Vernita N'Cognita
August 25- September 3, 2017
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 25th, 6-8 pm
open mostly by appt - call 609 731 2140
Press Release: "Selfies & Self-Portraits: 21st C Artists See Themselves"
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"Selfies & Self-Portraits: 21st C Artists See Themselves"
September 5 - September 30, 2017.
Thursday, September 7, 6-8PM. Opening Reception and a book signing of Ann Zinman Leventhal's new novel, “Among the Survivors". Thursday September 28, 6-8PM A night of portraiture. All are invited to draw or be drawn!
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present "Selfies & Self-Portraits: 21st C Artists See Themselves", which extends from September 5 through September 30 2017. The opening reception will be on Thursday, September 7, 6-8PM with a book signing by Ann Z Leventhal.
Artists have been creating self-portraits since the beginning of time, but now with cell phone cameras, the selfie has become the ubiquitous portrayal of self. The selfie has become today's self-portrait, but does it go beyond being just a likeness of the self which the artist has created or is it self-indulgence?
What is a self-portrait? What meanings does it encompass? How honest is reality or an artists' interpretation, even with a media so direct as the iPhone? Couldn't it just be the moment and an arbitrary decision to snap the shutter or be based on the composition of shapes in the image? Is it photography in the same way as our trusty old 35mm cameras performed? Is it more truthful than a brush and paint with a mirror nearby? What is art? What is reality?
Viridian has invited guest artists, as well as its usual entourage, to create and show images they feel represent themselves. Artists were invited to send us a "selfie", aka 21st C self-portrait and to create their selfie in the form of an art object in any media they desire. All the while, thinking about who they are/ what inspires & what motivates them. Or just to do an old-fashioned self-portrait!
Some are outrageous, some political, some as classical as Durer, Rembrandt, but with a twist. Today's self-portraiture because of a thousand reasons has become more diverse & more conceptual. How we see artists from the past may have to do more with their self-portrayals than documents in their archives. But how we see artists today via their self-image is a whole new conundrum.
On the last Thursday evening of the exhibit, September 28th, there will be an evening of portrait drawing. All interested are invited to bring their drawing pads & materials to create self- portraits or portraits of each other. Guests are invited to pose for portraits which can be traded or paid for at the rate of $1 a minute. Come between 6-8PM & participate or just observe. A good time is guaranteed for all! The exhibition continues until Saturday, September 30th.
Renee Borkow * Ellen Burnett * May DeViney * Alan Gaynor * Wally Gilbert * Srividya Kannan Ramachandran * Kat King * Namiyo Kubo * Phillip McConnell * Matthias Merdan * John Nieman * Mary Tooley Parker * Susan Sills * Virginia Evans Smit * Angela Smith * Deborah Sudran* Kiffi Diamond * Arlene Finger * Ron Moore * Sarah Riley * Kathleen Shanahan * Jenny Belin * Vernita N’Cognita * William Patrick Armstrong * Emmett Barnacle * Jenny Brown * Naomi Christianson * d'Ann de Simone * Dave Dorsey *Julie Gautier-Downes* Melanie Gritzka del Villar *
Olga Garcia Guerra * Charity Henderson * Ed Herman* Flora Hogman * Jieun Beth Kim * Megan Klim *Bernice Sokol Kramer * Angela M. LaMonte * Arturo Lindsay * Vidho Lorville * Jade Lowder * Sara Madandar * Song Lee * Shawn Marshall * Chang Sik Moon * Petronia Paley * Jesse Parajeckas * Carol Quint * Mariko Spigner * Sharon Wybrants * Andrea Barnes * Rarri Oro * Michael Pegues and others!
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com
Remembering Viridian Artist Barbara K. Schwartz: 1927-2017
Barbara K. Schwartz: 1927-2017
Sadly, Viridian has lost a member of our family. Barbara K. Schwartz, who has been a member of the gallery since 1978, died on July 26th. We will miss her deeply. Posted below is Barbara's obituary from the New York Times. We send our deepest condolences to her family and her friends.
SCHWARTZ--Barbara M., on July 26, 2017. Internationally known artist and teacher. Beloved wife of Robert, devoted mother and mother-in-law of Ellen and Frank Ruck, Andrew Schwartz and Brian Keane. Adored grandmother of Aaron Wolff and great-grandmother of Ryan and Emma. Memorial service Tuesday, August 1st, 2pm at "The Riverside," 76 St. and Amsterdam Ave. Donations in her memory to: The High School of Performing Arts, NYC.
Press Release: "The Heat Is On"
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"THE HEAT IS ON"
July 18- August 5, 2017
Reception Thursday July 20th, 6-8pm
Closing Reception, Thursday August 3rd, 6-8 pm
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN * DEB FLAGEL * MICHAEL RECK * RON MOORE *
JENNY BELIN * VERNITA N’COGNITA
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 show extends from July 18th to August 5th with a reception to meet the artists Thursday July 20th, 6-8pm.
"The Heat Is On" alludes to the often pressing circumstances of life, our drive to move forward, the need to do it now, and of course, hot topics like the environment. Art offers artists solutions and ways of dealing with "the heat" of daily life. But the art itself gives the viewers too methods and means to cope with life's surprises and pitfalls. These artists will help you bear it all by visually seducing you in a wide variety of ways. Take your pick and be cool!!
MICHAEL RECK has been working exclusively with spray paint and stencils for several months now and recently reintroduced color back into the mix after working primarily in black and white for the past couple of years. "As the medium necessitates working in front of an exhaust fan, I have been trying to produce as much as possible before the New York summer grows too hot to work (or breathe) comfortably."
DEB FLAGEL "My work is an accumulation of momentary glances encountered on a daily basis. As my eye records the environmental landscape that surrounds me, my mind begins to weave line, color and shape, constructing a sort of self identity...a personal cultural fabric."
Flagel holds an MFA in Visual Communication from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her professional background includes teaching, freelance design and restoration of commercial spaces and she has been an exhibiting artist since 2005. Her work has been shown in Chicago, New York, and places in-between. In addition, she serves as the Executive Director for Woman Made Gallery in Chicago.
Sculptor RON MOORE, when I ask for some words about his art, says “The Heat is On', is certainly apropos of our difficult, and continually upsetting times!! ~ Although my piece, which is entitled; 'Yearning's', may not be specifically aligned with those larger frustrations. ~ On a personal level, it attempts to represent the inner struggle(s), of trying to wrestle free from personal limitations. Then beyond that, to hopefully 'run and soar' with the spirit of artistic wildness, as long as time and inspiration allows.”
In this group of works by KATHLEEN SHANAHAN, nature-inspired forms are partnered with contrasting elements, resulting in new visual entities. “In their stacked formations, these forged visual associations resemble totems. Appreciation of both the micro and the macro elements in nature and our attentiveness to them, especially given global warming and climate change, is both apropos and crucial to our humanity.” For the artist, this kind of preoccupation and focus is a much welcome and paradoxical escape/responsibility.
JENNY BELIN’S drawings are inspired by 1950s/1960s swimsuit models. “As a feminist I am intrigued by the history of pinups: bombshell images of women were iconic at a time when sexuality was often perceived as a threat.”
VERNITA N'COGNITA continues to deal with the overabundance of stuff that would be thrown away if it were not made into art. These collages combine security envelope textures from junkmail with flipped and broken images from fashion magazines and other found fragments as the artist interweaves environmental realities and feminist fantasies in these works from the late 90’s 'til now.
Viridian's Affiliate Program is an important aspect of the gallery's mission to expand exhibition opportunities for outstanding under-known contemporary artists, those young as well as those older.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts, CA.
One of Srividya Kannan Ramachandran's photographs will be included in the juried show "Stories through Photography" at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts in California from July 22 to Sept 17, 2017.
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran showing 3 paintings at fashion show + art show + live painting + barbecue charity event. One night only!.
The Set NYC presents: CoutureMask: Bikini Block Party. An event to help end NYC depression and poverty. The mission of The Set NYC is to empower and build people up from poverty situations to sustainable living. Friday, June 304pm - 10pm 21 and over event
Chelsea Manhattan296 9th Ave.
CoutureMask & Bradley Douglas Jordan Bikini Fashion Show. Also showcasing Swim Suit fashion shows, Bikini Bottom Show, Outdoor Meat Grill, Outdoor VEGAN grill, Keg Beer, Outdoor Mural Live Painting, MERMAID Fashion Show, Sea Creatures, Art Exhibitions, Live Bands. $25 unlimited BBQ and keg beer. $30 at door.
Poetry and Art by Srividya Kannan Ramachandran in "Mom Egg Review"
The Girl in the Apartment Below
As the train whistled past the lonely road,
She stood still.
The stale neon lights illumined
the plastic smile on her lips.
Her burdened shoulder drooped.
Yet, she waved.
She was all but ten.
I got a glimpse of her sorrow beneath,
I blinked, and she was gone.
Why didn’t I share my journey with her?
She was all but ten.
–Srividya Kannan Ramachandran
--from "Mom Egg Review Literature and Art" Link here
"The Mind is a Clean Canvas"; Oil on Canvas; 24 x 36 in; painting by Srividya Kannan Ramachandran
Wally Gilbert Art Show at Salon R
Doors to Nowhere
New Wally Gilbert Art Show at
Salon R
703 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge MA 02140
617-491-2300
June 21st to August 25th, 2017
Tuesday 9:30 – 5:00
Weds & Thurs 9:30 – 8:00
Friday 9:30 – 5:00
Saturday 8:00 – 2:30
Opening Reception: Tuesday, July 11, 6 – 8 pm
"Doors to Nowhere"
45" x 30"
Digital print on Aluminum with a high gloss finish.
Press Release: Viridian's 28th Annual International Juried Exhibition
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Viridian's 28th Annual International Juried Exhibition
Juried by Susan Thompson, Assistant Curator at the Guggenheim Museum
June 27– July 15, 2017
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 29, 6-8 pm
1st prize Ana Lucia Cano Villegas 2nd prize Lorna Stovall 3rd prize Keith Tang
Marie-Ange Ackad * Jessica Alazraki * Andrew Amundsen * Nan Brall * Andrew Brown *
Josh Brinlee * Ellen Burnett * Ana Lucia Cano Villegas * Susan Copich * Deborah Druick * Shawna Hanel * Howard Hastie * Marcos Hernandez * Dinora Justice * Joanna Madloch *
Pavel Muller * Christopher Nathan Nelson * Max Neuman * Aya Ogasawara * Aimee Perez * Barbara Rubensohn * Ingrid Scheibler * Scott Springer * Lorna Stovall * Keith Tang *
Brian Turkowski
Chelsea: Viridian Artists Inc. is pleased to present our 28th International Juried Exhibition curated by, Susan Thompson, Assistant Curator at the Guggenheim Museum The exhibition opens June 27th and continues through July 16th, 2016. In celebration, a special reception will be held on Thursday, June 29h, 6-8pm. We are especially pleased to present awards to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of this important competition that brings the art of emerging and under-recognized artists to the attention of museum curators.
The competition selection as always was difficult, but especially so for the nature of art in our world today encompasses a wide variety of methods, materials and conceptualizations of what art is. And there were so many outstanding submissions.
More than 550 artists submitted over 2000 submissions, a daunting task, but Susan Thompson, who juried this year's competition, did an outstanding job.
In her curatorial statement Ms. Thompson states "In reviewing the diverse pool of entrants, I found that I was most compelled by the artists who were pushing the boundaries of their selected medium and created works that were slightly unsettling. In some cases, this meant new, unusual, or surprising use of materials. In other works, this was reflected in strange or disquieting compositions. Many of the artists made fruitful use of unique combinations of color, texture, pattern, or imagery, often using collage to create generative juxtapositions. All are wholly original in their point of view. I am most grateful for the opportunity to review the work of so many impassioned creators and congratulate the winners and finalists on their selection for the exhibition."
As always, Viridian makes an effort to expand the opportunities for outstanding art to be seen and exhibited. Consequently, the gallery Director's Choices will also be viewable in digital form. At a later date, we hope to exhibit their actual art. We feel it important to tangibly demonstrate that curatorial choice is often as much about personal taste as it is about the "quality" of the art for "quality" in art is often open to opinion.
"Director's Choice" to be presented digitally
Andrew Amundson * Justin Archer * Suzanne Barton * Ellen Burnett * MinSeok Chi *
Ashley Comer * Susan Copich * DeShaun Craddock* Kim Curinga * Edgardo Dander * Matthew Derezinski * Santiago Echeverry* Kate Holcomb Hale * Terry Hastings *
Charles Hildebrandt * Jim Jacobs * Aaron Kalinay* Youngho Kang * Katy Mixon *
Yuko Mizobuchi, * Aimee Perez * Lou Peterson* Aya Ogasawara * Holly Wilson *
Juror Statement from Susan Thompson:
It has been an honor to serve as juror for Viridian’s 26th International Juried Competition. It was my privilege to review 2,223 entries from over 551 artists and a daunting challenge to identify the 28 remarkable artworks ultimately selected for inclusion in this year’s exhibition. The submissions included an extraordinary range of artists working in a wide variety of media, each offering a unique perspective and singular approach to art making. I was impressed by the high level of skillful technique and conceptual thought captured in each work. Ultimately, my selections were guided by the instincts, preferences, and knowledge I have developed over the past decade working as a curator in the field of contemporary art.
The exhibition checklist includes works in painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography. In reviewing the diverse pool of entrants, I found that I was most compelled by the artists who were pushing the boundaries of their selected medium and created works that were slightly unsettling. In some cases, this meant new, unusual, or surprising use of materials. In other works, this was reflected in strange or disquieting compositions. Many of the artists made fruitful use of unique combinations of color, texture, pattern, or imagery, often using collage to create generative juxtapositions. All are wholly original in their point of view. I am most grateful for the opportunity to review the work of so many impassioned creators and congratulate the winners and finalists on their selection for the exhibition.
John Nieman in Two Upcoming Shows
John Nieman will be exhibiting work at the gallery@oxo in London, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street South Bank, London SEI 9PH. Opening Night is Thursday 20th July 2017 6.30pm - 8.30pm. Exhibition Dates: 19th-23rd July 2017. Click here for more info.
NIeman's work will also be exhibited in the "Paper Works 2017" exhibit at the Upstream Gallery in Hastings-On-Hudson, NY from June 22-July 23. Opening is June 25, 2-5. Click here for more info.
Jenny Belin Showing in Park Slope
Jenny Belin's flower paintings and feminist pins.
Jenny Belin will be having a show of recent paintings at the The Diana Kane Boutique in Park Slope. Opening Wednesday, June 28 at 5 PM - 8 PM. Paintings will be on view throughout the summer. 229 5th Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11215. Click here for the boutique's website.
Vernita Nemec at Van Der Plas Gallery
"Face Up" by Vernita N’Cognita
14 x 11 inches, Mixed Media collage.
Viridian's Director Vernita Nemec has two collages in an upcoming exhibit at Van Der Plas Gallery at 156 Orchard Street. The opening reception is Wednesday June 28th 6-8pm
Susan Sills at the Brooklyn Museum
Viridian Artist Susan Sills has a large installation entitled "Que Sera, Seurat" in the Brooklyn Museum staff art show.
Viridian Artist Member Wally Gilbert in Group Show in Vermont
Wally Gilbert at VermontArts.Gallery
"Sparkling Summer Celebration"
Artists Reception
Saturday, July 1st – Noon to 3 o'clock
VermontArts.Gallery
78 Creampot Road
Heartland, Vermont
Tel. 802 436 2200
Contact VermontArts.Gallery at VermontArtsGallery.com@gmail.com for an Invitation and celebrate Digital Art in the heart of Vermont.
"Trees - Blue"
A 60" x 40" panel on a Flush Mount.
Digital print on Aluminum with a high gloss finish.
Wally Gilbert's art is available both on aluminum and as prints on paper. These, as well as his scarves with digital prints on a soft, light chiffon, are all available at Viridian. See Wally Gilbert portfolio above and also our web store.
N'Cognita featured in The Villager Newspaper, NYC.
Photographer: Tequila Minsky
Press Release: May DeViney "what was, what is, and what if?"
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May DeViney
"what was, what is, and what if?"
June 6-June 24, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 10th, 4-6 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, June 24th 4-6 pm
Chelsea: Viridian Artists Inc. is pleased to present the exhibition “what was, what is, and what if?”, a mixed media exhibition by May DeViney. The show opens June 6 and continues through June 24, 2017. The artist will present an informative talk about her work on Saturday, June 24, 4-6 pm.
The artist, in the past & now, has demonstrated an ongoing interest in workers and domestic drudgery, often dangerously spoofing the grateful, subservient attitudes expected of those who work, most often exemplified by the Madonna. No subject is taboo to her, and her themes can overlap as she shows the Madonna doing the laundry, nuns or burka clothed women wearing the American flag, reminding us of the mysteries of religious practice & the ongoing situation of women. Using the Madonna as the image of the perfect woman, DeViney shows how this is an impossible expectation for real flesh-and-blood women to achieve. She continues to expand on this theme, including different classic females crossed with the Madonna.
"Feminism is a strong element for me. Current United States and world dynamics only show more urgently that women must be considered as full human beings with autonomy and rights, and that this is the only way society can deal with today’s issues and build a better future for all. I show how women here at home are surprisingly still being treated as property and given no power to control their own bodies and lives."
DeViney is creatively inspired by a number of politically tinged issues and continues to surprise with each presentation, opening up whole new worlds of thought for viewers to consider as they meander through the artworks presented. She creates with no holds barred, highlighting a spectrum of issues affecting both sexes, including free speech, gun violence, militarization/imperialism, and the 99% strata.
DeViney has won many awards for a past series she did based on “home shrines” which were created to exalt and commemorate not the usual saints, but instead, the common “everywoman”. She is the one who has suffered in all cultures from the expectation of perfection and purity enforced upon her by both society and herself.
DeViney began as a painter but has turned to creating mixed media constructions, which incorporate paintings, found objects and cast-off detritus built into three-dimensional multi-media wall pieces, and sculpture. Predominately representational, her constructions contain the flavor of H. L. Westermann and Grant Wood combined with the styles of Renaissance historical and religious art. Her shadowbox works are tiny worlds where cross-historical figures interact at a three-inch scale, shining a stern light on social issues of the human condition that began centuries ago but continue to exist. Recently, she has added collage as an additional media to get her always political messages across.
In “Unauthorized Autobiography” a show from 2000, DeViney made us privy to not only what she intended us to see, but, realized that she also unknowingly revealed “secrets”, and those “secrets”, those unintended revelations, can be as telling as the subject matter at hand. The same holds true in ordinary life, especially in this world of social media, where unknowingly, we often reveal more than we intend.
A native Mid-westerner, May DeViney attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she absorbed the influences of the Chicago Imagists and iconoclastic art movements such as the Hairy Who, where Hairy Who icon Jim Nutt, was her instructor.
She now resides in New England, studying art most recently at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Along the way she also earned a degree in Computer Science from Boston University, reflecting her detail-oriented, analytical eye. The experiences she has gained and her trenchant observations on the human condition are reflected in her work.
DeViney's art has been exhibited in New York and at university galleries & museums throughout the United States and is in many collections. It has also appeared in national publications including Harper’s Magazine, the New York Times, Wall Street International and the cover of Prism magazine.
For further information please contact the gallery at 212-414-4040 orviridianartistsinc@gmail.com.
N'Cognita at Theater for the New City
Theater for the New City Lower East Side Festival
Sunday, May 28, 2017 7:54PM for just 10 minutes
“Entangled”
created by
Vernita Nemec, also known as N'Cognita
with music by Larry Simon
The Theater for the New City Lower East Side Festival organized by Crystal field & happening Memorial Day weekend in NYC's Lower East Side at 1st Avenue & 10th Street will be presenting a multitude of 10 minute performances & readings- all free, all weekend. Among the performers & poets are Penny Arcade, Tammy Faye, Pheobe Legere, Nicky Paraiso, Reno, Yuko & Vernita N'Cognita. Come Sunday 7:54 PM to the Cabaret Theater (check the red door to the left of the 1st entrance) & stay for the evening!
In “Entangled”, N'Cognita again incorporates out of scale props to search within the media of performance for a clearer understanding of what it is to be a woman today. In this work, she has braided 600 yards of ribbon into a large ball and sits in a child sized chair as she explores with the audience unanswerable questions discovered in a book. The artist uses Butoh movement forms interpreted uniquely & personally to explore, along with words and props, conceptual ideas in her performance work. How our complicated lives entangle us.
Vernita Nemec, also known as N'Cognita to honor underknown artists, has been creating performance artworks since 1978 when she "occupied" a corner of Prince &Wooster Streets in early days of SoHo. Since that time she has presented more than 70 performances in the United States, Hungary, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Mexico and France, including guerrilla performances at the Pompidou Museum in Paris and Documenta 13 in Kasel. This is the third Lower East Side Festival season in which she has performed. A different iteration of "Entangled" was presented at Judson Church as part of the Movement Research Monday Night Series. Her performances can also be seen on UTube. Come Sunday 7:54 PM to the Cabaret Theater (check the red door to the left of the 1st entrance) & stay for the evening!
Press Release: BERNICE FAEGENBURG "TREES"
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BERNICE FAEGENBURG
"TREES"
May 16 - June 3, 2017
Reception, Saturday, May 20, 2-5pm
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present a solo exhibition of mixed media photography by artist Bernice Faegenburg. Opening on May 16, 2017, the exhibit will run through June 3rd, with a reception on Saturday, May 20, from 2-5pm.
Bernice Faegenburg is an artist who has always enjoyed experimenting and exploring new media. In this exhibition of new work, she has continued her involvement with nature and the environment, but her current focus is trees. Trees in all their glory.
In the past, Faegenburg's media focus has been primarily painting and Japanese brushwork, but this time she has had her digital photographs transformedin a variety of ways. Incorporating fabric for the first time, she has created installations of her images that flow both figuratively & literally as viewers stop before the work. In addition, she has used a variety of digital photographic apps and continues exploring and experimenting with them.
All about her love of trees, these new works take you out of the gallery and perhaps onto the backporch looking out at the woods or lawn behind your house- wherever the viewer prefers to imagine themselves. One can see the artist's love of nature and experimentation for she has taken her art beyond the stretched canvas and unto printed, airy and unstretched fabric blowing in the breeze as trees do.
Faegenburg's favorite tree is the Witch Hazel that is the first to bloom in her hometown of Roselyn, Long Island.She carries her camera everywhere with her, often stopping along the side of the road to catch an image, capturing trees in all their seasons of dress and undress. Despite the fact that most of the images in this exhibit start with a photograph, one can see her earlier influences of Japanese brush painting still.
Faegenburg has always approached her art making instinctively, allowing her images to grow out of her daily experiences. For her, the most important aspect of her art is the doing for process is as important to her as the outcome.
The artist did undergraduate work at the Tyler School of Fine Arts and Temple University, where she studied printmaking and egg tempera techniques in the Rennaisance manner. She came to New York after graduation, attending the National Academy of Design and receiving a Masters Degreee at C.W. Post College, studying painting and graphics with Robert Yasuda and later, Oriental philosopy and its relationshiop to painting with Jerry Okimoto
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12- 6 PM. 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
Press Release: Susan Sills: "Family Portraits"
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SUSAN SILLS
"FAMILY PORTRAITS"
April 25- May 13 2017
Reception, Saturday, April 29, 4-6 pm
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present a solo exhibition of drawings and paintings by artist Susan Sills. Opening on April 25, 2017, the exhibit will run through May 13th, with a reception on Saturday, April 29th, from 4-6pm.
After years of focusing on creating painted wooden sculptures of art historical themes and characters, the artist Susan Sills is returning to her first love - drawing, and to themes closer to her heart - her family.
As always, she is inspired by history, but this time she presents a history of her family as she has portrayed them over the years in ink, pencil and paint, working from life and more recently from photographs. Many of the newest portraits are based on family photographs she discovered in a box and recreated as oil paintings in sepia tones on canvas, recapturing a sense of past moments and lost memories. Who is that man in the fedora who resembles Humphrey Bogart? An uncle or a cousin somehow lost from the memories of those family members still living?
Sills' artistic career began early, studying at the Art Students League when she was just 12, surrounded by a family of artists, particularly her mother. Following in her grandfather's steps, who was a jeweler, she is also including jewelry she has created from geometric drawings and doodles saved from phone call jottings over the years.
For the past thirty years Sills has been noted for her life size cutout figures in painted birch plywood portraying famous characters from art history, creating over 100 of them. Over the years she has presented these works in a variety of ways - from life- size cut-outs of famous heads to grandiose tableaus and installations in which famous paintings come to life in our time with coke bottles, empty take-out food trays, etc. presenting these characters with humor & intelligence.
Sills has had 19 Solo shows, and is included in the Sylvia Sleigh Collection of Women Artists at Rowan University. She was also a featured artist in the recently published "100 New York Painters" by Cynthia Dantzic. She has had solo exhibitions at the Queens College Art Center and the Pensacola Museum of Art, which sponsored an educational experience for 4500 children and their teachers and her 2-D sculptures have also been used as a set for a dance performance at the Whitney Museum. Her art is in numerous corporate and museum collections and she has been represented by Viridian since 1979.
Her complete bio can be seen at susansillscutouts.com
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12- 6 PM. 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