhibition of works by Artists participating in the PA ARTS EXPERIENCE, Lower Susquehanna Valley Artist's Trail. An exhibition of Studio Portraits of Trail artists, by BILL SIMONE will be on display in the Breakfast Room. PENNSYLVANIA ARTS EXPERIENCE (PAE) is a non-profit Arts organization promoting the Arts along the scenic river valleys of southeastern Pennsylvania. Committed to creating an internationally recognized Arts destination point by marketing member Artists, galleries and museums through the Artist Trail, this statewide initiative was started in 2005 and is currently in it's first year of taking reservations for Artists' Studio Tours. The Lancaster Arts Hotel, conveniently located in the center of south-central Pennsylvania's Art mecca, has partnered with the PAE this year, marketing overnight Studio Tour packages. Within walking distance of Downtown Lancaster's Gallery Row, the overnight guest can fill a week with gallery visits and Art shopping. ORIGINALLY FUNDED THROUGH GRANTS from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development in conjunction with the PA Council on the Arts, PAE was co-founded by Rob Evans and Shari Vegso-Wilson in 2005. With state grant monies reduced each year over a four year period, it will become self-sustaining in 2009 under the oversight Rob and the PAE Board which includes Carol Foley Bolt, Cynthia Hinkle, and Shari Vegso-Wilson among others. Funding for the PAE is raised thru juried Artist, Gallery and Museum membership fees and the ongoing pursuit of grant dollars. Currently, there is no charge for concierge services organizing guest tours, or fees for guests to visit studios. The PAE takes no commission on the sales of artworks at studios or galleries. AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE (www.PaArtsExperience.com), a series of professional Artist's Studio portraits, Artist interviews on video, and a catalogue are in the works, and two permanent locations to showcase Artists' work have been secured. The John Wright Factory Store in Wrightsville hosts a selection of PAE Artists' works in a second floor gallery overlooking the Susquehanna River. The Lancaster Arts Hotel partnered with the PAE this year in an effort to support their mutual objective of "more heads on beds for Art," in Pennsylvania. THE LANCASTER ARTS HOTEL in Downtown Lancaster will provide ongoing venues for PAE Artists - each guestroom and suite in the Hotel is sponsored by a different Artist, the corridors house an ongoing exhibition of Artists' self portraits, the Arts Hotel Gallery features individual Artist exhibitions every month, and the Breakfast room is home to the Artists' Studio Portrait collection by Bill Simone. An updated catalogue featuring PAE Artists on display in the Hotel is planned for next year. The catalogue will further inform and inspire guests to come back with Art buying in mind. PAE STUDIO TOUR ARTISTS, galleries and museums range from north on route 501 to Lititz, east on 283 to Elizabethtown, and west on route 30 to York. Through the PAE concierge services a guest may pick and choose their selections on the website, and reservations, maps, even lunch, drinks and personal limousine services can be arranged. A sampling of Artists' Studio Tours is being organized - 501N might include Mark Workman's painting studio, Steve DePerrrot's pottery studio, a museum stop at Wilbur Chocolate, and gallery shopping in downtown Lititz. 283W, a visit to Sylvia Eisenbise Lehman's basket weaving studio, ceramics by Milt Friedly, a stop at the Lynden Gallery for paintings and sculpture, and lunch at Flowers in the Kitchen. 30W would lead you to Janette Toth's studio in Columbia, Rob Evans studio high above the river, the Susquehanna Art Collection at the Lancaster York Heritage Region, Weavings, Ink Gallery in Wrightsville and the John Wright Gallery and restaurant on the Susquehanna waterfront. THE GALLERY EXHIBITION will include work by Rob Evans, Ann Delaurentis, Constantine Kermes, Carol Olenburg, Sue Reno, Ellen Slupe, JD Wissler, Mark Workman and more. A show catalogue will be available for sale at the Hotel during the exhibition. The Arts Hotel Gallery will be open on First and Third Fridays between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. BILL SIMONE, a self-described "people person, has been photographing "product, people and places" for both regional and national clients for over twenty years. He says in his own words of the PAE Studio Portrait project, "I try as best I can to capture some "essence" of the artist. With that in mind I have no preconceived ideas when I go to an appointment. I like to try to react to what I feel and see when meeting the person and seeing their space for the first time." "Gus Kermes is 84 years old. A long life in art, ranging from his days of layout and design, both graphic and industrial at New Holland Tractor Company to his ever present work in fine art. He also has quite an interest in antiques, and all of this is well represented in his lively space. I just knew I had to photograph him surrounded by his art and objects." The Simone Studio Portrait Collection will be on exhibit in the Breakfast Room at the Lancaster Arts Hotel, alongside the Gallery exhibition of the Artists' work. The exhibitions will run thru June 18th. topMilt Friedly - Mar. 20, 2009 "Cowley Days" Rodeo Series MILT FRIEDLY'S "COWLEY DAYS" Rodeo Series, is a collection of digital images shot by Friedly at a small town rodeo competition. Part of the annual festivities celebrating the founding of Coley, Wyoming, the rodeo attracts area cowboys and cowgirls who test their talent and luck in typical rodeo events, including saddle bronc riding, bareback ridging, steer wrestling, calf roping, team roping, barrel racing, bull riding and a wild horse contest. FRIEDLY IS NO STRANGER to such events, having grown up in Wyoming around the Cody Night Rodeo, the Cody Stampede, Cheyenne Frontier days and others. "I had the opportunity to witness some of rodeo's great cowboys," he says, " like bull rider Freckles Brown, bareback riders Joe Alexander and Jerry Lanchbury, saddle bronc riders Bill Smith and Enoch Walker, steer wrestler Kenny Noddings and all-around champion Larry Mahon. Witnessing these greats shaped my interest in rodeo culture, which I had lost sight of after moving to the East Coast twenty-two years ago. Attending and photographing "Cowley Days" opened my eyes to a culture that helped to shape my own perspective on life." NOT ONLY ABOUT ATHLETES AND LIVESTOCK, the series is a narration of the people as they celebrate their culture and family. The human expressions in the images tell "of a simpler life - not necessarily an easier life" - community coming together to celebrate the common bonds of farming, ranching, mining, oil and gas, all of which contribute to a small economy that supports their way of life. The photos also capture animal expression, as they are tested under a highly stressful situation such as rodeo - the tension between animal and man in an eight to twenty second event - then returning to normal behaviors after it is finished. JUXTAPOSING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF man versus animal, and the viewer to the subject, Friedly chose to distance the viewer from reality thru solarization of the images. "This technique helps to suggest the dichotomy between reality and surrealism. Just as we fantasize - these photos represent an escape from reality - a going back to the past; a small town rodeo." A SCULPTOR, CERAMICIST, PRINTMAKER, and Professor of Art at Elizabethtown College, Friedly received his MFA from the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and his BFA from Arizona State University. His work, in any medium, is inspired by the culture of the west, and the introspection begged by the wide-open spaces. He currently lives and works in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and is represented by the Lynden Gallery. For more information on Milt and his work, see www.lyndengallery.com . topDavid Bottini - Feb. 20, 2009 landscapes on canvas DAVID BOTTINI's paintings "take you to a place where things are clear, comfortable and familiar. But wait, on second look it's not the place you thought it was. Perhaps we should not be here at all - this place is too quiet, too comfortable and too alluring." ShowcasePA! publisher, George Sheets goes on to say in his recent article about David's work, "his sharp focus romanticism seems almost too good to be true. But with a painting, as with a favorite old book you've reread a dozen times, the proof is in the third or fourth look..." BOTTINI RELISHES THE IMAGINARY that lies beyond first glance, and enjoys pushing the boundary of a place to what we think we see, beyond what we actually see. But these are no imaginary places - they are real - a ravine by the Susquehanna River, a sloping street in Mount Gretna, streamside at Nissley Vineyard. They "narrate a personal journey," he says, "where a solitary moment - a ragged trail, a sideways view - is captured in time and provides a glimpse of the path that leads just beyond your mind's eye." Taking liberties with the light and air only enhance the space with a quality beyond the here and now, making it somewhat timeless. TIMELESSNESS IS WHAT "FOR GABRIEL," the painting signature David bestows on these works, is all about Gabriel Bottini, his grandfather. A first generation Italian, he provided a lifelong inspiration of enduring appreciation for nature and the landscape. Memories as crystalline as the painted panels themselves, are metaphoric layers of glaze creating a luminous, richly prismatic surface density. Each timeless moment rendering dappled daylight and solitary places, captures the essence of a beloved grandfather, inscribed "for Gabriel." A DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR, Bottini was awarded "Master Teacher" while at the Visual Art Department at the Madeira School in McClean Virginia, a national top-tier prep school. He has taught at the Sidwell Friends School, in Washington, DC, the Susquehanna University, Selingsgrove, PA, and worked as a museum liaison teaching design in educational outreach programs in Baltimore, Maryland. He participated in the Design Foundation Program at Rhode Island School of Design, prior to completing his undergraduate work at Mount St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland, in Fine Art and Philosophy. He completed his MFA at Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia, and was awarded a residency at the Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania. BOTTINI'S WORK HAS FOUND IT'S WAY into numerous notable collections, including Arnold and Porter, LLP in Washington DC, and the private collection of Evan Thomas, publisher of Newsweek, and numerous Congressmen in the nation's capital. Numerous banks and other distinguished collectors have discovered his work through representation in St. Petersburg, Florida and Washington DC. With accolades trailing his path, he returned to Harrisburg where he was born and raised, where he now lives and works. "I still find a certain flavor to the Central Pennsylvania, rolling landscape particularly alluring," he says. BLUESFEST FEATURE, THE REESE PROJECT will provide blues for this second Mid-winter Blues event of three at the Arts Hotel Gallery. This popular quartet will perform "Chicago style and Delta City Blues, as well as the traditional Blues tunes of the Jazz era and modern day Blues/Funk." The group includes the unlikely combination of Guitar, Drums, Flute and Cello with vocals by Bobby Brewer - musicians include Tom Reese, Aaron Walker, and Laurie Reese. topMitch Lyons - Jan. 16, 2009 Clay Monoprints MITCH LYONS has been working with clay since he received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramics from the Tyler School of Art in 1968. He has pioneered a technique for printing with clay that has earned him praise as a true innovator in the art world. The process sounds complicated, but consists of working on a slab of stoneware clay. Lyons mixes China clay powder with water to create a milkshake-like emulsion, called a slip, which he then colors with pigment. Various colored slips are applied directly onto the clay slab. Lyons then covers the slab with wet canvas, presses a rolling pin over the canvas, and pulls off a one of a kind print. What he has on the canvas, "...is actually a very thin layer of clay," Lyons explains, "with subtle transitions between the colors." Mitch Lyons' clay monoprints are in public and private collections throughout the United States. His work is currently on view in Washington, D.C., Chestertown, MD, Chadds Ford, PA, and Santa Fe, NM. He is a recipient of a Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Visual Arts grant. Lyons has taught at West Chester University, Moore College of Art, Rowan University, Alfred University and the University of Delaware. In the past 25 years, Lyons has conducted hundreds of workshops all over the country teaching his innovative clay monotype technique, leading Leonard Lehrer, of New York University's Department of Art and Art Professions, to say, "Mitch Lyons has added to the vocabulary of contemporary art." Mitch Lyons is represented by the Lynden Gallery in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. OCTAVIA was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an performing on a stage at five years of age. She began with guitar in 1963, and harmonica in 1966. She majored in painting and sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA, but returned to her first love of music and performance. She toured with Etta James, and has played with Freddy King, The Funky Meters (Neveille Brothers), Gil Scott-Heron, The Iguanas. Opened for: BB King, Taj Mahal, Mavis Staples, Delbert McClinton, Dr. John, Elvin Bishop,The Muddy Waters Blues Band, Shamekia Copeland, and The Tubes. She has performed at top entertainment venues including the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, The House Of Blues in Atlantic City, and headlined at Longwood Gardens, Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, B.B. Kings Club, NYC, Don Hills, NYC, Village Underground, NYC, The World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, Lancaster Jazz and Blues Festivals and First Nights, The Keystone, Berkeley, Bimbo's, San Francisco, CA. Ebbits Field, Denver, CO. Cambridge Folk Festival, UK Kings Palace, Silky O'Sullivan, W.C. Handy Park, Blues City, all on Beale Street in Memphis, TN, Ground Zero (Morgan Freeman's club) Clarksdale, MS, Kingston Mines Blues Club, and Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago Ill., Festival International Du Blues De Tremblant, Canada, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Charleston, SC, Rehoboth Bandshell Concert Series, DE. Octavia toured extensively in the UK for two years. THE MID-WINTER BLUESFEST featuring Octavia in January is hosted by the LANCASTER ARTS HOTEL supporting the arts in South Central Pennsylvania, including the PA Arts Experience, Susquehanna Artist Trail initiative. Third Friday, February 20 will feature The Reese Project and an Artist Reception for David Bottini. Third Friday, March 20 will feature the Billy Penn Project and an Artist Reception for Milt Friedly. Work from the prior gallery exhibition will be on display an additional month in the Breakfast Room adjacent to the John J. Jeffries Restaurant inside the hotel, this month featuring the work of Gregory Blue. topGregory Blue - Dec. 5, 2008 I dream of painting, then paint dreams The LANCASTER ARTS HOTEL GALLERY is pleased to present an exhibition of works by GREGORY BLUE. A First Friday Artists' Reception will be held December 5th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Adjacent to John J. Jeffries Restaurant, the Hotel offers a warm and inviting beginning or end to an evening of Gallery events in Downtown Lancaster, with Gallery Hop Happy Hour from 4:00 to 6:00. GREGORY BLUE'S landscape paintings offer a fresh, spontaneous approach to the landscape on canvas. While figurative in nature, the images depart from reality with an abstracted vibrancy of color and juxtaposition of shape and form. "Rather than a complete abstraction of the subject," he says, "my work remains representational, rendering atmosphere and form that offers the viewer a familiar point of departure to explore the canvas, the textures, and the depth of color." HE SAYS OF DREAMS and this recent body of work: "Dreams are the manifestations of the unconscious mind. They cannot be controlled or contrived, and often make little sense to our conscious, directed thoughts." From this place, influenced by daily visual experience, the imagery is drawn. Color is often applied to the canvas without any preconceived notion of what it may become, the intuitive process leading to the final composition. The push of the boundary between real and abstract provides a certain immediacy and spontaneity of expression with a life of its own. BLUE MAINTAINS A DESIGN STUDIO, alongside painting, working out of his home office/studio in Chester Springs, PA. He has exhibited his work throughout the mid-Atlantic region, and his work is included in numerous corporate collections, including Johnson and Johnson, East Brunswick, NJ, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Lansing, Kidder and Peabody, Philadelphia, PA, Liberty Development Corporation, Harrisburg, PA, Chester Valley Country Club, Frazer, PA, The Hankin Group, Exton, PA, and the Renaissance Academy, Phoenixville, PA. THE LANCASTER ARTS HOTEL is open daily, and is a popular space for Board Meetings and Cocktail Parties. It is suggested you call the Hotel prior to your visit if you are making a special trip to be sure the Gallery is not occupied at 717.299.3000. The Arts Hotel Gallery endeavors to expose the work of established Artists to a broader audience and promote the rich fabric of the Arts in Lancaster County. For more information, refer to our website, www.artshotelgallery.com. top |