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Peter Leeds

Whether gifted, grown in a garden, or admired in nature, flowers delight us with their natural beauty. In a floral tribute, the Smithtown Township Arts Council will present The Language of Flowers, a juried exhibit at Mills Pond Gallery in St. James from June 28 to July 25. 

The prospectus called for artists to “unleash their creativity and share their artistic interpretations of flowers … art that captures the spirit of blossoms or conveys personal emotions or narratives, or simply captures the captivating beauty of flowers.” The response was overwhelming.

“Using oil, acrylic, alcohol ink, colored pencil, dye-sublimation photographic print, fused glass, gouache, graphite, ink, mixed media, oil, pastel, pen & ink, photography, pyrography and watercolor, 84 artists  have found astonishing ways to portray the delicacy of flowers whether represented in realism, impressionism or abstraction,” said Allison Cruz, Executive Director of the Smithtown Township Arts Council and Mills Pond Gallery. 

“No matter the style, we are sure gallery visitors will enjoy this bouquet of original works,” she added.

Exhibiting artists include Ross Barbera, Shain Bard, Ron Becker, Mireille Belajonas, Kusuma Bheemineni, Matt Bodkin, Hayley Brennan, Joyce Bressler, Kevin Casey, Carol Ceraso, Tobi Cohen, Bernice Corbin, Jane Corrarino, Denise Cousins, JoAnn Dumas, Paul Edelson, Ellen Ferrigno, Elizabeth Fusco, Arlene Gernon, Maureen Ginipro, Theresa Graff, Alexandra Guma, Linda Hartman, Scott Hartman, Karen Jakubowski, Sally Anne Keller, James Kelson, Kathee Shaff Kelson, Angelica Kempa, Samantha Kenny, Megan Kenny, Lynn Kinsella, Julianna Kirk, Elizabeth Kisseleff, Lynn Larrison, Peter Leeds, Syndee Levy, Patricia Lind-Gonzalez, Patricia Luppino, Jackie Mallon, Diane Maniscalco, Adriena Masi, Liz Jorg Masi, Kathleen McArdle, Bonnie McLoughlin Stiegler, Frederic Mendelsohn, Avrel Menkes, Felecia Montfort, Gail Neuman, Loretta Oberheim, Josephine Parlagreco, Sharon Pearsall, Eva Pere, Sean Pollock, Lauren Prochera, Bernice Rausch, Catherine Rezin, Sandra Riddle, Khrystyne Robillard-Smith, Robert Roehrig, Jessica Rybak, Lori Scarlatos, Lisa Scrima-Castelli, Hillary Serota Needle, Stephen Shannon, Mike Stanko, Maddy Stare, Judy Stone, Betty Ann Tedeschi, Ashley Thorbjornsen, Susan Toplitz, Robert Tuska, Diane Van Velsor, Joseph Weinreb, Patty Yantz, Steven Zaluski, Theodora Zavala and Tianzhou Zhao.

The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, June 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to meet the exhibiting artists and enjoy the beautiful art. 

The Mills Pond Gallery is located at 660 Route 25A in St. James. Regular gallery hours are Wednesdays to  Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Admission to the gallery is always free. For more information or directions, call 631-862-6575, or visit www.millspondgallery.org.

Resurgence: A rising again into life, activity, or prominence.

Merriam-Webster

When the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s Mills Pond Gallery opens its doors this Saturday, it will introduce Resurgence, a fine art exhibition featuring fifty works by twenty-five contemporary realist artists selected by curator Thomas Legaspi. The stunning show will run through Oct. 23.

The exhibit features a cross section of representational artists from the New York  Metropolitan area, including Long Island, and Pennsylvania and a few artists whose ties to New York continue to be strong even after their art careers have relocated them after their amazing New York educational experiences.

“The artists have had to evolve and react to the changes happening in this pandemic society,” said Allison Cruz, Executive Director of the Mills Pond Gallery. “From cancelled brick and mortar exhibitions, closing of cultural institutions, concerns about the future to zoom teaching, virtual exhibitions and more. For some, working alone has sharpened their creative focus … for others, the absence of physical human connection has forced them to seek new sources of inspiration.” 

“We are thrilled to celebrate the strength of Realism as an art form and provide a forum for our public audiences to experience the moving and original ways artists depict the world around them,” she said.

Curator Thomas Legaspi has juried shows for Dacia Gallery and an Art Collective New York Realism. A New York based, contemporary realist artist with an MFA from The New York Academy of Art, he has exhibited nationally and internationally for the past 20 years. In that time, he has also worked as an Adjunct Professor of Art for St. John’s University and City College of Technology as well as in the historic Educational Alliance Art School in the Lower East Side. 

“With a hopeful gaze, Resurgence aims to highlight what these contemporary realist artists are creating in this return to creative activity,” said Legaspi.

Exhibiting artist include Susan Cottle Alberto, Steven Assael, Ross Barbera, James Xavier Barbour, Charis J Carmichael Braun, Julia Chen, Jon deMartin, Stephanie Deshpande, Elizabeth Diaz, William Dodge, Christian Fagerlund, Mojca Fatur, Kelly Foss, Kyle Keith, Sara Keith, Scott Lawson, Lisa Lebofsky, Peter Leeds, Cliff Miller, Kseniya Ostrovska, Ivan Pazlamatchev, Ravindra Rana, William D. Reed, Doug Reina and Zimou Tan.

The Mills Pond Gallery, 660 Route 25A, St. James presents Resurgence from Sept. 25 to Oct. 23. The community is invited to an artist reception on Sept. 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. Proof of vaccination and masks are required.

Gallery hours are Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 631-862-6575 or visit www.millspondgallery.org.