New Spotlight Exhibit
West End Gallery, Corning, NY
WHO: Four artists represented by
West End Gallery – Corning, NY
Alan & Rosemary Bennett, Bath NY
Jennifer Fais, Cameron Mills, NY
Dana Hawk, Wurtsboro, NY
Ileen Kaplan, Rock Stream, NY
WHAT: New “Spotlight Exhibit” features new artwork by four artists working in a variety of mediums: clay, watercolor, mixed media, and oils
The show must go on…ONLINE!
The exhibit may be seen online at www.westendgallery.net or you may call to schedule a private appointment at the gallery on Opening Day! We are pleased to announce that the Gallery is fully prepared for Phase Two Re-Opening in NYS which may be as early as this Friday, May 29 assuming our region stays on track. We have created our “NY Forward Business Re-Opening Safety Plan” and will have that available for all guests to review. We submitted our “Business Affirmation/Attestation” to NYS on 5/16/20.
WHEN: JUNE 5 – JULY 9, 2020
The exhibit may be seen online at www.westendgallery.net or you may call to schedule private appointment at the gallery on Opening Day! (Assuming NYS Re-Opening Plan is on track for the Southern Tier)
WHERE: Online – www.WestEndGallery.net and at 12 West Market Street, Corning, NY 14830
Please Note: We can still be reached during regular business hours by phone 607.936.2011 or email info@westendgallery.net: Monday – Friday 10-5:30 and Saturday 10-4
West End Gallery is excited to announce the opening of its newest “Spotlight Exhibit”. The exhibit features new work by four regional artists working in a variety of mediums. These artists are on the rise! This show allows them to showcase their talents in the “spotlight”. We are pleased to present 2020’s Spotlight Artists:
Alan and Rosemary Bennett of Bath, NY work in clay and are well known nationally for their amazing clay fish. When Alan was five, he caught a bluegill. He thought it was so beautiful that he kept it in his pocket where his mother found it several days later when she did the laundry. When Rosemary was little, she spent many happy hours fishing with her grandmother in Smithfield, Maine. It was a big deal when she caught a fish. Rosemary is happiest swimming or snorkeling.
Experiences in or around the water and growing up with Jacques Cousteau specials strongly influence our work. The process starts with a series of sketches. We use stoneware clay or porcelain to make the basic forms. These forms are manipulated, hollowed out and added to. The teeth and eyes are made out of porcelain. The pieces are bisque fired. Glazes are applied by dipping, spraying and by brush. The pieces are then glazed fired. The work is about form, expression, color, texture, and movement.
Jennifer Fais of Cameron Mills, NY has been represented by West End Gallery for many years and works primarily in watercolor or mixed media. In her artist’s statement, she says, “Making art is an expression of love. I have loved nature since my parents chose “Green” as my middle name. Rivers, wetlands, meadows, birds – they all stir my heart. Painting them is one way for me to connect to the natural world, so, it should be no surprise that I have painted many birds, waterscapes and bridge scenes. Canoeing is also a passion and I have painted a watercolor of many of the sixteen boat launch sites in Chemung and Steuben Counties.
I have a variety of subject matter for my watercolors, acrylics and drawings. Recent subjects include marsh birds – especially the Great Blue Heron. Using a loose, wash and splatter approach I paint watercolor and acrylics on a gessoed collage of papers which often results in exciting, unexpected edges and color.”
My work tends to be representational and I also enjoy painting the constructed landscape in and around Corning, NY, my home for about thirty years. The Little Joe Tower and the Centerway Bridge are favorite subjects of mine. I also paint house portraits delighting in the architectural detail that endears the home to its owner as well
Dana Hawk of Wurtsboro, NY has been represented by West End Gallery for several years and has been best known for her dog portraits which capture the personality of the subject. She also does portraits of people. In her artist’s statement she says, “I consider myself a portraitist, whether it be a portrait of a person, dog, or other critter. I find this area of painting the most intriguing for me, and what I seem to do best. Any other features in my work are largely to serve as supporting elements to the portrait subject.” She was born in St. Louis and raised in rural Missouri. She currently lives in the lower Catskills, greater New York City area.
Ileen Kaplan of Rock Stream, NY works primarily in oils and is known for her landscapes, still life, and abstract paintings. “In my paintings, I try to capture everything about a moment in time: the light, the color, the sense of space, the action, the stillness. My work is representational, yet I don’t strive for photo-realism. In all of my paintings, whether they are still life, portraits, landscapes or cityscapes, I try to connect with the subject, so that by the time I am finished I feel like I have inhabited the scene. And I hope the viewer does as well….”
The Spotlight Exhibit runs from June 5-July 9, 2020 and may be seen online at www.westendgallery.net Because of COVID-19, we are now scheduling private appointments to view our exhibits. We will also be doing postings on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WestEndGalleryCorning
We are still working very hard and may still be reached during regular business hours by phone or email. Monday – Friday 10-5:30 and Saturday 10:00 – 4:00
Website: www.westsendgallery.net
Phone 607-936-2011
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WestEndGalleryCorning
Submitted by Jesse Gardner