Allen M. Hart " Strident Call of Birds" oil on canvas	Frank Welles "Interior Landscape 1 " Oil on canvas
ROCKLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS "The Rockland-Westchester Connection" Linking the Art of Two Counties
Opening Reception - Sunday, March 2, 2003, 1pm - 4pm
Participating artists are:
ROCKLAND Stephen Churchill Chris Randolph Ursula Schneider Frank Welles	WESTCHESTER Fred Charles Allen M. Hart Osamu Kato Lanny Lasky
The wide expanse of the Hudson River's Tappan Zee has been both a geographic and psychological division between Rockland and Westchester counties. However, they have in common a natural beauty and proximity to the New York art market that has historically attracted artists of national renown to both sides of the Hudson River Valley. The Rockland Center for the Arts' bridges this gap between the east and west shores of the Hudson River in its new exhibition, The Rockland-Westchester Connection, that opens on Sunday, March 2, 2003 with a public reception from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. The exhibition continues through April 13, 2003.
"Four exceptional artists from each county were chosen because they act as catalysts connecting us to the very vibrant art scenes from both shores," said curator, Ned Harris. Westchester artists featured are Alan Hart, Lanny Lasky, Osamu Kato and Fred Charles. Representing Rockland are Ursula Schneider, Chris Randolph, Frank Welles and Stephen Churchill. The artists were chosen for their varied points of view with subject matter and material that challenges the viewer.
Westchester resident, Frederick Charles is an architectural photographer with a passion for urban and rural landscape. His editorial work has appeared in such diverse publications as Smithsonian and Time magazines. In 1999, this acclaimed Westchester photographer won an Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography when he selected the historic apple orchards of the Dr. Davies Farm in Rockland County to produce a dramatic, yearlong photo essay, "The Four Seasons: A Year in the Life of an Orchard, " for LIFE Magazine.
Dobbs Ferry artist, Allen M. Hart's jewel-like, imaginative paintings include mythological portraits of animals, expressionistic landscapes and self-portraits. influenced by his early travels to Europe, North Africa and Mexico. As a counterpoint, Lanny Lasky creates assemblages with found objects and geometric forms that have a haunting, sub-conscious effect. The final artist in the Westchester group is Osamu Kato whose elegant, textured paintings evoke a Zen-like quality and a recurring theme of the sphere. "My Japanese heritage provides a sense of spirituality and a search for inner peace," said Kato, "while my life in America has taught me to appreciate bolder forms of expression….".
Among the four artists representing Rockland is Frank Welles whose studio is in the Garnerville Arts and Industrial Exchange, an early 19th Century former industrial complex. The massive, loft-like space is perfect to accommodate Welles' large, multi-sectional canvases. Stephen Churchill, of Haverstraw performs alchemy with paper. The tall columns he will exhibit seem to be metal but are actually paper. Chris Randolph's work also tricks the eye and the senses. Her intricately patterned abstract paintings appear to be done by a weaver of cloth. Ursula Schneider's paintings of landscapes and skyscapes on panoramic canvases, give the impression of being seen through a cinematic long lens. The resulting sense of distance and atmosphere add a phantasmagoric quality to the scenes. Ms. Schneider has exhibited at major museums here and abroad including the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC.
Ned Harris, who organized the exhibit, is currently curating a Westchester-Rockland photography exhibition at the Upstream Gallery in Dobbs Ferry, which has been in the forefront of the growing Westchester art scene. "I hope to reinforce and continue the interchange of exceptional art from both counties," he said.
Gallery Hours are weekdays from 10:00am to 4:00pm and weekends from 1:00 to 4:00pm. The gallery is closed holidays. Admission is free or by suggested donation.
The Rockland Center for the Arts is conveniently located near Exit 12 off the NY State Thruway. For information, call Rockland Center for the Arts at (845) 358-0877. Also visit our website at www.RocklandArtCenter.org.
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