Current Exhibit: Nature’s Narratives
The Kershner Gallery in the Fairfield Public Library will have a reception for “Nature’s Narratives”, the artwork of Susan Fehlinger, Corinne Lapin-Cohen, and Anda Styler on April 11 at 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The artists will talk about their work at 6 pm. The show can be viewed from April 6 to June 1 during library hours.
Corinne Lapin-Cohen lives and works in Katonah, New York, where she teaches drawing and painting at Stone House Studio. She graduated Russell Sage College with a degree in art history, and did her graduate work in environmental preservation. Corinne was the founder of the botanical art program at The Lasdon Arboretum, taught botanical watercolor and drawing at The New York Botanical Gardens, Northern Westchester Center for the Arts, was an adjunct professor at Lehman College and at the Katonah Museum of Art. She was part of the panel discussion “Artists Talking on Art” with the Smithsonian Institution, and appears as a guest lecturer for various groups speaking on botanical or abstract art.
Her artwork is exhibited in museums, universities, art galleries, corporate headquarters, botanical gardens, arboretums, hospitals and environmental centers throughout the country. She is included in the permanent collection of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University, Ameriprise, and Merrill Lynch. Her work is acquired by collectors and has been published in books and periodicals.
Corinne states, “I have painted traditional botanical watercolors for 25 years. My intention is to merge art and science – scientific awareness with the hand and eye of the artist.i. The importance of plants in our life is critical to our survival. My focus extends to the broader environmental impact upon bees, water, soil, and air quality. Currently I am creating large abstract oil and mixed media works on canvas. Although my work has evolved into a more abstract genre, humanity and the environment remain my focus. There is a balance between pure abstraction and identifiable subject matter. The ambiguity of meaning allows the paintings to have multiple layers of interpretation.”
Susan Fehlinger is a self-taught oil painter. She has exhibited widely in the area and she teaches at the Rowayton Art Center.
She says, “I had yearned to paint throughout my 35 year career as a television producer in New York city. So in 2003 I quit my job, bought a Bed and Breakfast and moved to Cape Cod. I wanted to explore my right brain after years of favoring the left. I discovered the palette knife that year and found that I could apply paint on a canvas quickly, thickly, and spontaneously. I loved the textures I could produce with the knife and I loved no brushes to wash. I began painting the coastal landscapes and cottages around me. I pushed the contrast of the Cape light, played with composition, scale, placement and negative/positive spaces. Hopper is my hero.
I want to create a strong sense of place, a familiar but somewhat abstracted place— that calm place that we long for in these unsettling times—and then to capture it when the light is just right.”
Anda Styler graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1983 with a BA in fine arts. She had her first show that same year and from there went on to many shows and gallery representation, group and solo with great success. She has also been published in several North Light books, Art in America Magazine,The Artists magazine, winning competitions in acrylic painting, and the NY Times, where twice her work was featured for upcoming exhibitions.
Over the years, she has had representation in fine art galleries in many different states. In Santa Fe NM, she fell in love with the landscape there and leaned to paint it with passion.
Anda says, “My passion is painting and I love creating composition, color harmony, color balance, contrast – light and shadow – all around me in the ever changing landscape. There is a lot of understanding that goes into my painting -observing the sky and the wind patterns – how the time of day & time of year effect the landscape – light and shadow – and the buildings that capture the contrast. I invite the viewer into the painting – invited to be in the creation for just a moment….”
Upcoming Exhibit: Pixelated Perspectives
The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in the Fairfield Public Library invites the public to the reception for “Pixelated Perspectives” on Thursday, June 13 at 5:30 to 7:30 pm. This features digital art by Peach Pair, Noah Laurent, Mark Hannon, and Gene Moore. The artists will talk about their work at 6 pm. The show can be seen from June 8 to July 27 during library hours.
Noah Laurent is a researcher and artist who recently attained his Master’s in Humanities from California State University – Northridge. Having been a member of The Black Rock Arts Guild (BRAG) since 2019, Noah has shown in various locations around southern Connecticut, such as The Kershner Gallery, The Burroughs Community Center, and The NEST Arts Factory.
Noah says he aims to build experiences through his art that draw the viewer into a state of reflection and encourage new dialogue surrounding existential themes of self, technology, and nature.
Peach Pair is an untrained Westport digital artist with degrees in music and psychology. She has lived in Canada, Denmark, Germany, France and England. She works on major international events at the Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C. She is also the founder of a Buddhist foundation associated with a temple in Japan. She says Buddhism and Music are integrated in her work, “informing its lyricism, heart and texture.
Peach has shown her work in group and solo shows in Italy, New York, Florida, New Jersey, California, Nebraska, and area towns in Connecticut. She has also won awards, Her works are included in collections in the U.S., Japan, Europe, including The American Embassy in Rome, Italy. Her artwork, “Bleeding Hearts” appeared in Universal Signs, a Hollywood feature film.
Peach says, “An adventurer by nature, upon graduating from University I hitchhiked across Canada… Perhaps it is my sense of adventure that has drawn me to digital art. …I take pleasure in the challenge of creating something organic, expressive, comforting, and painterly out of something wholly inorganic and insentient to achieve a graceful pas de deux between technology and fine art. I begin with a “blank canvas” – not a photograph – and draw with a mouse—not a stylus; often making use of organic substances: tree bark, leaves, shells etc., which I scan to add texture and dimension. My intention is to create “orchid-room friends”- a positive, comforting influence – for the viewer. My artistic endeavor is a necessary expression of my soul. What is within, is made visible without. By using this technology as my medium, I attempt to prove that there is no separation between the hand that creates and the heart that informs and motivates it.”
Gene Moore is an artist, musician, and a human rights activist in Danbury. He is showing a select collection of works created in the past ten years using pen/pencil, paint and a digital format.
Gene says, “Besides science fiction, country and cityscapes, I draw inspiration from the world of music particularly from the experimental, psychedelic rock and free jazz movement i.e. Ornette Coleman, Bill Dixon, John Cage etc. Typically I put on music that fits the particular piece I’m working on.”
Mark Hannon is the current president of the Arts Alliance in Stratford. His digital art works have been shown in numerous area galleries, as he wishes to share.his creations with a wide audience.
Mark likes the digital medium for its “convenience, cleanliness,and control, as well as the ability to undo and correct mistakes with a simple click.” This provides him “an unparalleled freedom to experiment, iterate, and perfect the work” and bring his visions “to life with precision and finesse.”
Volunteers Welcome
Volunteers are welcome to assist in the gallery operation. Tasks include curating exhibits, selecting artists, attending monthly meetings, helping with opening receptions, and other various administrative tasks. Art experience preferred for curating and selecting artists. Please contact Liz Tardif, Gallery Manager, at 203-246-9065.
Click here for information about showing your work in our gallery (.pdf). Information pamphlets are also available in the gallery at the library.