"Utica native and prodigious artist Henry Coupe passed away three years ago, but his work lives on. "
by Joseph Labernik
Press Release: “Deciduous Dragons” Recent work by Kathleen King
'Little Grinning Dragon" By Kathleen King: Oil over Acrylic on Board, 10.5" x 12.25" x 1.75" (includes outer frame)
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“Deciduous Dragons”
Recent work by Kathleen King
May 22-June 16, 2018
Reception: Thursday, May 24, 6-8PM
Viridian Artists is pleased to present “Deciduous Dragons” recent work by Kathleen King on exhibit from May 22nd thru June 16th. The reception is on Thursday May 24th from 6pm to 8pm.
Fantastic and exotic representational subjects sourced from objects found in nature such as dried plant detritus, (leaves, pods, twigs, etc…) are ruminated over, then transformed into bronzes and paintings in this most recent solo exhibit of Kat’s work.
King states: “Elevating the humblest of discarded botanical fragments to iconic status for the viewer’s contemplation is an ongoing concept in my drawings, paintings and sculptures. I reconfigure the botanical/detritus fragments into small 3D models. Contemplating these models, I transform them into metaphorical subjects in the final art works.”
Artist/Educator Kathleen King is currently represented by Viridian Artists, INC and has been represented by the gallery since 2001.
Ms. King has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as an Assistant Adjunct Prof. from 1989 to 2001 in the SAIC Print Media Dept. The artist has also taught at Loyola University, Chicago from 1977 to 2009 as an Adjunct Prof.
In the near future, Ms. King will be teaching drawing and watercolor courses as a Visiting Adjunct Prof. in the Korea University 2018 International Summer Campus Program. The artist has been invited to teach in the KU ISC Program almost every summer since 2007.
Ms. King is also currently on the board of the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, located on the Greek island of Skopelos in the Aegean Sea. Besides serving on the board, Kathleen has taught courses and workshops at the foundation’s print shop.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12- 6 PM
For further information please contact Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
Superfine! Art Fair Reviewed in New York Magazine
MAY 2, 2018 6:09 PM
An Art Fair Where the Pieces Come to Life
By Melania Hidalgo
Have you ever been to an art fair where the sculptures come to life, and human models are used as canvases? The second annual Superfine! Art fair opens today in New York’s Meatpacking District, once again blurring the line between performance and immersion. The week-long exhibit will feature a variety of art shows, summits, markets, and tastings. On Wednesday night, renowned body-painter Trina Merry will stage live re-creations of her “Lust of Currency”series, in which she paints over her models to blend in with historically iconic works of art like Edvard Munch’s The Scream, or van Gogh’s Self Portrait, as a take on society’s materialist culture.
Following Merry’s show, members of the Heidi Latsky Dance troupe will act as living effigies, embodying a moving sculpture court that silently merges with the evening spectators.
Founded in 2015 by entrepreneur Alex Mitow, the fair aims to promote high-quality affordable artwork to ordinary city dwellers and aficionados, providing a platform to both experience and purchase local and internationally sourced pieces. The fair will exhibit 78 art galleries, solo projects, and collectives, with certain live ticketed events throughout the week.
This year, the program has placed a strong emphasis on spotlighting young female talent and progressive politics: 70 percent of the showcased artists are women, with a base reflecting people of color and the LGBTQ community. Following the XX Perspective Female Arts Summit featuring curators and art directors, the fair reserved its popular Saturday-night slot for the “Girls’ Night Out (for Art!)” cocktail party and live music performances, the proceeds of which will go to the evening’s host, the Lower Eastside Girls Club.
Beginning as a small project in Miami, Superfine! has now become a national interactive exposition with full-scale installments in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Mexico City.
Superfine! opens Wednesday, May 2, at 9 p.m. and will run through Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets are available here starting at $12 for general admission, and up to $85 for the Art Warrior All-Access pass. Scroll below for a selection of images from this year’s installation.
Saxon Woods Pool, by Mary Tooley Parker. Photo: Mary Tooley Parker
Superfine Art Fair: Begins Next Week! More News to follow!
Press Release: “50 years of Viridian Artists”
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“50 years of Viridian Artists”
April 24th to May 19th, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday, April 26th, 6-8PM
Closing reception: Saturday, May 19, 4-6PM
festive dress in the spirit of the 60s & 70s when Viridian began!
Alan Gaynor * Susan Sills * Barbara K. Schwartz * Kat King * Ellen Burnett * May DeViney * Renee Borkow * Mary Tooley Parker * John Nieman * Kiffi Diamond * Bob Tomlinson * Bernice Faegenburg * Wally Gilbert * Namiyo Kubo * Henry Coupe * Tazuko Fuji * Oi Sawa * Ron Moore * Nancy Nicol * Stacey Clarfield Newman * Angela Smith * Srividya Kannan Ramachandran * Virginia Evans Smit * Robert Smith * Deborah Sudran * Toto Takamori * Bruce Rosen * Diana T Soorikian * Diane Root * Richard Karp * Rufus Snoddy * Carol Brookes * Bill Heard * Rick Mullin * Carol Yoshimine * Dorothy McGahee Braudy * Jeff Melzack * Paul Matthews * Marilyn Miller * Kelynn Alder * Sally Fine * Jain Hutzell * Judy Tummino * Arthur Dworin * Sabine Carlson * Carol Crawford * Mary-Ellen Campbell * Darryl Moody * Katherine Ellinger Smith* Robert Mielenhausen * Marjorie Zelman * Dave Dorsey * Carol Benisatto * Meredeth Turshen * Naomi Blum * Rosemary Lyons * Rima Grad * Elizabeth Hoff * Jordan Zweifler * Matthias Merdan * Phyllis Smith * Don Zurlo * Susan Hockaday * Ernesto Ruiz Bry * Ben Wohlberg * Arlene Finger and others
Chelsea: It is with pleasure and pride that Viridian Artists is featuring past and present Viridian Artists in a celebration of 50 years of being. The show extends from April 24th to May 19th, 2018 with an opening reception Thursday, April 26th, 6-8PM and a closing reception Saturday, May 19, 4-6PM. We invite all to wear festive dress in the spirit of the 60s & 70s when Viridian began!
As one of the first artist-owned galleries in the New York City art world, Viridian began its existence in Soho when Soho was just beginning to be an art destination. In 1968, a group of Long Island artist formed a gallery just off West Broadway called Second Story Spring Street, the parent of Viridian Artists before SoHo was SoHo.
Viridian moved from SoHo to becoming the only artist owned gallery on 57th St where it remained until 2001 in the NY Gallery Building. As the city was digging out from under the tragedy of 9/11, Viridian was moving to 530 W 25th in Chelsea where it remained until 2011, moving then to its current location at 548 West 28th Street.
The artists of Viridian draw from the complicated and often contradictory currents of modern life and contemporary culture to create their art. The gallery has always prized esthetic diversity and each Viridian Artist, past and present, has a particular approach to representation and a unique way of decoding reality. Among the more recent additions to the roster are
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran who creates digital images and now has created a digital avatar who also creates and Ernesto Ruiz Bry whose gigantic collages take nearly a year to create. Viridian continues to reach out to incorporate the diverse branches of creativity that are exploding in our contemporary international art world.
Over the years some of the original artists have remained with the gallery while others have departed and then returned. With the gallery since its inception are Bernice Faegenburg, and Virginia Evans Smit and for nearly as long, Susan Sills, who served as gallery president until recently turning over that honor to photographer Alan Gaynor. Other artists with the gallery since before 2000 include May DeViney, Renee Borkow, Robert Smith, Bob Tomlinson, Deborah Sudran.
Viridian prizes its international roster with Japanese artists Namiyo Kubo, Toto Takamori and Oi Sawa, and Tazuko Fujii who continue as honorary members. Viridian has added an estate affiliation with the estates of Henry Coupe, Barbara K Schwartz, who died recently and Bruce Rosen, enabling their work to continue to be shown, as well as a Young Artists category for artists under thirty years of age.
As commercial galleries become artist-owned and cooperative galleries become more equally respected for their outstanding art and the freedom they give their artists, Viridian has maintained that critical balance necessary to compete in today's diverse art community. Today, surviving the heyday of “commercialism as art” and “art as real estate”, Viridian continues. A catalog will become available in the near future.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12- 6 PM
For further information please contact Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director
Ellen Burnett's work on exhibit in "Abstraction At Large": A group show at Site: Brooklyn Gallery
Ellen Burnett's work Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, can be seen in "Abstraction At Large" : a group exhibition at Site: Brooklyn Gallery.
Opening Reception: Wednesday April 11, 2018 from 6-9PM.
165 7th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11215
718.625.3646
Click here for more details
Call For Art at the Woman Made Gallery, Juried by Viridian's Director Vernita Nemec
Please consider applying to "Word Play" Call for art at the Woman Made gallery.
This competition will be juried by Viridian's Director, Vernita Nemec.
Click here for information on how to enter.
See below for more information about the exhibit.
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Exhibition Description: Intertwined throughout history, text and image have been used to deliver message and effect change. From sketchbooks to video, poetic thought to political activism, artists have added letters, numbers and words to give meaning to their art.
This exhibition serves to highlight the voice of all female identified artists who use text and image or text as image as a means of creative expression. Works in all media are welcome and encouraged.
The application fee for our juried exhibitions is $30 for up to three images of work, plus one detail image if necessary. A limited number of artists who experience financial hardship may be exempt from paying the entry fee; please send us an email to request a fee waiver: general@womanmade.org. We encourage entries of recent works, but there is no restriction in the creation date. All applicants should submit an artist’s statement about their body of work. Accepted artworks must not exceed 72" horizontally and must not have been previously shown at WMG.
About the Juror: Vernita Nemec
Vernita N’Cognita aka Vernita Nemec is a visual/ performance artist/ curator who has exhibited her art throughout the world.
Her artwork ranges across a variety of disciplines, from creating installations, m/m collages and tangible art objects such as the “Endless Junkmail Scroll to the creation of performance art that conceptually investigates theatre and its edges – using language, space, and time, silence and stillness as well as movement and voice as an instrument of self-expression.
In the 90's she served for a decade as the Director of Artists Talk On Art interviewing art world luminaries such as Irving Sandler, Rob Storr, Jerry Saltz, Nancy Spero, Peter Plagens and Robert Rosenblum. She was an independent curator at Henry Street Settlement for the Arts and currently, is the director of Viridian Artists, art gallery in Chelsea, NYC.
In 1995, she assumed the name VERNITA N’COGNITA in homage to under-recognized artists. In addition to her ongoing artistic output, she has curated and organized important exhibitions of art from recycled materials (“Art from Detritus: Recycling with Imagination”) throughout the U.S., for which she received a Kauffman Foundation Fellowship and a grant from the Puffin Foundation.
Nemec AKA N’Cognita has presented her art in a variety of venues: galleries, universities and experimental spaces in the US, Mexico City, Darmstadt & Frankfurt in Germany; Dublin, Ireland and Tokyo, Japan. She has received funding for her performance art from the Jerome Fnd and the NEA and in 2010 and 2015 was invited by Movement Research to perform at Judson Church where performance art came alive in the 60’s.
Press Release: "Evil Plastic"
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“EVIL PLASTIC”
an “Art from Detritus” exhibit
Curated by Vernita Nemec
March 27-April 21, 2018
Reception: Thursday, March 29, 6-8PM
Lynn Neuman & Artichoke Dance Company, Thursday April 5th, 7 PM
Art Talk, Saturday April 21st, 4pm
Denise Adler * Catherine Armistead * Annaliese Bischoff * Ellen Burnett * Wendy Cloud *
Merill Comeau * Harry Delorme * May DeViney * Rachel Green * Julia Healy * Ed Herman * Halona Hilbertz * Michelle Lougee * Gail Mitchell * Lisa Moren * Lynn Neuman * Janet Nolan * Katherine Powers * Carol Quint * Helaine Soller * Jenifer R Stern * Courtney Lee Weida * Helen Zajkowski
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present the exhibit “EVIL PLASTIC”, featuring fine art made primarily from plastic trash. The heart of this exhibit is the message of the three R's: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle. The exhibit will open March 27th and continues through April 21st with a reception March 29, 6-8pm, a dance performance April 5th at 7PM & an Art Talk Saturday April 21st at 4PM. 10% of sales of these artworks in this exhibit will be given to an environmental organization fighting the evils of plastic.
“EVIL PLASTIC” attempts to say it straight: plastic trash has come to be a primary force in the destruction of our environment. The ocean is filled with gyres of plastic floating like islands and harboring dangers that lure fish, birds and sea mammals with a promise of food that has no nourishment. Coral reefs are being chocked by plastic debris. It is up to humans to master their creative energies to devise solutions to this eminent threat of annihilation.
Slowly we are beginning to develop compostable plastic or recycling & upcycling these materials into useful objects but will we do so quickly enough?. In the North Pacific Ocean, there are 6x more plastic debris than plankton. We have an island in the middle of the North Pacific Gyre, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch composed mostly of plastic. 10% of the plastic we use yearly ends up in the ocean.
Artists have long used trash as a medium but their message in this exhibit is clear. All these works are created primarily from plastic debris. Some of the works speak through the mere use of these materials, others are more decisive in their message of the evil of plastic if left untethered.
Since 1994, the changing groups of artists in these environmentally conscious exhibits, have opened a dialogue through their art making, about the importance of protecting the environment. “Art from Detritus”, or art from waste, was conceived by artist/ curator Vernita Nemec, that same year in Portland Oregon during the annual conference of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and presented in the lobby of a recycled Sears Roebuck building, the corporate head quarters for municipal waste & recycling there. Since then, the exhibit has re-occurred with funding from the Kauffman Foundation, the Puffin Foundation and sponsorship by the NRC. Past Detritus exhibitions have occurred in
Pittsburgh, Kansas City MO, Phoenix AZ, Turners Falls MA and NYC. See more information and images of past Detritus shows at www.ncognita.com.
Vernita Nemec, a.k.a. Vernita N'Cognita, is a visual & performance artist, a curator, the director of Viridian Artists and formerly the Director of Artists Talk on Art (ATOA). She is also on the board of Advisors of ATOA & Soho20.
Gallery hours Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212-414-4040, viridianartistsinc@gmail.com or view our website: viridianartists.com
John Nieman's Work is Reviewed in ART TOUR INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
“Peeping Tom" Watercolor, 48"x48
Here is an excerpt from the article:
Award winning artist and writer John Nieman is an internationally recognized American author of numerous novels and art books, well known for his unique realist style of painting that utilizes the subject overlaid with words to create an underlying message, a riddle, that the viewer is invited to explore with deep concentration and thought. Nieman manages to combine visualarts with literature, creating a result which is highly conceptual and balances between these two distinctive media to create a harmonious out come that intellectually challenges the public. In his new series, John Nieman moves the realm of curiosity into the lives of people by inviting his viewers into a shifted perspective as he experiments with the scope of intimacy and vulnerability. Exhibiting the experience ofNewYork as train rides turn into glimpses of a stranger's life. "All the apartments that line the tracks have their windows visible without any blinds.""We already have not much privacy in our lives, and these subjects seem to indicate that people do very little to protect their privacy"he states, as he shifts towards a more social conceptual focus in his artistic expression while utilizing his already well-developed creative tools. In essence,it is a work that refers to contemporary society and the privacy, solidarity, social life and all such concepts that are under radical redefinition. Thus the viewer is confronted with the hidden truths that most desire to keep private, yet openly leave themselves in a vulnerable position to be discovered, and seen for their truth.
Click Link Here to read full article
Press Release: "30 Under 30"
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"30 Under 30"
Juried by Chrissie Iles, Whitney Museum Curator
February 27- March 24, 2018
Reception Thursday March 1st, 6-8pm
Panel discussion moderated by Chrissie Iles, Saturday, March 3rd, 4PM
Closing reception Saturday March 24, 4-6pm
Catherine Armistead, Daniel Ashley, Min Baek, Kimberly Barnes, Darla Barolini,
Nicole Basilone, Julia Betts, Ashley Bouton, Amelia Calsi, Mei Fung Elizabeth Chan,
Yu-Ting Cheng, Courtney Clegg, Renee Cuny, Camilla Marie Dahl, Alyse Delaney,
Marcus DeSieno, Victoria Ermler, Kyle Hackett, Zhongwen Hu, Maria Kostareva, Giulia Livi , Graham Livingston, Kenish Magwood, Maya McCoy, Guy Miller jr, Hyungjo Moon,
Rajab Sayed, Claire Stankus, Teona Yamanidze, Katrina Slavik
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present for the second time an exhibition of artists who are all under 30 years of age. “30 Under 30“ continues from February 27 to March 24, with a reception to meet the artists, Thursday March 1st, 6-8PM. and a panel discussion moderated by curator Chrissie Iles with selected artists from the exhibit happening Saturday March 3rd at 4PM
In a world changing culturally and politically more rapidly than ever, these artworks perhaps offer a clue to future ways artists look at their lives and times through art making. The artists in this exhibition were selected from a “call for art” the gallery sent out to discover what young artists are thinking about and creating art about in these times. From a wide range of applicants, the art of 30 artists - all under 30 years of age - was selected by Chrissie Iles, a curator at the Whitney Museum.
No longer is it possible to get large workspaces or showing spaces without huge rents. The struggle to be an artist full time is a dream few can afford and making art in shared spaces is the rule rather than the exception. Consequently, Viridian has created an affordable membership program for young and gifted artists for we realize not only how expensive space is today both for showing and working, but also, how important it is for artists to live and show their art in a competitive and supportive environment.
As in the case of our juried exhibit open to artist of all ages & persuasions, Viridian has instituted a digital presentation of 30 artists selected by the gallery director, Vernita Nemec, giving an opportunity to 30 additional artists and giving gallery visitors a chance to see the work of more artists of merit.
Just how difficult is it now is for young artists to achieve their dreams of fame, respect and possibly fortune? What are their concerns? What materials do they work with? Why are some still making art in traditional materials & in traditional ways? How has social media, astronomical rents, and less space changed the way in which artists just beginning their careers express themselves creatively?
To learn the answers to some of these questions, gallery visitors are invited to look at the art itself & also to meet some of the artists at the opening and closing receptions. There will also be a panel discussion moderated by Ms. Iles on Saturday, March 3rd at 4PM when artists that were selected by both Ms. Iles & Ms. Nemec will talk about their work.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com
Wally Gilbert Retrospective Show in Cambridge, MA
Wally Gilbert
"Fanlights - Red"
2017
60" x 40"
Digital Sublimation Print on Aluminum with a High Gloss finish.
LabCentral will host a Wally Gilbert Retrospective
from February 19 to April 12, 2018.
Reception with the artist:
Tuesday, March 20, 5 to 7 pm
The show is in three galleries at
700 Main Street,
North Cambridge, MA 02139
Hours: Monday to Friday, :9 am to 4:30 pm
For access until 6 pm or for a guided tour Please email Shazia Mir: smir@labcentral.org
For more information about the LabCentral Reception:
Please click here
Vernita Nemec's Solo Show : Review Featured on the Gallery & Studio Arts Journal
Viridian's Director, Vernita Nemec: Solo Show at Crary Art Gallery in Warren, PA
Press Release: “COMMON THREADS” : New Viridian Artists & Alums
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“COMMON THREADS”
New Viridian Artists & Alums
January 30- February 24, 2018
Opening reception Thursday, February 1, 6-8pm
Closing Reception: Saturday, February 24th, 4-6pm
Ellen Burnett * Mary Tooley Parker * Ron Moore
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran * Toto Takamori
Kiffi Diamond * Barbara Gerard
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present an exhibition of outstanding art by five artists that Viridian is newly representing and 2 artists who are part of our artist alumni program. The exhibition continues from January 30 to February 24, 2018 with an opening reception on Thursday, February 1, 6-8pm.
New to the gallery’s ranks are Ellen Burnett and Mary Tooley Parker while Srividya Kannan Ramachandran, Toto Takamori and Ron Moore have all graduated from Viridian’s Affiliate Program.
So what are the “Common Threads” between these artists? Most importantly, they each share a 21st Century approach to their work, either in their use of material or in the way they approach their subject. Tooley Parker incorporates actual threads, while Burnett and Diamond each find the threads that connect the unique elements that then accumulate into a whole in their works. Ramachandran’s and Takamori’s art both evolve through layers of processing - Takamori’s in paint & Ramachandran’s in compute technology. Finally, Moore & Gerard share a fascination with more traditional approaches to paint and sculpture, arising out of spiritual motivations.
Ellen Burnett is an artist who uses objects that she sees to have “potential beyond their initial existence.” She creates assemblages from artifacts that have been collected, saved, stashed away or given to her with the words “I saw this and thought of you.” A rusted piece of something, a feather, a bone, a dead hard drive assemble and congregate until a conversation begins among them and a narrative unfolds a story that has never been told before.
Burnett was a graphic designer before turning full time to creating fine art and her precise compositions demonstrate her ability to uniquely blend the elements of texture, shape, balance and movement. Born in NYC to depression era parents, the artist has incorporated the frugality of those times into an art form that addresses “making something from nothing.” But just as importantly, the artist is upcycling and transforming the detritus of our 21st century culture of consumption into unique assemblages of its discards.
Mary Tooley Parker is a textile maker using textiles as paint and was awarded a 2015 Fellowship by the New York Foundation for the Arts. After a career in dance, and then in art production at Vanity Fair and GQ magazines, Mary Tooley Parker left New York City for a more rural environment. While there, she became interested in textiles of different forms, eventually focusing on the indigenous American folk art of hooking “rugs.” Her hooked artwork focuses on realistic interpretations of people and nature, whether from memories, dreams, or visual images.
Science has shown that a different part of the brain is stimulated when viewing textile art than when viewing fine art. Appealing to the senses, especially touch; textile art gives a feeling of warmth and familiarity before the brain even registers the visual image. Working in this simple medium affords Tooley Parker a strong connection not only to the fibers running through her
fingertips, but also to the women who used fiber mediums to express themselves during difficult times. The artist carries this tradition into the contemporary art world by taking these rugs off the floor and onto the wall to be viewed as art.
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran came to Viridian as a Director’s Choice winner in the gallery’s 25th International Juried Exhibition. Though showing her photography at that time, her images in this show were entirely created by an Artificially Intelligent machine. Ramachandran’s creation of an AI artist – her alter artist-self - is a wave of the future we may all be forced to deal with down the road, but she does it with purpose. The artist states “Like a parent or teacher teaching art to a student, I trained the artificial brain (a network of neurons) in my own artistic style. After the training process is complete, the AI system is free to produce art, as it desires. The promise of imbuing a machine with creativity opens new vistas for “art” as we define and know it.” Not surprisingly, in her other life, she works as a data scientist concentrating on capital investments and marketing strategies.
Working in metal, California sculptor Ron Moore creates imaginative figures of female acrobats & jumping horses as well as ornate gates of iron. Since graduating from the California College of Arts & Crafts with a BFA, his art has been featured in Architectural Digest and is part of many private collections. When asked about the meaning behind his art, the artist says that on a personal level, he attempts to represent the inner struggles of trying to wrestle free from personal limitations. “Beyond that, to hopefully 'run and soar' with the spirit of artistic wildness, as long as time and inspiration allows.”
Toto Takamori’s tiny oil paintings on canvas evolve over months with layer upon layer of pigment using a “wet on wet” technique. Though his earlier paintings were realistic portraits, he has become involved with working totally abstractly in this series, infatuated with color & texture and the unique effects created with over 50 layers of pigment. In some cases he adds pieces of plastic, paper or metal to the surface to create an almost collaged relief of color. Takamori has begun to experiment with different combinations of color and translucency in order to alter the surface, akin to nature’s altering the surface of a rock. Tokyo-based, the artist has exhibited his work there since 2004 at numerous galleries, art fairs and foundations.
Kiffi Diamond and Barbara Gerard were each past Viridian Artists and return now as Alumni.
Like Burnett, Kiffi Diamond creates assemblages inspired by collecting detritus, old ephemera that she uses to represent people, animals and abstract spaces. She too feels the history of old things adding to the evocative story she is telling. The colors, textures and worn qualities appeal to her aesthetics while environmental concerns drive her to use and reuse existing materials. “Sometimes the results surprise me. Disturbing images emerge along with funny ones. I feel like a scientist studying evolution as my pieces grow and develop.” Diamond has been working in collage and assemblage since being introduced to it at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
On her website, Barbara Gerard describes her art as “powerful but gentle.” She’s very involved with capturing in land and seascapes a sense of the spirituality of nature. A mixed-media artist, she often incorporates sand and stones in her painting, bringing to the work, the textures as well as the images of water and earth. Speaking about her art, the artist states that “exploring harmony with the sea though itself, the reflection of serenity. My nature emanates from land and water and it is inseparable from the totality of the sea.” We look forward to sharing this beautiful exhibition with you.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistsinc@gmail.com website: www.viridianartists.com
A walking tour through our Holiday Show with Viridian's Director Vernita Nemec: Video by William Patrick Armstrong
Press Release: "COMPLEXITIES" : New Work by Viridian Affiliates
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"COMPLEXITIES"
January 2-27, 2018
Reception: Thursday, January 11, 6-8pm
Closing Reception, Thursday, January 25, 6-8pm
JOSHUA GREENBERG, ROSEMARY K. LYONS, ARLENE FINGER, SARAH RILEY,
MICHAEL RECK, MEREDETH TURSHEN
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present an exhibition of outstanding art by six artists who are part of Viridian Artists’ Affiliate program. The work of each artist contains a complexity of intents and outcomes yet all approach their vision in a unique manner.
JOSHUA GREENBERG uses photo-based imagery to create abstract art. In Cityscape Abstracts, he explores the use of concrete, glass and steel to make abstraction. Alleyways, buildings, and sunlight are captured and transformed into art with shadows, reflections, and variable textures providing a framework to view the busy abstraction of the city. Varying shades of gray, black and white highlight movement and frame the isolated beauty of city landscapes. For the artist, this series illustrates how photo-based imagery may help extend the use of less explored dimensions of photography to create contemporary art.
Rosemary K. Lyons’ “Alter Pieces” is an ongoing series inspired by early medieval altar pieces. Painted in the ancient technique using egg tempera, hers carry a modern twist that electrifies our cultural disconnect by portraying beautiful flowers with evocative words embossed in bas relief gold structures. Lyons states, “the words are from an internal dialogue about my existence as an artist.”
ARLENE FINGER has developed her own form of representation after carefully studying light and shadow. She is interested in the color and the play of shapes, but feels free to interpret reality in her own way. Whether looking out the window or portraying objects on the table the artist’s personal vision inhabits the work.
Michael Reck states "Working with stencils and spray paint has freed me from overthinking composition and allowed me to focus on experimenting with color and the variable nature of the medium. I simply continue adding layers until I arrive at the final image. Being unable to see through the stencils keeps me from knowing exactly what that image will be."
Sarah Riley’S subject matter comes from literature, history & memory that she develops by repeatedly layering different images, created on the computer, with scans of my drawings, paintings and prints manipulated in the computer. ‘Katrina’s Banner for Prituri’ evolved from a banner made for Katrina Guittar’s dance piece “Prituri. A digital piece, it can be printed on many materials from as large as 9 feet in length down to postage stamp size. “The piece is emotional and I have used many of my past images of Camille Claudel and Seraphine de Senlis, Oppression. Sublimation. Transcendence. There is life in mental institutions, and art cut tragically short. I had the feeling of a ceiling by Tiepolo in mind. ”The artist goes on to say “Obviously this piece is saying something that is very difficult to put into words.”
Meredeth Turshen creates striking oil paintings on paper that can be interpreted as summery landscapes or read as abstract works. Inspired by Paul Cézanne, the nineteenth century Post-Impressionist painter, Turshen layers delicate oil colors on graphite drawings, giving the work character and depth.
VIRIDIAN'S AFFILIATE PROGRAM is one of the many ways in which VIRIDIAN continues its mission of supporting the art of outstanding "underknown" artists.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com & SEE US ON ARTSY
Press Release: “A Political Apolitical Holiday Show” Viridian Artists' 47th Annual Holiday Invitational
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“A Political Apolitical Holiday Show”
Viridian Artists' 47th Annual Holiday Invitational
December 5, 2017 – December 30, 2017
Reception Thursday, December 7, 6-8 PM
Closing Reception: Saturday, December 30, 4-6 pm
Chelsea: Viridian Artists' 47th annual holiday invitational, “A Political Apolitical Holiday Show” will open December 5th with a reception Thursday, December 7th, 6-8PM. The exhibition continues through December 30th, 2017. As we near the close of 2017, many of us are filled with a sense of trepidation and apprehension about the future of our planet, but we cannot give up hope. Though the populations of today's world are afflicted with anguish and fearfulness about the ever-pressing reality of war, starvation, political upheaval, religious intolerance, global warming and more, we must celebrate the good. Despite the bad, there is much in the world to celebrate. In early, more primitive times, many cultures realized that the artist was the shaman who possessed the powers that could make us well, create wealth, power, destroy illness and evil. It was art, not science that soothed the spirit – it was art that saved us. With the power of the creative spirit in mind, Viridian has invited artists to present their art to aid in the healing of your spirit, or perhaps to just remind you of what we must fight against. In addition, to aid visitors in finding gifts for those who matter in their lives, the gallery has created its annual Olde Arte Shoppe filled with artist-made gifts of prints, photography, jewelry, cards, etc. all priced under $100 for last minute holiday shopping or just for giving t o oneself... Come, dress festively & celebrate the power of art within us.
Featured artists include:
Renee Borkow * Ellen Burnett * Henry Coupe * May DeViney * Bernice Faegenburg *
Tazuko Fuji * Alan Gaynor * Wally Gilbert * Kat King * Namiyo Kubo * Matthias Merdan *
John Nieman * Stacey Clarfield Newman * Mary Tooley Parker * Filippo Prandi *
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran * Oi Sawa * Susan Sills * Ron Moore * Virginia Evans Smit * Angela Smith * Robert Smith * Sarah Riley * Deborah Sudran * Toto Takamori *
Bob Tomlinson * Michael Reck * Arlene Finger * Joshua Greenberg * Marie-Ange Hoda Ackad *
Kiffi Diamond * Barbara Gerard * Rosemary Lyons * Halona Hilbertz * Flora Hogman *
Flash Light * Angela M. LaMonte * Nancy Nicol * Carol Quint * Petronia Paley * Marcia Lloyd *
Vernita N’Cognita * Jenny Belin * Katrin Heyer * Ursula Clark * Hawk Alfredson *
Maki Hajikano * William Frucht * Harini De * Bryan Smith * Jane Talcott * John Lloyd *Sheila Smith * Vidho Lorville *
Susan Hoeltzel * Ayako Bando * Kayo Albert * Meghan McKee * Nancy Kolbert * Naoaki Funayama * William Patrick Armstrong * Cynthia Mailman *
Jade Lowder * Ed Herman * Jimmy Salmon * Elizabeth Ginsberg * Bernice Sokol Kramer * Silvia Aviles and others
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact Vernita Nemec, Director or Jenny Belin, Assistant Director at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com or www.viridianartists.com
“From Virtual To Actual 6” Exhibition Featured on NY Art Beat
![[Image: Jeff Watts “Central Park Row Boats” 16 x 20 in. Photo Print on Metalic Paper]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bc8e32c534a51bf908d729/1512668202018-XR5UPOQ79PT1NZFLR3ZA/Jeff_Watts-_DSC6064.JPGalt.jpg)
[Image: Jeff Watts “Central Park Row Boats” 16 x 20 in. Photo Print on Metalic Paper]
“From Virtual To Actual 6” Exhibition Featured on NY Art Beat:
Art In a Box Benefit at Viridian Friday, December 1st 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Art In a Box Benefit at Viridian
Join us for : Art in a Box's Art Exhibition and Holiday Party for Artists and Collectors Exhibition to Benefit Children at Risk
Friday, December 1, 2017, 5-8 PM
Viridian Artists
548 W 28th Street
Suite 632
New York, NY 10001
(212) 414-4040
Help empower children with the gift of art!
Art in a Box assists children and young artists around the world who are in need, disadvantaged by poverty, or who are facing crisis situations due to war, public health emergencies, or natural disasters, and supports their recovery and empowerment through art and art education. Art in a Box is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, nonprofit organization.
Contact information: Valentina DuBasky at Art in a Box:
212-691-2543, or e-mail us at artpartners@aol.com
Alan Gaynor's Photograph Receives Honorable Mention in "Patterns and Shadows" 2017 call for entry.
Alan Gaynor's photograph, "185 WEA NYC" has been selected by juror Stephen Perloff as an Honorable Mention in the PATTERNS AND SHADOWS 2017 Call for Entry.
Congratulations to Alan!
www.nyc4pa.com