Savoring the Summer of 2013
It is August 1st and the signs of summer's end are everywhere. Gone are the long, long evenings when it remains light well past eight 0'clock; posters and radio spots announce back-to-school sales; friends are calling to say "We must get together before the leaves turn." Autumn is beautiful but life is not the same as it is in the more relaxed, celebratory, promising, and sun-filled summer season. There is always some sadness about this anticipation of summer's end. But we can't let that be the only emotional response. After all, it is still a month before Labor Day. Seems right on August 1st to think and blog about the summer that is still with us, what there is still to enjoy, and what we look forward to before it turns really cold and bleak.
Still gathering a lot of my summer attention is the art exhibition at the Gallery, Hammertown Rhinebeck. Hammertown is where I exhibited my paintings during the past two summers. This summer, I show some of my new work but I also enjoy the role of curator. For this year's adventure, with Joan Osofsky's wonderful vision and connections with people, we bring together work from a number of artists: three painters, a photographer, and a potter. You can visit the Hammertown website (click here) to read about the show and each contributor. What I would like to underscore here is how special it has been to use this exhibition as a way to share the work of the late painter, Saul Lambert. It is in Saul's studio in New York City that I have been working since the fall of 2009. His work surrounds me. It supports and inspires. Here is a photograph of some of the paintings from Saul's The Stones of Jerusalem series. They look spectacular over this couch at Hammertown.
Also special about this Hammertown summer is the chance to work with other artists. At left, you see all of us gathered at the opening reception. That's Dana Brandwein Oates, the potter, on the far left; me; Joanna Underwood, Saul Lambert's widow; Karen LeSage, the painter; and Val Shaff, the photographer, on the far right. This is a very talented and delightfully easy group of people to collaborate with. How promptly and generously they responded to all requests to bring in their work and even to write about it. Not wanting to offend any of my former academic colleagues, but I do need to say that their quick affirmative responses are a new and refreshing treat.
I also learned a lot about bringing different work together through this exhibition. An individual painting or photograph may look spectacular on its own but that doesn't mean it will play equally well with all others. It took several attempts (and one sleepless night) to get the hanging right. The pieces of art must complement each other and the home furnishings in the room that they share. Getting the whole space and the pieces in it to look as good as they could relies on the help of other collaborators, the amazingly supportive Rhoda Cayes who manages the Rhinebeck store and Wanda Furman who expertly styles the room.
And there is yet more to enjoy in my art life this summer. There is the trip into the city to catch the Koloman Moser exhibit at the Neue Galerie (click here), the visit to the Winslow Homer Show at The Clark Institute in Williamstown, Ma. (click here), the ongoing show of my work at the Hoadley Gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts, and all those many paintings yet to be done before it gets too cold in the Pine Plains studio.
