Outstanding Work on Paper-Watercolor: Scott Hartman
Outstanding Wood craft: Michael Josiah
Honorable Mention: Marlene Weinstein
Outstanding Painting in Oil and Acrylic: William Low
Outstanding Photography: Madison Muehl
Outstanding Fiber Art: Kate Ackerman
Outstanding Jewelry: Jessica Randall
Outstanding Work on Paper: Gerard Lehner
Outstanding Glass Art: Gail Applebaum
Honorable Mention: Eric Giles
Honorable Mention: Cassandra Voulo
Outstanding Ceramics and Pottery: Bebe Federmann
Gallery North in Setauket hosted its 55th annual Outdoor Art Show & Music Festival on Sept. 11 and 12. The two day event showcased the work of over 90 artists and artisans and featured live music, kids activities and food and attracted thousands of visitors.
Juried by Karen Levitov, Director and Curator of the Zuccaire Gallery at Stony Brook University; artist Nancy Bueti-Randall; and Lorraine Walsh, Art Director and Curator of the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, awards were granted for each art category, including wood craft, ceramics and pottery, fiber art, works on paper, photography, glass art, jewelry, and painting. Gallery North’s Executive Director Ned Puchner had the honor of presenting the awards. The winning artists will be featured in Gallery North’s Winners Circle Exhibition in 2022.
And the awards go to:
Best in Show: Chloe Wang
Outstanding Wood craft: Michael Josiah
Outstanding Fiber Art: Kate Ackerman
Outstanding Glass Art: Gail Applebaum
Outstanding Jewelry: Jessica Randall
Outstanding Painting in Oil and Acrylic: William Low
Outstanding Ceramics and Pottery: Bebe Federmann
Outstanding Work on Paper: Gerard Lehner
Outstanding Work on Paper-Watercolor: Scott Hartman
Outstanding Photography: Madison Muehl
Honorable Mentions: Marlene Weinstein, Eric Giles
and Cassandra Voulo
Gallery North is located at 90 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-751-2676 or visit www.gallerynorth.org.
The Three Village Historical Society and Gallery North are pleased to present The Holiday Market, a series of outdoor holiday shopping events, located on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society at 93 N. Country Road, Setauket and Gallery North, just across the street, at 90 N. Country Road, Setauket. Each market will feature music as well as a variety of food trucks and unique, artisanal goods and gifts to a safe, and socially distant outdoor setting this holiday season.
Event dates are Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
Saturday, November 27th (Small Business Saturday!)
Gallery North presented its 55th annual Outdoor Art & Music Festival in Setauket on Sept. 11 and 12. Thousands of visitors attended the two day event which featured over 90 exhibitors, music and food. Next up for the gallery is the return of its outdoor holiday markets, in collaboration with the Three Village Historical Society, on Saturdays, Nov. 27, Dec. 4, 11 and 18. For more information, visit www.gallerynorth.org.
Meet Big Bill Tory at the Sherwood Jayne House during Culper Spy Day. Photo from Preservation Long Island
UPDATED! This article was updated on 9/17/21 to reflect a change to the schedule of events (in bold).
By Heidi Sutton
On Saturday, Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Three Village Historical Society, Tri-Spy Tours and the Long Island Museum will host a day of spy-related tours and activities for the 7th annual Culper Spy Day, named for the Culper Spy Ring founded by Benjamin Tallmadge, George Washington’s chief intelligence officer during the Revolutionary War.
The annual event is the brainchild of Margo Arceri, who first heard about George Washington’s Setauket spies (including her favorite spy Anna Smith Strong) from her Strong’s Neck neighbor and local historian, Kate W. Strong, in the early 1970s.
Diane Schwindt of Stirring Up History, pictured with Margo Arceri, will offer colonial cooking demonstrations during Culper Spy Day. Photo from Mari Irizarry
“Kate W. Strong, Anna Smith Strong’s great-great-granddaughter, originally told me about the Culper Spy Ring when I used to visit her with my neighbor and Strong descendant Raymond Brewster Strong III. One of her stories was about Nancy (Anna Smith Strong’s nickname) and her magic clothesline. My love of history grew from there,” she said in an interview in 2015.
Seven years ago Arceri approached the Three Village Historical Society’s President Steve Hintze and the board about conducting walking, biking and kayaking tours while sharing her knowledge of George Washington’s Long Island intelligence during the American Revolution.
Today, Arceri runs the popular Tri-Spy Tours in the Three Village area, which follows in the actual footsteps of the Culper Spy Ring. “I have to thank AMC’s miniseries Turn because 80 percent of the people who sign up for the tour do so because of that show. And now that Turn has come to Netflix it has taken this community to an entirely other level,” she said.
It was during one of those tours that Arceri came up with the idea of having a Culper Spy Day, a day to honor the members of Long Island’s brave Patriot spy ring who helped change the course of history and helped Washington win the Revolutionary War. After a successful five-year run, last year’s event was sideswiped by COVID-19 and was presented virtually on Facebook Live.
Meet costumed docents from Oyster Bay’s Raynham Hall on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society. Photo by TVHS
This year the family-friendly event returns but on a smaller, more intimate scale as participants will have the opportunity to visit eight locations in Setauket, Stony Brook and Port Jefferson to learn about the patriots who risked their lives through tours, spy stories, colonial cooking demonstrations, historic letters, musical performances, and many children activities.
Escorted by Arceri, Mrs. Q of Karen Q. Patriot Tours of NYC will be on location live on social media and in costume visiting many of the locations. With the exception of the Sherwood Jayne House, all events are free.
While the Three Village Historical Society has remained closed since last January, it will reopen for the one-day event. Mari Irizarry, Outreach and Communications Manager at the Society, is ready to welcome visitors. “We miss our community. There is so much rich history, heritage and culture that is part of the Three Villages and beyond and we are excited to share it on Culper Spy Day,” she said.
Arceri’s favorite part of the day is “seeing all these organizations coming together as a whole. It really is our Revolutionary story,” she said. “Everywhere you turn in the Three Villages you are looking at an artifact, and as the historical society believes, the community is our museum and I would really love to put that on the forefront of people’s minds.”
Schedule of Events:
View Revolutionary War artifacts from the collection of Art Billadello at Emma S. Clark Memorial Library on Culper Spy Day.
1. THREE VILLAGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 93 North Country Road, Setauket. Located in the circa 1800 Bayles-Swezey House. Here you can take part in oudoor events including an invisible ink demonstration; Spy Stories on the TVHS Porch from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.; view a patriotic quilt display and demonstration and take part in colonial crafts with the Daughters of the American Revolution Anna Smith Strong Chapter; Author’s Row: come meet authors Beverly C. Tyler, Selene Castrovilla and, Claire Bellerjeau, available for book signings; view Revolutionary War letters from Stony Brook University’s Special Collections; take part in spy games and meet costumed docents who will talk about Raynham Hall, Culper Jr. and their Culper Spy connections; and enjoy a live colonial cooking demonstration and samples with Diane Schwindt of Stirring Up History. 631-751-3730.
2. THE STUDIO AT GALLERY NORTH, 84 North Country Road, Setauket. Visit The Studio to enjoy free Revolutionary War era arts and crafts for children throughout the day. Guests will have an opportunity to create a Tin Punch ornament or a chance to create a decoder & color a quilt square. Activities will occur on the patio, just outside the Studio. 631-751-2676.
3. EMMA S. CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY, 120 Main St., Setauket. The library (circa 1892) will present a concert featuring 18th century songs the trio Rose Tree from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the Library lawn. View Revolutionary military paraphernalia from the collection of Art Billadello in the Library’s lobby. Kids can enjoy a craft from noon to 3 p.m. 631-941-4080. Please note the previously scheduled bubble and comedy show on the lawn from 11 a.m. to noon has been canceled.
4. CAROLINE CHURCH AND CEMETERY, 1 Dyke Road, Setauket. Built in 1729, this timber frame building has maintained its Colonial appearance. Now an Episcopal church, during the Revolutionary War the Caroline Church was Anglican and a Colonial extension of the Church of England. The graveyard contains the remains of six Patriot soldiers as well as soldiers from World War I and II. View the inside of the church from the vestibule and tour the cemetery with docents from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Just added! Setauket Presbyterian church next door will be offering tours of their cemetery from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. 631-941-4245.
5. PATRIOTS ROCK HISTORIC SITE, Main Street, Setauket (across from the Setauket Post Office). This glacial erratic boulder is said to be the location of the Battle of Setauket on Aug. 22, 1777. Stop here between 10 a.m. and noon to meet representatives from the Three Village Community Trust who will discuss the importance of Patriots Rock and its local and environmental history. 631-689-0225.
6. THE LONG ISLAND MUSEUM, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate with permanent and changing exhibitions on American history and art, along with the finest collection of horse-drawn carriages in the country, some of which belonged to Revolutionary War heroes. Visit the History Museum between noon and 5 p.m. to view the newly uncovered Culper Spy Ring letter and see LIMarts Collaborative Art Group doing a plein air painting / sketching on the grounds that day. 631-751-0066.
7. SHERWOOD-JAYNE HOUSE, 55 Old Post Road, East Setauket. Originally built around 1730 as a lean-to saltbox dwelling, the house and farm were maintained as an operational farmstead for over 150 years by members of the Jayne family. Visit with Big Bill the Tory aka William Jayne III, who will explain the noble intentions and virtuosities of King George III and tells you the TRUTH about Washington’s pesky band of renegade spies! Program runs continuously from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Masks must be worn inside. $5 per person, children under 5 free. Pre-registration is recommended at www.preservationlongisland.org.
8. DROWNED MEADOW COTTAGE MUSEUM, corner of West Broadway and Barnum Avenue, Port Jefferson. The Revolutionary War-era Roe House was originally constructed circa 1755 and Phillips Roe, a member of the Culper Spy Ring along with his brother Nathaniel and cousin Austin, was known to have lived there. Visit the cottage between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and attend an unveiling with Mayor Margot Garant at 11 a.m.
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Participating organizations for the 7th annual Culper Spy Day include Tri-Spy Tours, Three Village Historical Society, Stony Brook University Special Collections, Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, The Long Island Museum, Raynham Hall, Drowned Meadow Cottage, Preservation Long Island, Gallery North, Karen Q’s Patriot Tours NYC, Anna Smith Strong Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Stirring Up History, Three Village Community Trust, and Caroline Church of Brookhaven
For more information, call 631-751-3730 or visit www.tvhs.org
Artist Eric Giles will join over 90 exhibitors at this year's event.
Artist Flo Kemp will join over 90 exhibitors at this year's event.
Artist Jo Wadler will join over 90 exhibitors at this year's event.
Artist Justin Cavagnaro will join over 90 exhibitors at this year's event.
Artist Meryle King will join over 90 exhibitors at this year's event.
Gallery North Art Show crowd
By Melissa Arnold
Following a tough year for creatives of all kinds, the return of art exhibitions and concerts is a welcome relief. In Setauket, the community is looking forward to a longtime tradition, Gallery North’s Outdoor Art Show and Music Festival, on Sept. 11 and 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The festival has run annually on the grounds of Gallery North and along North Country Road since they first opened in 1965. With last year’s event scaled back to Maker’s Markets throughout the month of September for safety reasons, gallery director Ned Puchner can’t wait to kick things off again.
“It’s a really nice time of year to get out and enjoy the weather, the community and all of the very talented artists we have in the area,” he said. “The artists really rely on this event on an annual basis to make sales and meet new people. That’s especially true this year after taking a year off for the pandemic.”
The festival has grown considerably over the years, and now boasts more than 90 artists and vendors who come from around Long Island to exhibit and sell their work. There is truly something for every style and personality, including a diverse collection of original paintings, prints, photography, ceramics, pottery, woodwork, glassware, artisan created jewelry, handmade crafts, decorations, and even clothing. Awards will be granted for Best in Show in a number of categories, and award winners will be featured in a special Winner’s Circle exhibition at Gallery North in 2022.
Around 10 years ago, local musicians were also invited to perform throughout the weekend. This year, Gallery North has partnered with WUSB Radio (90.1/107.3 FM) to help broaden the variety of musicians for the festival.
“I had approached Ned in the past about doing some music-related events at the gallery, and then the idea sat aside for a while because of the pandemic,” said WUSB general manager Isobel Breheny-Schafer. “This is the first time we’ve been able to work together, and it’s exciting for all of us.”
The station was intentional about including a mix of genres and time periods for both days of the festival. Staff members at WUSB formed a committee who spent time exploring each act’s music before making their final selections.
Five artists will perform each day on the WUSB Music Stage. Expect to hear a variety of eras and genres, including folk originals and covers from Grand Folk Railroad; Steely Dan hits from Night by Night; rockabilly tunes with Kane Daily and decades of chart-toppers from the Dirty Water Dogs and Kristhen, among others. Local DJs will also be on hand to keep the music coming all weekend long.
“Everyone is excited to get involved. It’s a beautiful venue in a beautiful area,” Breheny-Schafer said. “People need things to look forward to, they need social interaction, and the arts have such an important role to play in bringing people together.”
While all the musicians are compensated for the weekend, many offered to play for free to support the station and the gallery, added Breheny-Schafer.
Artist Gina Mars at Gallery North’s Outdoor Art & Music Festival in 2019. Photo by Heidi Sutton
The art community is equally excited to get back to doing what they love. One of the returning artists, sculptor Gina Mars, is a regular at the festival and this year’s event will mark her first public sale and exhibition since the pandemic began.
“I felt like the pandemic gave me the time to focus more on those things I always wanted to do but never had the chance, like animal sculptures,” said Mars, who lives in Huntington Station. “But so many shows have been canceled, so it was really a year of creating and waiting.”
Mars fell in love with ceramics by accident while taking an art elective in college. Her natural gift led to 30 years of teaching and sculpting along with global exhibitions. This year, she’ll bring a collection of bowls, centerpieces, mugs and animal figures to sell at the festival.
“The Gallery North show is one of the very few shows left that’s truly about craft — everything there has to be made completely by the artist. And everyone involved is so kind and generous. We feel like a family when we come together,” she said. “Being so close to the university gives us the chance to meet amazing people from all over the world. We develop relationships with people who have a genuine appreciation for our work.”
Kids can explore their artistic sides too, with free puppet making and printing demonstrations offered on the patio terrace at the Studio at Gallery North. Food vendors will be available as well including Katie’s Food Truck, Tasty Frosty Ice Cream, and St. James Brewery.
In addition to WUSB, sponsors for the weekend include: Printing Plus, Techmaven, Jos. M. Troffa Materials, Team Ardolino/Realty Connect USA, Glynn, Mercep & Purcell, Stony Brook Vision World, Hamlet Wines & Liquors, Bill and Dina Weisberger, Janice and Jon Gabriel, Ronne Cosel, Judy Gibbons, and Stephanie and Michael Gress.
ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 11
10 to 11 a.m. — Mike and Mel
11 a.m. to noon — Kane Daily
Noon to 1 p.m. — Dirty Water Dogs
2 to 4 p.m. — Claudia Jacobs
4 to 5 p.m. — International Orange
Sunday, Sept. 12
10 to 11 a.m. — Kristhen
11 a.m. to noon — Brian Reeder Trio
Noon to 1 p.m. — Danny Kean
1 to 3 p.m. — Night by Night
3 to 5 p.m. — Grand Folk Railroad
List of Exhibitors:
A 1Gallery North
A 8Jo Glazebrook — pottery
A 9Gail Applebaum — glass art
A 10Gerard Lehner — fiber art/works on paper
A 11Amy Schwing — jewelry
A 14Madison Muehl — photography
A 15Brianna Sander — jewelry/mixed media
A 16Tamara Hayes — pottery
A 17Joyce Roll — fiber art
A 19Jennifer Lucas — mixed media/works on paper
A 20Douglas Keating — pottery/sculpture
A 21Patricia Paparo — wood
A 33Chloe Wang — painting
A 34Denisse Aneke — jewelry
A 35Marlene Weinstein — mixed media/works on paper/photography
A 36Cassie Hussey — works on paper/printmaking/drawing
A 37, 38Flo Kemp —works on paper/printmaking/drawing
A 39Toni Neuschaefer — jewelry
A 40Simon Zeng — painting
A 41Matt DiBarnardo — wood/painting/sculpture
A 46Russell Spillman— pottery
A 47Three Village Community Trust
B 2Emily Bicht — pottery/works on paper
B 3Donna Glover — jewelry
B 4Rachel Gressin — jewelry/works on paper
B 5Don Lindsley — wood
B 6Joseph Waldeck — jewelry
B 7Nancy Weeks — painting
C 57David Arteaga — photography
C 58Susan Rodgers — jewelry
C 59Jessica Randall — jewelry
C 60Joanne Liff — works on paper/ watercolor/pastel
C 61Renee Fondacaro — soaps/wellness
C 62Anthony Cavallaro — wood/mixed media
C 63Laimute Onusaitiene — painting
C 64,65Linda & Scott Hartman— mixed media/watercolor/paper
C66Marlena Urban — painting
C 67Eva Pere — wood/jewelry
C 68Joyce Elias — glass art/jewelry
C 69 Peter Robinson Smith — sculpture
C 70Gina Mars — pottery
C 71Nancy Pettersen — jewelry
C 72Christopher Santiago — painting
C 73Jennifer Bardram — mixed media/works on paper
C 74Kate Ackerman — fiber art
C 75Daniel McCarthy — painting
C 76Rachel Fournier — jewelry/fiber art
D 86William Low — painting
D 87Aja Camerlingo — jewelry
D 88Michael Waltzer — wood
D 89Don Dailey — wood
D 90Four Harbors Audubon Society
D 91John Mutch — jewelry
D 92Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Staller Center for the Arts
D 93Jonathan Zamet — pottery
D 94Meryle King — fiber art
D95 Lou Frederick — jewelry
D96 Lynda Lawrence — mosaics
D97 Bebe Federmann — pottery
D98 Cassandra Voulo — works on paper/printmaking/drawing
D 99 Lynn Pisciotta — jewelry/sculpture
D 100 Russell Pulick — pottery
D 101 Ned Butterfield — painting
D 102 Vincent Delisi — mixed media/works on paper
D 103 Stephanie Occhipinti — jewelry
D 104 Andrea Feinberg — jewelry
D 105 Michael Josiah — wood
D 106 Tracy Levine — jewelry
D 112 Jo Wadler — jewelry
D 113 Dawn Jones — glass
D 125 Melanie Wulfrost — pottery
D 126 Jane Ruggiero — jewelry
E 148Brianna D’Amato — painting
E 149Susan Alexander — fiber art/mixed media
E 150Christopher J. Alexander — painting
E 151Najda Adman — fiber art
E 152Daphne Frampton — soaps/wellness
E 153Michael Iacobellis — photography
E 154Neal Wechsler / Tom Venezia— honey/spices
E 155Barry Saltsberg — wood
E 156Cathy Buckley — jewelry
E 157Denise Randall — pottery
E 158Diane Bard — soaps/wellness
E 159Justin Cavagnaro — glass art
E 160Stefanie Deringer — wood/glass/jewelry
E 161Eric Giles — mixed media
E 162The Brick Studio and Gallery — pottery
E 163Joan Friedland — fiber art
E 164Samantha Moyse — jewelry
E 165Donna Carey-Zucker — jewelry
E 166Keith Krejci — photography
The 55th Annual Outdoor Art Show and Music Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the weekend of Sept. 11 and 12 on the grounds and area surrounding Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.gallerynorth.org/oas2021 or call 631-751-2676.
After a 3 year absence, Local Color returns to Gallery North, a proclamation of the connection between art, artist, and community. On view from Aug. 19 to Sept. 26, the exhibit is presented in conjunction with the North Shore Artists Coalition and includes a reception and Open Studio Tour.
The beautiful show features artists whose work is both universal and local in impact, meaning, and appeal.
“[Executive Director] Ned Puchner and I decided to bring Local Color back this year and re-envision it to show through these artists what local culture is about. The exhibit is defining the role artists play in shaping identity of community and showing diversity of how artists define community: creating culture, creating beautiful and impactful work, adding to the identity through their outreach, etc,” said curator Kate Schwarting.
The show’s art is as varied as its interpretation of theme, featuring oil and acrylic paintings, photography, sculptures, and digital renderings. Thirty artists, from St. James to Mount Sinai, will be featured including Kelynn Alder, Arts.codes (Margaret Schedel and Melissa Clarke), Fred Badalamenti, Joan Branca, Sheila Breck, Pam Brown, Nancy Bueti-Randall, Sue Contessa, Micheal Drakopoulos, Paul Edelson, Peter Galasso, Han Qin, LoVid, Flo Kemp, Karen Kemp, Jim Lecky, Jim Molloy, Carlos Morales, Patricia Morrison, Patricia Paladines, Mel Pekarsky, Alicia R. Peterson, Doug Reina, Joseph Rotella, Angela Stratton, Mary Jane van Zeijts, Lorraine Walsh, Annmarie Waugh, Marlene Weinstein, and Christian White.
“What is so special about this exhibition is that each artist brings a different thing to the exhibition,” explained Schwarting. “A plein air painter captures the essence of a familiar location and allows us to see it in different light; someone else [deals] with a scientific topic that is so difficult to comprehend, but creates art that enables us to know through physical form and visual cues.”
Several of the participants are also activists who champion social, technological, and environmental awareness and change through their art.
According to Schwarting, a number of the artists were recruited through the gallery’s association with the North Shore Artists Coalition, while others were invited by her and Puchner.
Pam Brown, a sculptor who lives in Stony Brook and co-founder of the coalition, helped facilitate the partnership between the group and the gallery. Her piece, Armour, is a sculpture fabricated out of sheet metal, wire, boar bristles, and vinyl. Brown’s efforts in facilitating the relationship between Gallery North and the North Shore Artists Coalition reflect the connection she sees between art and community outreach.
“Community engagement creates an opportunity for the arts and artists to be seen by their communities — it initiates new ways for the public and artists to build connections between different groups. It brings together communities so they can articulate their own history and culture and to acknowledge that art is taking place in a larger context,” she said.
For artist Doug Reina of Stony Brook, who has exhibited at Gallery North in the past, showing his work in Local Color is reconnecting with a “fun, summertime tradition.”
“My work is about sharing the interesting, touching, emotional, funny, beautiful, sad human things that mean something to me with the viewer,” said Reina. His oil painting, titled Boys Night Out, depicts 4 teenage boys sneaking out of the house on a summer night. “The painting is based on real life experiences we had when our son was that age,” he explained.
Interpersonal connection is a recurring subject of the show’s art. This focus extends outward into explorations of our interactions with and responsibility to the world-at-large.
Han Qin of St. James will be entering her cyanotype on paper, White Goddess, which incorporates digital photo editing, drawing, and papermaking. It was inspired by two poems: “The White Goddess” by Robert Graves and “Quiet Night Thoughts” by Li Bai.
“I started the White Goddess series during my pregnancy and have been developing it until now. Poetry and life experience are the main inspirations. The idea behind the artwork becomes a shared experience that brings people together,” she said.
“We as a people have a long continuous personal storyline. Artwork is the moment on the storyline. My moment connects with others’ moments in their individual storylines; thus, a web of emotional connections builds up. That is a community, too,” said Qin.
Such cultural connections are enhanced through community involvement. In this spirit, exhibiting artists of Local Color will also be featured in an Open Studio Tour hosted by the North Shore Artists Coalition and Gallery North on Sept. 25 and 26, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
“With one piece from each of the selected artists in the exhibit itself, the Open Studio Tour allows for an expanded view of the individual artists,” said Schwarting.
Gallery North, 90 North Coutry Road, Setauket presents Local Color from Aug. 19 to Sept. 26. Join the artists for an opening reception tonight, August 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 631-751-2676 or visit www.gallerynorth.org.
Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket will present its annual Wet Paint Festival from June 5 to June 13.
Now in its 17th year, this annual, outdoor event is a celebration of plein air painting. The Wet Paint Festival provides the community with the unique opportunity to observe some of Long Island’s top plein air painters as they capture the area’s historic and natural beauty. Like last year, Gallery North will slightly modify plans for the festival. In an effort to maintain both the goals of the event and continued social distancing guidelines, the Gallery invites participating artists to create works in public or in solitude during the week of the festival.
Gallery staff will also visit featured locations to arrange a few, optional recorded “virtual visits.” Participating artists will have the option (not required) to work with staff to record a discussion of their process or an informal interview. These “virtual visits” will then be posted on social media and on Gallery North’s website to both promote the event and to allow the public to understand and experience the process of plein air painting.
All participating artists will be featured in a pop-up exhibition at the Studio at Gallery North on June 18 from 3 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend the exhibition in person in small groups. Artists will be on hand from 5 to 7 p.m outside the Studio in Gallery North’s courtyard, to discuss their work, their experiences, and their approach, answering questions from the public.
Registration is required for the artists participating in the festival. The exhibition will be free and open to the public. For more information visit www.gallerynorth.org.
Abstract art invites an audience to use its imagination and interpret meaning.
Gallery North’s newest exhibit, Laminar Rituals, celebrates the creation and explores the impact of mark making and non-objective art through the works of artists Sue Contessa of St. James and Anne Raymond of East Hampton. The show opens today, April 8.
Featuring Contessa’s acrylic paintings and Raymond’s monotypes and oil paintings, the title of the exhibit refers to their artistic styles, which incorporate transparent or translucent layers of paint that laminate, protect, and enhance their marks and brushstrokes.
“Both artists really work in a very intuitive manner … Sue’s work is really about the experience the viewer has in front of the [art]. Anne is much more interested in transient qualities we find around ourselves — things like change in weather patterns, changes in light over the course of the day … trying to capture those fleeting moments around us,” said Gallery North Executive Director Ned Puchner. “I think when put together, this exhibit is really presenting records of our experience out in the world.”
Rather than seeking inspiration from outside sources, Contessa finds meaning in the methodology of crafting her art. She uses acrylic paint and occasionally graphite pencil to build marks on the canvas. This technique creates a perceived visual depth to her paintings.
“The work is about repetition … The paintings are more about formal art issues, and the repetition allows for that form of meditation that I always hope will happen. I just have to trust my process. I tend to work rather thinly and transparently, so you are always seeing something from underneath, which impacts each layer,” said Contessa.
For Raymond, the development of her palette is an essential part of her creative process. “I work from a palette based on what I feel like at the time. If I don’t like it, I completely change it,” she said. “I float back and forth between doing monotypes and painting. I think this helps me stay fresh.”
Raymond uses plexiglass plates for her monotypes, making unique single prints with oil-based, pigment-rich, lithography inks. Unlike oil paint, the inks dry fairly quickly so Raymond is able to produce a few in a single session.
The process of working in these mediums is different, but its influences are largely the same. Her art, although abstract, is impacted by the natural world.
“Almost all of my work has reference to landscape, seascape, or sky. I feel really lucky. The beauty of Long Island is my muse,” Raymond said.
Classically trained, Contessa and Raymond each studied art in college and then attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. They worked in traditional, realistic mediums like figure drawing and still life before becoming abstract artists.
After taking classes at the Art League of Long Island in Dix Hills, Contessa was asked to teach figure and basic drawing classes there.
“I have a background in realistic painting, but it wasn’t satisfying for me. It wasn’t what I wanted to paint. I wanted to paint something that didn’t exist before,” Contessa said. “When you create an [abstract] painting, it is something that you created. The reason for doing it in the first place is that I don’t know what it’s going to look like.”
Raymond worked as an illustrator, for a newspaper, and in the travel industry before fully transitioning to a career as an abstract artist. “When I was studying, I did a lot of live drawing … I appreciate the skill, but it was not exciting in the way that working abstractly is. While working as an illustrator, I was already doing abstracts … I think it is creatively engaging to invite surprise into your process,” she said.
Their complementary mindsets about composing abstract art is part of what initially inspired Puchner to pair their art for an exhibit. “I saw common features with both of them,” he said.
It is the first show that Contessa or Raymond have done since the pandemic began. The exhibit is part of Puchner and Gallery North’s ongoing effort to introduce patrons to the work of local artists and provide the local artists with additional exhibition possibilities.
“I’m really trying to present more artists and give more artists more opportunities to show. I have fun trying to create these pairings and expose our audience to more local artists,” Puchner added.
Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket presents Laminar Rituals through May 16. The exhibit will be open to the public during the gallery’s normal hours, Wednesdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. All onsite events are socially distanced and masks are mandatory for entry.
In conjunction with the exhibit, Raymond will lead a monotype workshop for a class of up to six people at the Studio at Gallery North on April 10 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Contessa and Raymond will participate in a Virtual ArTalk on April 24, from 6 to 8 p.m.
For more information, to register for these programs, or to learn more about Laminar Rituals and other upcoming exhibits, visit www.gallerynorth.org or call 631-751-2676.
Gallery North’s March featured Artist is Jan Tozzo. Working out of her Cold Spring Harbor studio, Tozzo creates unique, brightly colored glass works, often reminiscent of sea coral or flowers.
She uses a layering process with various powders that produces stunning forms. Each of her artworks is at once sculptural and functional, and will add color to any home.
Learn more about Jan and her available works in The Shop at Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket, in person or online! For more information, call 631-751-2676 or visit www.gallerynorth.org.
As a reprieve from the gray of winter and the tedious, yet terrifying drudgery of a pandemic, Gallery North’s latest exhibit, Filtered Light, offers a glimpse of brightness and hope. Featuring the work of two local artists, Ty Stroudsburg and Marceil Kazickas, the show, which opens Jan. 14, explores the connection between the realistic beauty and abstract wonder of nature, especially as it exists on Long Island.
Open to the public in person and available for online viewing, the collection consists of mostly oil paintings, a form both artists prefer.
“Oil paint is seductive, sensual, and uplifting,” said Kazickas during a recent interview, adding that the medium enables textures, movement, and depth that can be harder to achieve by other means, such as acrylic paint. Several pastel sketches are also included.
‘It Bears Repeating’ by Marceil Kazickas
These creations are related by certain themes — an appreciation of the outdoors and an examination of light, color, and texture. The exhibit features abstract expressionist pieces and images inspired by the vibrant landscapes of the region.
This venture is the culmination of Gallery North’s commitment to connecting and maintaining relationships with its patrons and the art community during the pandemic, according to Kazickas. Although the pieces in the exhibit were largely made before the pandemic, the art reflects the outside world’s current altered state of reality, merging the tangible with the ephemeral.
“Ty, because she has been working continuously for 50 years, and Marceil, who was very influenced by [late artist] Stan Brodsky, are very influenced by the ideas of abstract expressionism: nature is embodied in the human, who is a reflection of nature and our role within it,” explained Gallery North’s Executive Director Ned Puchner.
Both artists cite nature and color as primary sources of inspiration, but they approach it differently. Stroudsburg’s work is somewhat abstract, but her paintings are based in landscape form and normally have horizon lines.
“My work is still based on plant forms and things I see in the environment. My big focus has always been color. If I put my foot on the brake when I am driving around, it is because something is very colorful and has grabbed my attention. Color is the jumping off point for my canvas,” Stroudsburg said.
‘Coreopsis’ by Ty Stroudsburg
Kazickas’ featured artwork, all abstract, is rooted in vertical sight lines and the beauty found beyond her front door. “I am painting a feeling [but] am inspired by Long Island; there is a vista everywhere … Mother Nature is so spectacular,” said the artist, who resides in Sands Point.
Kazickas starts first with dark hues and then adds bright colors. “Most of my paintings are about dark and light and the magic that happens when they play against each other,” she explained. Having endured chronic pain for many years, Kazickas sees this process as a reflection of the bleakness of constant agony transformed into the relief experiences in creating art. “My paintings are full of color because it’s what I need to see,” she added.
The versatility of the art in the exhibit extends beyond the lights and shadows to the unmistakable texture and expansive scope of the images. Movement on the canvases is expressed through the strong brush strokes. The vibrancy catches the eye, whether in person or on a screen, according to Assistant Curator Kate Schwarting.
Stroudsburg has been exhibiting her art since the 1960s and had an existing relationship with the gallery. She moved from the South Fork of the Island to Southold on the North fork in 1985, drawn to the “non-social atmosphere.” Her work was already being displayed across the island, at institutions like the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington , as well as galleries in New York City and throughout the country.
‘Awakening’ by Marceil Kazickas
Attracted to the art community of Stony Brook and Setauket, Stroudsburg met and connected with former Gallery North Executive Director Colleen Hanson. She facilitated an exhibit of Stroudsburg’s work at the gallery and helped arrange for her art to be on display at Stony Brook University Hospital, where four of her large canvases reside. Stroudsburg networked with galleries and other artists, among them the late Joseph Reboli.
Kazickas has exhibited her work at the Art Guild and at galleries throughout Long Island. She studied at the Roslyn School of Painting and began working as an artist more recently. Her art first caught the attention of Schwarting after she participated in many of the gallery’s ongoing virtual events.
“I met Marceil through some of our virtual programs,” said Schwarting. “We realized that Marceil’s work was a perfect combination with Ty’s work. The art is slightly different, but there is a conversation that happens between the works that makes sense.”
Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket presents Filtered Light from Jan. 14 through Feb. 25. The exhibit will be open to the public during the gallery’s normal hours, Wednesdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Social distancing will be observed and masks are mandatory for entry. Additionally the full show will be available online at www.gallerynorth.org. A virtual reception will take place on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, please call 631-751-2676 or visit www.gallerynorth.org.
The festival has run annually on the grounds of Gallery North and along North Country Road since they first opened in 1965. With last year’s event scaled back to Maker’s Markets throughout the month of September for safety reasons, gallery director Ned Puchner can’t wait to kick things off again.
ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE
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