Press Release: "cOLD Times"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
“cOLD Times”
Viridian Artists’ Annual Holiday Exhibition
Tuesday, November 26 – Saturday, December 21, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 7, 4–6pm
Closing Reception: Saturday, December 21, 4–6pm
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present “cOLD Times,” Viridian Artists’ Annual Holiday Exhibition of outstanding art by artists who are part of Viridian Artists and invited guest artists. The show opens Tuesday, November 26 and continues through Saturday, December 21, 2024 with an Opening Reception on Saturday, December 7, 4–6pm and a Closing Reception on Saturday, December 21, 4–6pm.
This season, as our walls become filled and our pockets become leaner, the art in this exhibit is all priced at $500 or less and the size of each artwork no larger than 30 inches.
As the world becomes more and more technologically advanced, change has become nearly instantaneous and much of the cultures of the world and their traditions are changing so rapidly that we have lost a sense of many of our long-standing traditions. There is less talk about Santa coming down the chimney and more talk about the trees that are being salvaged for decoration at a time when all of nature is threatened. We must take the environment into consideration with every act, since global warming and climate destruction has become more real, more rapidly than we ever thought it would happen.
But within all the ceremonies lost, the memories remain and the giving of gifts remains an important part of the holiday season. We have so much and yet we want more and we want to express our caring by giving something special to those we are close to. We hope that giving art will become part of the solution and we look forward to seeing you as we celebrate an important tradition for all.
Marie–Ange Hoda Ackad * Steffani Bailey * Ayako Bando * Kristen Beazley * Jenny Belin Renée Borkow * Denita Benyshek * Annaliese Bischoff * Zoe Brown-Weissmann
Ellen Burnett * Sabine Carlson * Marc Chicoine * Irene Christensen * Judith Christian Matt Cohen * Sonia C. C. Colón * Sally J. K. Davies * May DeViney * Natalia Dovgaia Alexandra Downey * Stephanie Eins * Bernice Faegenburg * Arlene Finger
David Fitzgerald * Alan Gaynor * Wally Gilbert * Joshua Greenberg * Shingo Hayamizu Stalja Design * Miho Hiranouchi * Kazuo Ishikawa * Alex Katsenelinboigen * Kat King Kozy * Marco Lando * Angela M. LaMonte * John Lloyd * Beatriz Ledesma
Ellen Ludway * Stephanie Lempres * Grete Marstein * Gail Meyers * Rick Mullin
Mary Jane Murgolo * Fred P. Nelson * Vernita Nemec * Nancy Nicol * Shinichi Nomura Tom Papadopoulos * Brett Poza * Leonard Rosenfeld * Laura Rutherford Renner
Karen Roth * Sai * Melissa Schainker * Dorothy Shaw * Kathleen Shanahan * Susan SillsJ. Yvonne Skaggs * Zachary A.L. Stern * Meredeth Turshen * Jane Talcott * Bob Tomlinson
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12–6pm
For further information please contact: Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at viridianartistsinc@gmail.com
visit us on Instagram @viridianartistsinc and see us on Facebook & YouTube at Viridian Artists Gallery
Kat King Will Be Showing Work at the SoNa Gallery in Chicago
Kat King will be showing work in the Lightness and Being exhibition at the SoNa Gallery in Chicago.
Click Here for More Information
Lightness and Being
Group Show
Nov. 8, 2024 - Jan. 11, 2025
Opening Reception, Fri., Nov 8 from 6 - 9 pm
SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art
1527 N. Ashland Ave.
(Wicker Park / Bucktown)
Chicago, IL
Sabine Carlson's is showing work in the Mid-Atlantic New Painting Biennial
Congratulations to Sabine Carlson who will be showing work in the Mid-Atlantic New Painting 2024 exhibition at the Ridderhof Martin and duPont Gallery at the University of Mary Washington!
Click Here for more information about the show!
Ridderhof Martin and duPont Gallery
University of Mary Washington
1301 College Ave, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Nov 7, 2024 - Jan 19, 2025
Opening Reception: Nov 7, 5 - 7pm
Juror Talk with Heather Hakimzadeh, Senior Curator at Virginia Museum of Art,
Nov 21, 5pm at Seacobeck Hall 145
Press Release: Alan Gaynor: “The City”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
ALAN GAYNOR
“THE CITY”
October 29–November 23, 2024
Opening reception Thursday November 7, 6–8pm
Closing reception Saturday November 23, 4–6pm
Chelsea: Viridian Artists Inc. is pleased to present “The City” by photographer/architect Alan Gaynor. In this exhibit he presents arresting black and white views of New York City’s architectural patterns of concrete and steel. The show opens October 29 and continues through November 23, 2024. You are invited to meet the artist and celebrate the opening of this exhibit on Thursday, November 7, 6–8pm.
Alan Gaynor’s interest in photography arose from his interest and training in architecture and urbanism. In 1974, he founded his architectural firm with a vision of a working environment free of convention. His interest in buildings continues, but now he explores architectural structures through the medium of photography. Like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once famously stated, "I call architecture frozen music”; Gaynor feels the same. As in compositions in music, Goethe's analogy suggests that architectural structures possess a distinct rhythm, harmony, and melody, emphasizing the importance of aesthetics and artistic elements in architectural design.
Gaynor is a photographer who translates his passions into images that convey the beauty of human-made structures, whether they are the concreteness at the heart of urban Manhattan or the mosaic artfulness of the mosques of Morocco. Creating his images of places in series, he previously has explored the subways of New York City, the ancient structures of India and the mosaics of Morocco.
On his website Gaynor states that he loves the mathematical basis of all architectural design. Gaynor’s photography of both contemporary structures and those of the past all convey a sense of the still majesty of buildings. That he rarely includes humans in his images (which might distract our attention) helps us to see more clearly what we do not see when walking the streets of Manhattan or Morocco. Often his focus has been on the layering of the buildings and in these images of New York, that focus continues.
Gaynor, whose work explores structures, lighting, and space, has become an award-winning photographer. He has studied with some of the acknowledged masters of the photographic medium including David Vestal, Jock Sturges, George Tice and John Sexton, and has received a host of awards for his photography including a Bronze Award in the 2012 International Loupe Awards, Terabella Media Urban Landscape, Epson International, Tank Photo Award and many others. His work has been featured in publications including Best of Photography 2012, The Photographer, and Photo Review to name just a few.
Gaynor has been exhibiting his photography since 2000 at many galleries, including FotoFusion, Black Box Gallery, Spectra '07, Saf-T-Gallery, Camera Obscura, Soho Photo. This will be his fourth solo exhibit at Viridian. We look forward to sharing with you these arresting black and white images of the beautiful shapes created by New York City architecture.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12–6pm
For further information please contact Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistsinc@gmail.com
or view the gallery website: www.viridianartists.com or instagram @viridianartists
Laura Rutherford Renner is Showing Work at the AG Gallery in Lambertville, NJ
Not to Be Forgotten
An Exhibition of Work by
Laura Rutherford Renner and Alla Podolsky
At Artists’ Gallery
October 10, 2024 until November 3, 2024
Opening Reception: Sunday, October 13, 2–4 pm
Artists’ Gallery is located at: 18 Bridge St., Lambertville, NJ 08530
Click Here to Read More Information About this Exhibition
Steffani Bailey is Showing Two Works in "The Power of Abstraction"" SITE:BROOKLYN
Congratulations to Steffani Bailey who is showing two works at SITE BROOKLYN.
Steffani’s work is included in “The Power of Abstraction”:
an exhibition curated by Alexandra Terry.
Press Release: Christopher T. Terry: “ALTARS AND OFFERINGS”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
“ALTARS AND OFFERINGS”
CHRISTOPHER T. TERRY
October 1 – October 26, 2024
Opening Reception: Thursday October 3, 6–8pm
Closing Reception: Saturday, October 26, 4–6pm; Artist Interview @5pm
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present Chris Terry’s “Altars and Offerings“, his first solo exhibition with Viridian Artists. On view from October 1 through October 26, the exhibition will feature a series of recent paintings. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, October 3, from 6–8pm with a closing reception occurring the last day of the exhibit on Saturday, October 26, 4–6pm.
Like many artists, Chris Terry’s influences and formative experiences are many, varied, and sometimes even contradictory. Perhaps the most profound influence comes from his growing up with a healthy dose of Roman Catholicism: parochial school, altar boy, and singing in the choir, and although the doctrines inherent in Catholicism stopped making sense, his fascination with the ritual continues. Perhaps it is nothing more than the human need for ritual and symbolic significance that we attach to certain objects, but Terry feels a personal need to create ritual in his own work. After making paintings not unlike those in this exhibit for more than 10 years, a viewer commented on the similarity to religious altars which they saw in his paintings. Though the similarity was not intentional on his part, it was clearly buried deep in his subconscious.
Working primarily in the still life tradition, the artist is fascinated with shape and the sense of invention when moving objects in the composition, overlapping and creating new shapes from the objects and the backgrounds in ways that cannot be easily done with landscape or figurative subject matter.
A third component of his creative practice is his interest in color. Terry has always been drawn to Bonnard, Diebenkorn, Klee, Matisse and many other artists who use color inventively. A chance meeting at California State University where he once taught, led to an invitation to teach as a Visiting Professor at Universität Essen in Germany. That experience deepened his interest in the Bauhaus and by extension, Albers. Over the years, he lived in Germany and traveled through Europe, spending 6 weeks in Rome at The American Academy in their “visiting artists” program.
Since that time he has taught at many colleges, though primarily at Utah State University where, in an extension of his teaching practice, he organized travel programs with students, enriching his own life experiences as well as those of his students.
Now the focus is on his painting and the works in this exhibit attest to his ongoing creation of altars and offerings in quiet settings and simple compositions. We are most often looking at a table with one or more objects sitting quietly in a blue or golden toned light, the light perhaps colored by the wall behind and the tablecloths always freshly unfolded, creating shapes that add texture to the compositions.
We look forward to sharing these “Altars and Offerings” with you in person and perhaps they will inspire your memories of formative moments in your own lives.
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12–6pm
For further information please contact: Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at viridianartistsinc@gmail.com
visit us on Instagram @viridianartistsinc and see us on Facebook & YouTube at Viridian Artists Gallery
Wally Gilbert Will Be Showing His Art at Harvard: Thursday, the 26th, 10 am to 4 pm
Wally Gilbert Will Show 6 Pictures as part of the Art Tech Psyche Symposium at the Cabot Science Library The Science Center.
When: Thursday September 26th 10 to 4 pm
Where: One Oxford Street Cambridge, MA 02138
Jenny Belin: New Exhibit of Cat Art in Brooklyn, New York
“Cats and Coconuts For The People”
at The Gowanus Wine Studio & Tasting Table
257 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
September 16th–January 5, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 5th: 4–6PM
Paintings by Rick Mullin Will Be Exhibited at The Shanghai Jazz's Encore Speakeasy Lounge in Madison, New Jersey
Paintings by Rick Mullin Will Be Exhibited at
The Shanghai Jazz's Encore Speakeasy Lounge
October 1 – December 31
Opening Reception : Wednesday, October 9, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Mullin’s solo exhibition includes 30 paintings, music-themed, landscapes, portraits and still lifes.
Shanghai Jazz is located at 24 Main Street, Madison, New Jersey, around the corner from the Madison train station with service from Penn Station.
Click here to link to view the Shangjai Jazz Website
"Detritus Upcycled" is featured on DART: Design Arts Daily
Continuing: Detritus Upcycled at Viridian Artists
Detritus Upcycled features the work of artists who make exciting fine art from trash. The heart of this exhibit is the message of the three R's: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle and especially "upcycling”. This exhibit reaches beyond the art world, serving as a message not only about art, but also about the environment.
By seeing beauty in the discarded, these artists have been creatively addressing the problem of too much trash by using it to create fascinating and unique art before it was even known to be an environmental problem. Artists have been using found objects to make art for eons, but now it has become ostensibly a political act.
Continuing through September 28 at Viridian Artists, 348 West 28th Street, #623, New York, NY
"Detritus Upcycled" Is Featured in Meer Magazine
Viridian Artists is pleased to present the exhibit Detritus upcycled featuring the work of artists who make exciting fine art from trash. The heart of this exhibit is the message of the three R's: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle and especially "upcycling”. The exhibit opens Tuesday, September 3 and continues through Saturday, September 28 with an opening reception Thursday, September 5 and a closing reception Saturday, September 28, 4-6pm when some of the artists will be present to talk about their art and its relationship with the environment.
This exhibit, Detritus upcycled, serves to enrich the dialogue between art and the lives of ordinary people because we all have too much trash. By focusing on recycling or "upcycling" as their method and source for creating, these artists have made their art-making serve as both an environmental message and creative inspiration. This exhibit reaches beyond the art world, serving as a message not only about art, but also about the environment. The art in this exhibit is not a solution, but it serves as a reminder that we must do something more than we are doing now to stop the proliferation of garbage and trash that is overtaking our environment. Plastic and paper are pervasive fillers of our landfills and our oceans with gyres of plastic detritus and now even cardboard boxes, so easily recyclable, are becoming an environmental issue.
Artists in this exhibit are opening a dialogue with viewers about the importance and usefulness of art as something beyond decoration. By seeing beauty in the discarded, these artists have been creatively addressing the problem of too much trash by using it to create fascinating and unique art before it was even known to be an environmental problem. Artists have been using found objects to make art for eons, but now it has become ostensibly a political act.
Art from Detritus, or art from trash, was first conceived and curated by Vernita Nemec in 1994 in Portland, Oregon during the annual conference of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC). Presented there in the lobby of a recycled Sears Roebuck building and the corporate headquarters for municipal waste and recycling, the exhibit has re-occurred with funding from the Kauffman Foundation, the Puffin Foundation and sponsorship by the NRC. The exhibit was presented in Pittsburgh at the Westinghouse headquarters, the Museum of Arts & Crafts and the AIA; in Kansas City MO at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Rockhurst College & the Writer's Place. Phoenix AZ, Turners Falls, MA and NYC have all been Detritus exhibition sites since those early years. In NYC, Detritus exhibits have occurred at the Henry Street Abrams Arts Center, Gallery 450, Synagogue for the Arts, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Farleigh Dickinson University, WAH (Williamsburgh Art Center) and many times at Viridian.
Vernita Nemec, aka Vernita N'Cognita, the curator and creator of Art from Detritus, is a visual and performance artist and has been the director of Viridian Artists since 2000. Her complete biography can be seen in Wikipedia.
We look forward to presenting this exciting exhibit of important art to you and hope to see you then.
Press Release: Detritus Upcycled
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
“Detritus Upcycled”
Curated by Vernita Nemec
September 3 – September 28, 2024
Reception Thursday September 5, 6-8pm
Closing reception, Saturday, September 28, 4-6pm
Annaliese Bischoff * Zoe Brown-Weissmann * Ellen Burnett * Lindsay-Ann Chilcott * Irene Christensen
James Ciosek * Pam Cooper * May DeViney * Katherine Earle * Jodie Fink * Bess French
Debra Friedkin * Rachel Green * Eddie Hall * Bernice Sokol Kramer * Sandra Lapage * Eric David Laxman
Mia Loia * Gail Meyers * Elizabeth Morisette * Vernita N’Cognita * Carol Paik * Yuko Uchida
Gale Rothstein * Sylvia Schwartz * Rebecca Tuck * Courtney Lee Weida * Larry Zdeb
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present the exhibit “Detritus Upcycled" featuring the work of artists who make exciting fine art from trash. The heart of this exhibit is the message of the three R's: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle and especially "upcycling”. The exhibit opens Tuesday, September 3 and continues through Saturday, September 28 with an opening reception Thursday, September 5 and a closing reception Saturday, September 28, 4-6pm when some of the artists will be present to talk about their art and its relationship with the environment.
This exhibit, “Detritus Upcycled”, serves to enrich the dialogue between art and the lives of ordinary people because we all have too much trash. By focusing on recycling or "upcycling" as their method and source for creating, these artists have made their art-making serve as both an environmental message and creative inspiration. This exhibit reaches beyond the art world, serving as a message not only about art, but also about the environment. The art in this exhibit is not a solution, but it serves as a reminder that we must do something more than we are doing now to stop the proliferation of garbage & trash that is overtaking our environment. Plastic and paper are pervasive fillers of our landfills and our oceans with gyres of plastic detritus and now even cardboard boxes, so easily recyclable, are becoming an environmental issue.
Artists in this exhibit are opening a dialogue with viewers about the importance and usefulness of art as something beyond decoration. By seeing beauty in the discarded, these artists have been creatively addressing the problem of too much trash by using it to create fascinating and unique art before it was even known to be an environmental problem. Artists have been using found objects to make art for eons, but now it has become ostensibly a political act.
“Art from Detritus”, or art from trash, was first conceived and curated by Vernita Nemec in 1994 in Portland, Oregon during the annual conference of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC). Presented there in the lobby of a recycled Sears Roebuck building & the corporate headquarters for municipal waste & recycling, the exhibit has re-occurred with funding from the Kauffman Foundation, the Puffin Foundation and sponsorship by the NRC. The exhibit was presented in Pittsburgh at the Westinghouse headquarters, the Museum of Arts & Crafts and the AIA; in Kansas City MO at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Rockhurst College & the Writer's Place. Phoenix AZ, Turners Falls, MA and NYC have all been Detritus exhibition sites since those early years. In NYC, Detritus exhibits have occurred at the Henry Street Abrams Arts Center, Gallery 450, Synagogue for the Arts, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Farleigh Dickinson University, WAH (Williamsburgh Art Center) and many times at Viridian. You can see more information and images of past Detritus shows at www.ncognita.com.
Vernita Nemec, aka Vernita N'Cognita, the curator and creator of Art from Detritus, is a visual & performance artist and has been the director of Viridian Artists since 2000. Her complete biography can be seen in Wikipedia at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernita_Nemec.
We look forward to presenting this exciting exhibit of important art to you and hope to see you then.
For further information please contact
Vernita Nemec, Director or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director
Visit us on Instagram @viridianartistsinc, see us on Facebook & YouTube at
Viridian Artists Gallery or visit our website at viridianartists.com
Press Release: New Arts Prospect: Artists from Japan Series XI, 2024 Curated by Sai Morikawa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PLEASE LIST
New Arts Prospect: Artists from Japan Series XI, 2024
Curated by Sai Morikawa
“The Crossroad”
August 12- 24, 2024
Opening Reception: Thursday,August 15th: 5:30-7:30PM
=ARTISTS=
AyAkA kyA / Chieka Uruga / Chizu Suzu
Hanakko/ K.Junko / Kaori Nakamura
Kaz Shibata / Kiyokazu Ito / Kotomi
Kozy / Ku Watanabe / Maiko Kanzaki
Misaki Sato / Miwako K.
Morihiro Okamoto / Nana Midorikawa
Shingo Hayamizu / Shizuku
Takashi Ishida / Yuko Sato
Chelsea, NYC: Viridian Artists is pleased to present “New Arts Prospect: Artists from Japan Series XI 2024, THE CROSSROAD ” curated by Sai Morikawa. This exhibition will be on view from August 12 to August 24, 2024.
Renowned as a leading art scene globally, New York City is the backdrop for this mission-driven initiative, supporting the debut of Japanese artists in New York. Since its inception in the summer of 2014, the “New Arts Prospect: Artists from Japan” series has been instrumental in introducing Japanese talent to the vibrant Chelsea art scene. In 2024, the series celebrates its 11th anniversary.
The title “The Crossroad” signifies more than just intersections and roads; it embodies the essence of pivotal moments, convergence, opportunities, decisions, and journeys. In New York’s dynamic art scene, where exceptional talent from around the world converges, the distinctive works of Japanese artists resonate within a multicultural environment. This not only influences the participating artists but also impacts the diverse art scene, symbolizing the discovery of new directions and opportunities for everyone involved. With its rich history and culture, Japan is flourishing with unique aesthetics and exceptional craftsmanship. When these distinctive sensibilities and philosophies are projected onto the contemporary art scene, it leads to groundbreaking exhibitions that foster new creativity and inspiration.
This exhibition brings together the works of emerging artists who are making waves in the modern Japanese art scene, showcasing their unique perspectives and creativity. A variety of genres, including glass sculptures, paintings, and origami art, will be on display. The artworks, reflecting messages beyond national and linguistic boundaries, possess the power to touch hearts. We hope to encounter works brimming with originality, expressed directly by the artists themselves, without reliance on data or analysis.
For the sixth consecutive year, the New Arts Prospect artists and curator are gracing the Viridian Artists Gallery in Chelsea. Established in the late 1960s, Viridian Artists has championed exceptional yet lesser-known and emerging artists for over five decades. Following their triumphant exhibition last August, the New Arts Prospect artists have been invited once more to display their latest burst of creative expression, promising a captivating experience for visitors.
Curated by Sai Morikawa, this exhibition fosters and nurtures cultural exchange between Japan and the US. As a vital conduit for international cultural interaction, it propels Japan's art scene to new heights. Additionally, it signifies an important milestone for participating artists, shaping their burgeoning careers. Emerging talents will present an extraordinary array of artworks, each poised to send a resounding message to the world. Gallery hours: Monday– Friday, 11:30am–5:30pm. Saturdays appointment only,
Sundays closed.
Gallery hours: Monday– Friday, 11:30am–5:30pm. Saturdays appointment only,
Sundays closed.
For further information please contact: Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at viridianartistsinc@gmail.com or view the gallery website: www.viridianartists.com.
Beatriz Ledesma: Book Publication
Congratulations to Beatriz Ledesma on the publication of her new book:
MANDALAS: A PERSONAL JOURNEY IN MANDALA JOURNALING
Click here to order your copy!
Press Release: “Moments in Time”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PLEASE LIST
“Moments in Time”
Viridian Affiliates
Tuesday, July 9 – Saturday, August 3, 2024
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 11, 6-8pm
Closing Reception: Saturday, August 3, 4-6pm
Marie-Ange Hoda Ackad * Matthew Cohen * Irene Christensen
Charles Hildebrandt * Beatriz Ledesma
Shawn Marshall * Vernita N’Cognita * Sheila Smith
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present “Moments in Time,” an exhibition of outstanding art by artists who are part of Viridian Artists’ Affiliate program. The show opens Tuesday, July 9 and continues through Saturday, August 3, 2024 with an Opening Reception: Thursday, July 11, 6-8pm and a Closing Reception, Saturday, August 3, 4-6pm.
Time and timelessness are both constant considerations in our lives as we pass through different phases of living. When we are young, we anxiously awake summer vacation and when we grow older, time speeds along far too quickly. Creative acts as well, are moments that vary in length psychologically, spiritually, and emotionally as well as in actuality. These artists, each in their own creative and aesthetic ways are uniquely dealing with time.
Artist Beatriz Ledesma sees herself as a symbolist artist and is drawn to the spirituality and symbolism of ordinary objects. In our present era, she finds scissors to be particularly relevant and meaningful objects to contemplate, for in her research she discovered that scissors have been believed to possess protective powers, serving as a talisman against witchcraft and malevolent forces. In medieval times, scissors were commonly placed beneath doormats to ward off evil. The artist states that “In light of our current tumultuous and chaotic times, as inhabitants of this earthly realm, it is worth considering what things we would like to eliminate from our daily human existence. Therefore, it is worth considering the idea of keeping scissors under our doormats as a form of protection from unwanted influences.”
Matt Cohen’s mixed media works contain areas of layering paint, wire mesh, etched and painted plexiglass, and sections of drawings secured with thin, dark wires. Cohen’s art concerns the juxtaposition of time and timelessness. There is the sense of history in the making of his work as he incorporates layers to expose earlier decisions. He feels a connection with some Baroque painting and is influenced by the dark recesses and overlaying of painted grids. About the works in this show, he states that “these moments of memory are equally present with thoughts that are continuous in our moments of exchanges, activities, or observations in our physical present; they are not truly of the past – they are one of many thoughts we have throughout our lives and are there in our minds on an equal plane.”
Shawn Marshall is a Kentucky-based artist whose artistic process is significantly shaped by the integration of her multidisciplinary background in architecture and sculpture. She is concerned with consumption and waste and so collects discarded and found materials of paper, cardboard, etc. and then merges the carefully selected mixed media with paint to, as the artist says, “create intricate webs and imprints of our existence.” The artist sees each of her artworks as a dialogue between the present and the past. She goes on to say, that “it is through this rhythm of placement and removal that our intricate relationship with the world unfolds, leaving behind a tapestry of ideas, experiences, and memories that weave together to create new imprints and narratives.”
Sheila Smith’s first camera was a Brownie box camera. In the sixties, as a secretary to the creative director of Columbia Records, Smith was exposed to and inspired by the great photographers of that era. She went on to study advertising and design at SVA, ultimately becoming an Art Director and continuing to work with top photographers, including Richard Avedon. She studied photography at the New School while at the same time taking drawing and painting classes at the Art Students League. Painting for many years, she never abandoned photography and has continued to take pictures since 1997. Now, her photographs have become paintings as she alters and reconstructs them in photoshop. About her work Smith says, “I enjoy photographing a multitude of subjects which categorizes me as a “generalist."
Charles Hildebrandt lives and works in Winston-Salem, NC. His early artistic beginnings were in photography, but his creative work has grown to include mixed media collage and acrylic landscapes. Many of his mixed media pieces still involve his photographic work, but also include acrylic, sheet metal, and other materials. About his paintings, the artist says that “the majority of landscape paintings come from a memory, or an extension of an image from a photograph taken. However, few of them are literal translations of either; they are combinations of life experiences, observations, photographs, and interpretations.” Moments.
Irene Christensen manages to divide her time producing her work not only in her studios in New York City as well as in Oslo, Norway, but also for one month each year in Costa Rica. She has exhibited in both Europe and the United States since 1983. She participated in the Personal Structures exhibition organized by the Global Art Affairs Foundation and hosted by the European Cultural Center in the context of the Venice Art Biennale of 2017. Her work is represented in many museums and personal collections in Europe and USA. About the work in this exhibit, “Tomorrow We Meet The Alligator,” the artist states that “The alligators are predators but part of life on this earth. In my series of streamers I use 7”x5” hand dyed and drawn/painted paper, pasted on either old fax paper or muslin cloth or rice paper."
Montreal-based artist Marie-Ange Hoda Ackad sees the contradictions between what things look like or appear to be and what they actually are. Particularly in this time of fake reality and ‘alternative facts’ when almost anything can be falsified, she asks us to focus not on what we see but on the meaning that lies within. In the United States she has shown at the ISEA International Symposium of Experimental Arists, the Brownsville Museum in Texas, Center for Contemporary Art in Bedford, New Jersey and Viridian Artists in Chelsea NYC. Her work appeared on a billboard in central Los Angeles as part of the Billboard Creatives 2016 Exhibition. She participated in the Help Hope Nepal Mural project during Art Basel Miami 2015 and her portrait of Gradimir Pankov, former artistic director of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, won the Bronze Award in painting in the Art Forward international competition in 2016 and was featured in a film tribute to Pankov’s achievements.
Vernita N”Cognita, aka Vernita Nemec has been dealing with the environment through her art-making for the past 20 years, first with her Endless Junkmail Scroll and now with sculpture created from upcycled plastic food containers and other plastic detritus. She uses the aesthetics of Wabi-Sabi by focusing on the beauty of the discarded plastic’s physicality and uselessness and then creating art from it, saving it from enlarging the plastic gyres growing in the oceans, killing the coral and sea creatures who think it is food. These plastic objects from everyday life coalesce into compositions that speak to the chaotic interplay between our lives and the pervasiveness of plastic detritus that continues to grow with time. Nemec has been active as an artist, a curator, environmentalist and a feminist, organizing one of the first all-female art exhibits, “X-12”, in 1970. She was a part of Soho 20, a feminist cooperative gallery, in the 70’s & has presented more than 30 solo exhibits and performances in the US, Europe and Asia. More about the artist can be found on Wikipedia.
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12–6pm
For further information please contact: Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at viridianartistsinc@gmail.com
visit us on Instagram @viridianartistsinc and see us on Facebook & YouTube at Viridian Artists Gallery
Press Release: “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PLEASE LIST
“The Unbearable Lightness of Being”
A group exhibit of Viridian Artists
June 11- July 6, 2024
Opening reception Thursday June 13, 6–8pm
Closing reception Saturday, July 6, 4–6pm
Steffani Bailey * Jenny Belin * Saba Besier * Renée Borkow * Zoe Brown-Weissmann *
Ellen Burnett * Sabine Carlson * Irene Christensen * Stacey Clarfield Newman * Matt Cohen * Chasity Colón * Rebecca Dearden * Rhonda Donovan * May DeViney * Stefanie Eins *
Arlene Finger * David Fitzgerald * Deb Flagel * Alan Gaynor * Wally Gilbert *
Joshua Greenberg * Charles Hildebrandt * Kazuo Ishikawa * Kat King * Marco Lando * Beatriz Ledesma * Stephanie Lempres * Rosemary K. Lyons * Shawn Marshall *
Sai Morikawa * Rick Mullin * Nancy Nicol * Vernita Nemec * Brett Poza *
Laura Rutherford Renner * Sarah Riley * Bruce Rosen * Kathleen Shanahan * Dorothy Shaw * Susan Sills * Virginia Smit * Robert Smith *Sheila Smith * Christopher T. Terry * Meredeth Turshen *
“The goals we pursue are always veiled. A girl who longs for marriage longs for something she knows nothing about. The boy who hankers after fame has no idea what fame is. The thing that gives our every move its meaning is always totally unknown to us.”
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present an exhibition of extraordinary art by the artists of Viridian. The show opens June 11 and continues through July 6 with a reception Thursday, June 13th, 6–8pm and a closing reception Saturday July 6, 4–6pm.
“Only the most naive of questions are truly serious.”
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Milan Kundera was a Czech writer who explored through his writing the intricacies of life and thought with his particularly sensitive observations of people and ideas. “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” was published in 1984 with much of the plot set during the Communist occupation of Czechoslovakia and yet it was more about love than politics and more about philosophy than reality. The book has remained a favorite of many, perhaps particularly free-thinking artists. It seemed the perfect theme for this show happening during the 3rd or 4th spring of the pandemic when we are all so tired and drained by the last few years and the ongoing craziness of reality.
“Our dreams prove that to imagine - to dream about things that have not happened - is among mankind's deepest needs.”
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
We look forward to bringing to you “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” in the form of drawings, paintings, collage and other art forms rather than only in words.
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12–6pm
For further information please contact: Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at viridianartistsinc@gmail.com
visit us on Instagram @viridianartistsinc and see us on Facebook & YouTube at Viridian Artists Gallery
Press Release: Stefanie Eins: “Miniature Works from the African Desert”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
Stefanie Eins
“Miniature Works from the African Desert”
May 16 – June 8, 2024
Opening reception Thursday, May 16, 5 – 8 pm
Closing reception Saturday, June 8, 4 – 6 pm
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present Stefanie Eins’ “Miniature Works from the African Desert”, her first solo exhibition with the gallery. On view from May 16 through June 8, the exhibit will feature miniature paintings and drawings by the artist which she created in Namibia, Africa. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, May 16, from 5–8pm with a closing reception occurring the last day of the exhibit on Saturday, June 8, 4–6 pm.
Unlike most art exhibits you will see in New York City, Stefanie Eins’ first solo exhibit at Viridian consists primarily of miniature drawings and paintings that she completed over the last twenty-five years. In this exhibition We will be showing mostly small sized work: the impact is remarkable.
The small paintings, created since 1993, are filled with color created through a slow, laborious process of layering oil paint in abstract shapes and spaces with the theme being simply the power of color and pure form. A fascination with color and the abstract spaces created with light and shadow in the endless environment of the African desert are among the many sources of her inspiration. Growing up in Germany and then living 20 years in Switzerland created for the artist a sense of life as a traveler, absorbing her surroundings and gathering memorabilia to incorporate into her art; found stamps, tickets, and fragments from nature.
Together with the small painted works, Eins is presenting two series of drawings. From 2000 to 2012, her lines only hint at the total picture, leaving just clues to the scene’s whole. Incorporating collage elements of pressed eucalyptus and olive leaves half-covered with transparent paper, the drawings hint at life conserved. Her mother’s passing during that time gives a sense of sadness to many of the pieces in this series of works.
The drawings that Stefanie created from 2013 to 2024, were made with a more intuitive approach. Rather than thinking ahead as she drew, the artist would instead let the work emerge intuitively and then analyze it later. During this time, she also experimented with a sewing machine using it as her tool for drawing. Most of these 20 collaged works are also limited in size along with four larger lino prints made in 2022 that are part of a series of 21.
Stefanie has exhibited her art extensively throughout Switzerland, Germany and Africa. The noted curator Gabriele Obrist wrote about Stefanie’s large format art saying “Envision rectangles, each distinct in size and delineated by strokes of varying boldness- some solid, others mere outlines. These shapes coalesce into intricate compositions, reminiscent at times of the luminous allure of stained-glass windows, or, in a fleeting change of perspective, the enigmatic depths of archaeological sites viewed from above. The abstract nature of these forms is a canvas for the mind, inviting a myriad of associations. They act as portals, guiding us through the corridors of memory and the vast expanses of our imagination.”
Viridian Artists looks forward to sharing this wonderful exhibit with you and we hope that you will come Saturday, June 8th at 4pm, to hear Stefanie talk about how she approaches creating her incredible art.
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12–6pm
For further information please contact: Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at viridianartistsinc@gmail.com
visit us on Instagram @viridianartistsinc and see us on Facebook & YouTube at Viridian Artists Gallery
Press Release: Robert Smith: "The Shadows Know"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
Robert Smith
“The Shadows Know”
April 16th–May 11th 2024
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 18th: 6 –8 p.m.
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present an exhibition of extraordinary photographs by Robert Smith entitled “The Shadows Know.” The show opens April 16th and continues through May 11th with a reception Thursday, April 18th, 6 to 8 p.m.
The photography of Robert Smith offers a new context to the tradition of classical Chiaroscuro. He shows us a different, dynamic way of capturing Chiaroscuro through a series of close-up photographic images of curtains taken during the last half decade. With a simple, natural fiber cotton curtain and a window opening, a developing breeze begins to create movement against the wooden sash. Of course, the play of light being such a fundamental touchstone, the accompanying darks and shadows in ephemeral folds are revelatory, creating all manner of expressive, visual possibilities.
In effect, Smith is creating a connection of the human centric world of fabric to the natural world of air, in movement, in a symbiotic relationship that becomes a fascinating, visual landscape. At that, his oeuvre has focused mainly on the close-up, undisturbed natural landscape, yet he sees this tangent as a logical extension of interest as he ages with accompanying physical limitations. It’s an example we may take to heart.
The images themselves range from the simple to the complex, from the bold and dramatic to the lyrical and sublime. Encompassing powerfully evocative blacks measured against mysterious and magical shadows, they bring to mind abstract expressionist compositions akin to Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell paintings and Aaron Siskind photographs. Historically, Siskind and Minor White are two of his favorite creators, good company.
Smith lives in New York and has a summer studio on Monhegan Island off midcoast Maine, steeped in landscape art history, and where these photographs were taken. There he leads “Steps to Seeing” walks opening eyes to the richness of the natural landscape while acknowledging the importance of the practice of Sensory Awareness, a discipline of living more in the present moment that has given him a special way of seeing, informing his vision. Smith has a deep body of work from Monhegan and Point Lobos, California. His photographs are in numerous private and corporate collections in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Africa and throughout Europe. One final point, Robert has a good sense of humor and insists there is no truth to the rumor that he is, in some way, related to Lamont Cranston! Enjoy this exhibition.
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12–6pm
For further information please contact: Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at viridianartistsinc@gmail.com
visit us on Instagram @viridianartistsinc and see us on Facebook & YouTube at Viridian Artists Gallery