PRESS RELEASE: “IN THE SPIRIT”

“IN THE SPIRIT”
Viridian Artists’ 46th Annual Holiday Invitational
December 15 – January 9, 2016
Reception Thursday, December 17, 6-8

Chelsea: In celebration of Viridian Artists’ 46th annual holiday invitational, the gallery is pleased to present the exhibition “In the Spirit”. Opening December 15th with a reception Thursday, December 17, 6-8PM the exhibition continues through January 9, 2016.

As we near the close of 2015, many of us do so with a sense of trepidation and apprehension. Today’s world has filled most of its population with angst of all sorts – political, religious, environmental, to name just a few. The planet is in dire straits as is humanity, for our differences in belief seem to outweigh our similarities. Some have too much & some have too little and we seem unable to agree on how to improve existence despite all the advances we have made scientifically- the solution we are told for living better lives.

Earlier times knew better for in the past, many cultures realized that the artist was the shaman who possessed the powers to make us well, to create wealth and power. It was art, not science that soothed the spirit, that saved us. Much of the art in this show carries reminders of the negativity of our times within the spirit of today’s artistic shaman. We see Dragons (Kat King), Venus Fly traps (Deborah Sudran), “Muerte” (Carolina Poggi), “Stargazer” (Sarah Riley) & a Noir Madonna (May DeViney).With the power of the creative spirit in mind, Viridian has invited over 80 artists to present their art to aid in the healing of your spirit. In addition, to aid visitors in finding gifts for those who matter in their lives, the gallery has created its annual Ye Olde Arte Shoppe, filled with artist-made gifts of prints, photography, jewelry, cards, etc all priced under $100.

Angelique Anderson, Todd Anderson, Jenny Belin, Marcia Bernstein, Doug Billings, Annaliese Bischoff, Layne Bourgoyne, Renee Borkow, Taisha Brehaut, Carol Brookes, James Campbell, Fiona M. Cashell, Irene Christensen, Henry Coupe, May DeViney, Eliana Donini. Du Lin, Arthur Dworin, Bernice Faegenburg, Claudia Fainguersch, Phyllis Featherstone, Flashlight, Tazuko Fuji, Alan Gaynor, Moira Geoffrion, Celia Gilbert, Wally Gilbert, Joshua Greenberg, Mary Hendricks, Ed Herman, Lucy Hodgson, Kathleen King, Melisca Klisanin, Bernice Kramer, Namiyo Kubo, Angela LaMonte, Elvira Lantenhammer, Kathy Levine, Barbara Listenik, Marcia Lloyd, John Lloyd, Rosemary Lyons, Susanna Stefanachi Macomb, Kaitlin Martin, Donna Marxer, Robert Marvin, MatakiaLynne Mayocole, Naum Medovoy, Jeffrey Melzack, Matthias Merdan, Michael Miller, Eileen Mullan, Vernita N’Cognita, Stacey Clarfield Newman, Nancy Nicol, Patricia Owsiany. Carol Quint, Carolina Poggi, Filippo Prandi, Srividya Kannan Ramachandran, Bill Rabinovitch, Sarah Riley, Bruce Rosen, Leonard Rosenfeld, Oi Sawa, Barbara K Schwartz, Kathleen Shanahan, Bullet Shih, Susan Sills, Derrick Smit, Virgina Smit, Angela Smith, Katherine Ellinger Smith, Robert Smith, Sheila Smith, Helaine Soller, Judy Somerville, Renata Stein, Deborah Sudran,Toto Takamori, Jane Talcott, Channing Taylor, Bob Tomlinson, Courtney Lee Weida, Sam Wiener, Alex Woodhouse, Sharon Wybrants , Larry Zdeb