Curator as Artist lll

This show runs from July 1-August 6.

Gallery hours: Saturdays & Sundays, 1:00-5:00pm

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 1, 4:00-6:00pm

Curator as Artist lll features collages, paintings, ceramics, and photographs by Academy gallery curators Norma Cohen, Leslie Gabosh, Barbara Lax Kranz, Moira O’Grady, and Lynn Rothenberg.

“This exhibit is our way of thanking the diligent and dedicated volunteer Gallery Committee for their hard work mounting multiple shows each year. Our curators are accomplished artists in their own right and not eligible to participate in the shows they curate,” says Madaline Sparks, vice president of the Academy Board. “It’s also a wonderful opportunity for the community to get to know them through their individual artistic endeavors.”

Norma Cohen’s art is colorful and playful, demure and serious, often at the same time. Her subjects include the human form, architecture, still life, landscape, flora, and fauna. “There is often a sense of history or antiquity combined with new work, as I juxtapose media and theme,” she says. “My artwork is primarily watercolor or mixed media, including acrylic paint, oil pastel, pencil, ink and beloved collage material from my collection of vintage papers, cards, discarded books, and more.”

As a painter, Leslie Gabosh draws inspiration from 17th and 18th century Dutch, Spanish and 19th century American paintings. “Historically, translucence and luminosity of natural objects have appealed to artists and viewers alike. They relay a sense of tranquility and serenity that cancels out the noise of everyday chaos,” she says. “A moment of quiet reflection can produce a calm and meditative perspective of ordinary and recognizable objects. Although they are unremarkable subjects, they are a pathway to thoughts and memories, and a window into the world of the artists from the past centuries who inspire me.”

“For years, my art focused on large, non-objective abstract oil paintings,” explains Barbara Lax Kranz, who is now moving in a new creative direction. “As a lifetime admirer of French artist Honoré Daumier, whose faces are often obscured and yet evoke great emotion, I am currently exploring the abstracted human body. The faces are unreadable yet each painting has feeling and personality,” she says. “These works done on paper with mixed media, encourage you to explore the figure’s thoughts in much the way that Daumier’s paintings draw you in.”

Moira O’Grady’s ceramic pieces are characteristically embellished with high-relief, naturalistic forms. “My ceramic bowls, tiles, and vessels tend to be serene, with subtle underglaze/glaze color combinations,” she says. “Currently, I’m inspired by Louise Nevelson’s early wood sculptures. My more recent pieces often embrace sharper, unfired clay cut-offs with more abstract and colorful juxtapositions.”

Photographer Lynn Rothenberg explains, “I am excited by how natural light meshes with color and shape and transforms everyday objects into artful subjects. When I’m shooting, I keep a close eye for days, weeks sometimes, on how changing sunlight can transform even a beet into an arresting portrait.”

Artwork titles and artists pictured above:

• “Timelessness 1” by Norma Cohen
• “Outlier” by Leslie Gabosh
• “A Complex Character” by Barbara Lax Kranz
• “Wild Creation” by Moira E. O’Grady
• “Alas, My Tulips” by Lynn Rothenberg