FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
“UNIQUE VISIONS”
Viridian Affiliates
Tuesday, December 24 — Saturday, January 25, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 11, 4–6pm
Closing Reception Saturday, January 25 , 4–6pm
Deb Flagel * Dorothy Shaw * Jenny Belin
Joshua Greenberg * Michael Reck * Sarah Riley
Sheila Smith * Stephanie Lempres
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present “Unique Visions,” an exhibition of outstanding art by artists who are part of the Viridian Artists’ Affiliate program. The show opens Tuesday, December 24 and continues through Saturday, January 25, 2025 with an Opening Reception on Saturday, January 11, 6–8pm and a Closing Reception on Saturday, January 25 from 4–6pm.
“Art is such a critical and unique aspect of human civilization that each artist has a desire and responsibility to present their ‘Unique Vision’ to the world at large” is something I’m sure has been said by many but interestingly, A.I. goes on to say: “An artist's unique vision is their own approach to art, which is different from other artists and allows them to create something extraordinary. Some say that artists have different brain structures than non-artists, which allows them to see the world differently and focus on the whole visual field. This can help them to see shadows and contours that others might miss.”
Each of the artists in “Unique Visions” create in their own way and with unique intentions, but in addition, each viewer undoubtably receives the art uniquely without knowing why or how the artist made it. Still, sometimes an artist’s verbalization about their work helps us understand or appreciate it more. Sometimes though, the intensity of the art experience can be changed by words that have been written about it, so read on…
In the sixties, Sheila Smith was exposed to and inspired by the great photographers of that era when she worked as a secretary to the creative director of Columbia Records. She went on to study advertising and design at SVA, ultimately becoming an Art Director. Working with top photographers, Smith went on to study 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 photographs which have now become paintings as she alters and reconstructs them in photoshop.
Dorothy Shaw’s paintings are both abstractions and pictorial representations of places that she feels reside in her “memory and imagination, driven by observations of nature and a love of landscape – revealed through the transformative slow process of painting.”
Michael Reck’s paintings in this exhibit are very different texturally from his earlier work, but one can still see shadows of his earlier imagery. The paintings have the same repeated forms creating a visual language in each work, but now they have become almost three dimensional. About the work he says: "I wanted these new paintings to seem like undecipherable missives in a lost, obscure or alien language."
Jenny Belin is showing paintings of cats in gilded frames. The cat portraits come from the pages of a book that she is writing and illustrating titled “Sonnets for Sweet Potatoes: A Cat’s Guide to the ups and downs of NYC”. She began creating this project late last year as a compilation of painted and written portraits of the cats that she has known during her years in New York City.
Stephanie Lempres created “Winter Botanicals” as a series of images that explore the season’s minimalism. For her, they represent memories of childhood winters in Connecticut – grey afternoon light, frozen ponds and fading blue sky. Each unique piece on handmade paper offers the viewer a unique connection to nature during the season of spare beauty.
Sarah Riley’s art involves intuitive reactions to her subject matter. Color flow, line, and brushwork leave traces of those first moments in the finished work. She is after the surprise of what color, form and line can physically and mentally become.
Deb Flagel finds beauty in natural decay and repurposing. Drawn to abstract shapes, repetition, surface, she cuts, constructs, deconstructs, and layers until “I have an integrated surface, at which point I might choose to cut out areas of interest, scrap the rest for future projects and go from there.” Observing her surroundings, she seeks out bits of imperfection, like the Japanese Wabi Sabi and then her thought process immediately turns to stitching. “Once back at my studio, I pull out papers of all sorts, including food packaging such as cracker boxes, printed photographs I have taken, bits and pieces from past work, while sometimes cutting up finished works as well.” Traveling between Chicago and New York, she carries a portable studio with her, always being connected to her art practice as she seeks out exhibition opportunities, while making Viridian Artists, NYC her artistic home.
In The Colorful Whimsies, Joshua Greenberg uses photo-based imagery to create abstract art. In this series the works are dominated by large color fields showing abstract scenes in reds, yellows and blues. He wants the works to be light, humorous, surprising…and whimsical. To encourage viewers to interact with the art in a more focused and personal way, Greenberg uses his titles to give clues. Though photography has overcome the resistance it originally faced as “fine art”, in this series the artist illustrates how photo-based imagery may help extend the use of less explored dimensions of photography to create contemporary art.
We look forward to sharing these “Unique Visions” with you.
