Just in time for Halloween, the Huntington Arts Council presents a perennial favorite, Nightmare on Main Street, a student art exhibit that opens today at the Main Street Gallery and runs through Nov. 5. Now in its fifth year, students in grades 6 to 12 were asked to submit original artwork reflecting their interpretation of Halloween, “be it dark, light-hearted or just plain scary!”
“Once again the students did not disappoint. It’s exciting to see the response from such a wide age range of students with over 80 submissions. The talent of these artists is evident across the board and shown in a variety of media choices from photography to sculpture,” stated Marc Courtade, executive director of the Huntington Arts Council.
The exhibit was juried by Caitlyn Shea, a visual artist who “loves all things scary, sinewy and dark — and has a special love for Francis Bacon paintings.” Specializing in large, fierce paintings, Shea exhibits her work in galleries across the United States. When she is not painting, Shea works as a co-producer for East End Arts JumpstART program. “It was truly a pleasure reviewing all of the artwork submitted to Nightmare on Main Street. I was incredibly impressed by the level of achievement present in each of the submissions; it actually seemed as if I was looking at college undergraduate portfolios,” commented Shea. “I expected the submissions to be creepy, but they surpassed my expectations by also being so confrontative and exploring unexpected themes like alienation and isolation. It was difficult selecting which works to include because every single entry was powerful in its own unique way!” she said.
Forty-two students were selected as finalists including Jonelle Afurong, Sarah Astegher, Shiloh Benincasa, Rachel Berkowitz, Nathalie Berrios, Summer Blitz, Julia Bretschneider, Rebekah Buon, Elena Canas, Alex Cartwright, Ben Conner, Daniela Crimi, Eliana Davidoff, Lars Drace, Christian D’Sa, Julia Dzieciaszek, Sania Farooq, Katie Giambrone, Casey Goldstein, Michael Green, Vincent Guerrero, Ilyssa Halbreich, Michaela Hammer, Katrina Hanley, Lauren Landolfi, Cameron Matassa, Kallie McCarthy, Noelle Pluschau, Bailey Rand, Natasha Rivera, Renee Rooney, Melissa Roy, Jack Ruthkowski, Olivia Sasso, Amanda Stark, Amanda Tobin, Alex Tonetti, Alexandra Valme, Erica Vazquez, Teva Yaari, Steven Yeh and Sarah Young.
To kick off the exhibit, a costume party reception will be held on Oct. 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the gallery. Prizes will be awarded for Best in Show in senior and junior divisions as well as for best costume. Refreshments will be served. This is a free event and all are welcome to attend.
The Main Street Gallery, 213 Main St., Huntington is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.. For more information, call 631-271-8423 or visit www.huntingtonarts.org.
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