Community Arts Event (in person and online)
WHO: TOM GARDNER and MARTIN A. POOLE in the Main Gallery
A Tribute to the late THOMAS S. BUECHNER in the Upstairs Gallery
WHAT: A Collection of New Paintings by Tom Gardner and Martin A. Poole in the MAIN GALLERY and a Tribute to the late Thomas S. Buechner (1926-2010) in the UPSTAIRS GALLERY Also, recent work by more than 50 exceptional regional artists.
WHEN:
October 16 – November 16, 2020 Appointments may be scheduled for Opening Day, October 16th from Noon – 7:00 p.m. The exhibit will be on display and available to view by appointment through November 16th during normal business hours: Monday – Friday 10:00-5:30, Saturday from 10-6:00 and Sundays from Noon-5:00. Capacity at the Gallery is limited. Simply call the Gallery at 607-936-2011 to reserve a time.
WHERE: (In person and online)
VISIT US IN PERSON: West End Gallery, 12 West Market Street, Corning, NY 14830 and/or
VISIT US ONLINE: www.WestEndGallery.net
We are temporarily operating on an appointment only basis until further notice. We hope this will only be for a week or two. Call to set up an appointment
607-936-2011
Gallery Hours: We are available by phone and email and scheduling private appointments 7 days a week: Monday – Friday 10-5:30, Saturday 10-6, Sunday 2-5:00. Please call in advance of your visit.
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West End Gallery announces the opening of its newest exhibit, “A Collection of New Paintings by Tom Gardner and Martin A. Poole” in the Main Gallery and “A Tribute to Thomas S. Buechner” in the Upstairs Gallery. Appointments may be scheduled for Opening Day between Noon and 7:00 p.m. Just call West End Gallery at 607-936-2011 to reserve a time. The exhibit will be on display thru November 16th.
Tom Gardner is Co-Founder of West End Gallery and has exhibited his work there since 1977. He has exhibited his work locally at One Seventy One Cedar Arts Center, the Arnot Art Museum and nationally in galleries in Philadelphia, PA, NYC, New Roads, LA and Alexandria, VA. He is probably best known for his landscape paintings of Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania. The Finger Lakes region, with its rolling hills, vineyards and lakes is one of his favorite subjects. He is also well known for his public sculptures in Corning (Artemus, The Critic, Time Melts Away), brick bas relief sculptures of Horses on Route 86 in Horseheads, and bas relief sculptures at Andrew Sperr Memorial Park in Big Flats. “I just paint”, says Tom. Unpretentious, in fact, anti-pretentious, Tom Gardner is an artist full of both feeling and thought who believes that “art should be accessible to everyone without explanation”.
Like many artists, Tom Gardner paints because he must. He is compelled and finds that some part of him seems broken when he cannot create daily. He began painting as a child and stayed with it “because I like to succeed.” His talent was recognized early on, and he has continually developed it. Gardner describes himself as largely self-taught, and he is an avid learner. After college he continued to seek opportunities to grow, and he painted regularly for many years with Thomas Buechner and Martin Poole in Corning, New York. He also found workshops and classes elsewhere on specific techniques to be helpful. But largely he visits galleries and museums, reads, and listens to the voice within him, finding his own voice and vision.
Martin A. Poole has been represented by West End Gallery more than 40 years and has also exhibited at galleries in Philadelphia, PA and Alexandria, VA. His work has been featured in articles in American Art Collector and Artist’s Magazine. In his artist’s statement Poole says, “Life is a gift, and painting is one of the ways we realize what we are given. I paint because it helps me pay attention to our world, our lives in it and our lives together. Our lives are complex. We have chaos and loss – all kinds of darkness, but with these shadows, always there is some kind of light. We build with that.”
There will be a Tribute to Thomas S. Buechner in the Upstairs Gallery which commemorates the tenth anniversary of his passing. This collection of his work, mostly painted during the last ten years of his life, features portraits, still life, and landscapes.
Thomas S. Buechner, an internationally known painter, author, and lecturer, passed away in 2010. His paintings are in many collections throughout the U.S. and beyond, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art. He was the first Director or the Corning Museum of Glass (1950-1960) and then Director of the Brooklyn Museum (1960-1971). In 1972, he became President of Steuben Glass, Chairman of the Corning Glass Works Foundation, and President of the Corning Museum of Glass. He helped to establish the Rockwell Museum in 1976. In 1985 he became a Vice President of Corning Glass Works. He began painting full time in 1986. Buechner was a teacher, mentor and friend to many painters in the Southern Finger Lakes Region. Thomas Buechner passed away in June 2010 after a brief illness.
Tom Buechner, Tom Gardner, and Marty Poole painted together for many years, from the late 70’s until Tom Buechner’s passing in 2010. Tom Gardner and Marty Poole still paint together when they have the opportunity.
West End Gallery represents more than 50 additional artists, some nationally known, some emerging artists, whose work is also exhibited in the Upstairs Gallery. Visit West End Gallery, 12 West Market Street, Corning, NY 14830 607-936-2011, info@westendgallery.net Visit our website at www.westendgallery.net for current and past exhibits. At this time, Gallery hours are by appointment. Please call to reserve a time. 607.936.2011