Fresh on the heels of a successful paint night, the Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main St., Stony Brook Village will present a Wreath Workshop on Monday, May 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A beautiful wreath in your décor is something special, but a beautiful wreath made by you is even better! During this two-hour class, you’ll get to make a Pinterest-worthy wreath with the guidance of Diana from Everlastings by Diana using dried flowers and herbs. You’ll be encouraged to explore your own style within the demonstrated framework. All materials are provided and, of course, you’ll take your creation home with you! Refreshments will be served. Attendance is limited. The workshop fee is $45. To register, please call 631-751-7707.
The poet/artist William Blake wrote of seeing “a World in a Grain of Sand, and a Heaven in a Wild Flower” and holding “Infinity in the palm of your hand, and Eternity in an hour.” The Reboli Center for Art and History will consider the ways different artists see not only wildflowers but landscape in all its elements, through its latest exhibit In Bloom, which opens May 2.
‘Hydrangeas’ by Ty Stroudsburg
The show features paintings by Joseph Reboli and Ty Stroudsburg’s paintings and pastels. Although Reboli was known for classical realism and Stroudsburg works in a more abstract, less representational way, the artists knew and admired each other, said Lois Reboli in a recent interview. “The exhibit will be a riot of color,” she said, as her late husband’s work is presented side-by-side with Stroudsburg’s.
The Reboli Center opened this past fall to preserve the legacy left by Joe Reboli, a well-known painter and longtime Three Village resident who died in 2004. Every exhibit will show his paintings together with work done by someone he knew.
Stroudsburg will show 12 pieces in the In Bloom exhibit. Some are framed oil paintings on paper, others are oils on linen canvas and the rest are framed pastels. Although she and Reboli shared the same birth date (Sept. 25) and a love of landscape, they respond to their environments differently.
Lush abstraction
“The first thing I deal with is color,” Stroudsburg said in a recent interview. “I just love it.” Her slashing brushwork (“people have called it ‘Zorro-esque’”) grew from her abstract expressionist work done in the 1960s. “I love to experiment with what the paint can do,” Stroudsburg explained.
‘Vineyard’s Edge’ by Ty Stroudsburg
When it comes to interpreting light, “I don’t use it in terms of light and shadow. But obviously, without light there’s no color, so it’s there.” Areas of lush color lead the eye around her pieces, as one takes note of the forms and textures Stroudsburg uses to interpret what she called the “natural, unpopulated world.” The result, she said, is “an effort to record the pervasive qualities of places that excited my vision. In this way, hopefully, the viewers of my work will be able to share that vision.”
Stroudsburg is a self-taught artist who started her career as a teacher. “I lasted three weeks,” she said wryly. A 1962 trip to Long Island changed her life. Inspired by the Parrish Museum, Guild Hall and then-rural South Fork, “I got a part-time job in a dress shop, just continued to paint and that was it,” she recalled. Stroudsburg lives in Southold now, where the North Fork’s farm fields and changing seasons “are a big point of takeoff” for her art.
Yin versus Yang
Presenting Stroudsburg’s landscapes alongside Reboli’s demonstrates how artists can see the same subject with different vision, said Colleen Hanson, co-director of the Reboli Center with Lois Reboli and B.J. Intini. In Stroudsburg’s and Reboli’s interpretations of nature, “you have this kind of yin/yang painting of Long Island. Both are known for color and light, but Ty is abstract and Joe used classical realism.”
‘Hydrangea Cottage’ by Joe Reboli
Sunlit vegetables that almost seem to glow from within, spirited hydrangeas staking their claim against the wall of an old cottage, Stony Brook Village blanketed with snow — all are rendered with Reboli’s attention to light and shadow, and his devotion to interpreting the hallmarks of a season.
“In the 1960s, when Joe went to the Paier School of Art, there was a huge abstraction push” in the art world, Hanson said. “Many schools were deviating from a classical education component” but Reboli embraced and excelled in the tradition. In Stroudsburg’s painting, “Ty’s strokes are looser, the composition is looser. Her work has that color field and movement that just engages you.”
Showing Reboli’s art next to the work of other artists gives people “a way to understand how different origins make for different paintings,” Hanson said. “What we’re trying to do is explore Joe’s origins and his references. We show the contrast with painters who were in the same area at the same time, doing the same subject.”
Third Friday talks
The Reboli Center’s monthly Third Friday talks from 6 to 8 p.m. link the local community with its history, said Lois Reboli, while at the same time focusing on aspects of the exhibits.
On May 19, the center will welcome Christina Strassfield, museum director and chief curator of Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, who will speak about “My Life in Museums,” a life and career shaped by art.
‘Peony’ by Joseph Reboli
On June 16, Deborah Johnson, deputy director and director of development at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington and author of a book titled “Joseph Reboli,” will speak about Reboli’s work.
On July 21, Katharine Griffiths, director of Avalon Park and Preserve, will discuss the park’s use of native plants. Reboli’s mother Olga Jicinsky Reboli was born and raised in “a little tiny house” that eventually became the renovated building where Avalon Park staff are headquartered, Lois Reboli pointed out.
Third Fridays are a chance for people to gather for stimulating discussion and “a wonderful, fun evening,” Reboli said. “We’re pretty much packed every time we have one.” The talks are free and light refreshments will be served.
The Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main St., Stony Brook will present In Bloom from May 2 through July 30. An artist reception is yet to be scheduled. The center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 631-751-7707 or visit www.rebolicenter.org
Recreate Joseph Reboli’s ‘Beach’ painting like the sample above on April 26. Image courtesy of the Reboli Center
Looking for a fun night out? The Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main St., Stony Brook is hosting a painting party on Wednesday, April 26 from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
For a registration fee of $45 each participant will complete a painting in the style of Joseph Reboli. All supplies are included and no experience is necessary. As a special added attraction, Mora’s Wine of Setauket will be having a wine tasting for participants!
The instructors for the evening are Eileen Sanger and Linda Davison Mathues, who are friends in life and art. Both are award-winning, professional artists with representation in art galleries. Recognizing that there is a real interest in picking up a brush and painting in a fun social atmosphere, the two artists formed The Winey Painters. Eileen and Linda bring something unique to the painting party experience. Their projects always are carefully planned around a famous artist, at the Reboli Center that artist is Joseph Reboli. They delve into just what makes a particular artist paint in a unique style.
Artists, past and present, lived very interesting lives, and The Winey Painters combine art history with the painting. With the instructors’ many years of teaching experience, everyone leaves happy and sometimes amazed at their own hidden talent. So come join The Winey Painters and have a great time making your own Reboli masterpiece!
The Painting Party has a limited enrollment, so sign up early. To register, come to the Reboli Center or call 631-751-7707 during business hours, Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
Eileen Sanger, the beautiful, vivacious plein air oil painter with a passion for life, talks about her art, her future plans and how she managed to not let personal loss define her life. Sanger’s art can be seen locally at the Reboli Center in Stony Brook, the William Ris Gallery in Jamesport and at www.eileensanger.com.
How would you describe your art?
I consider myself to be a modern impressionist. I paint color, light and shadow creating a fleeting moment in time. I use small and large shapes, layering color, and using current themes such as ocean scenes, farm scenes, boats, etc. It’s about what my eyes can see and what I feel.
‘North Shoreline’ by Eileen Sanger
Who has inspired you along the way?
I have been inspired by Monet, Sorolla, Sargent and even Fairfield Porter. I have also learned from my friend Don Demers, a nationally recognized marine painter. But I have to say that my interest in becoming an artist began with my third grade art teacher, Mrs. Weber, who saw potential in my art and persuaded my mother to let me take lessons. From that point on, I have had either a pencil or a brush in my hand.
Why do you prefer plein air painting?
Painting outdoors opens all my senses and brings out an emotional content. My heart actually beats faster when I am about to begin the painting which reveals the emotion behind the brush, and then intuition takes over.
What is the best thing that art has brought you?
Art has always been the gateway to my soul and true self. It has brought me a sense of purpose and has filled my life with joy. I have met some wonderful artists with whom I have shared the same feelings. It has brought me to new places to paint.
If you could interview one artist, whom would that be?
Claude Monet! I would love to get into his head!
‘To the Water’ by Eileen Sanger
I know that you have been most generous in sharing your art with local charitable organizations. Can you explain why?
I believe that art should be shared and it makes me feel good to contribute in some way. I believe in paying forward.
If there was one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
Survivor! I have had three near death experiences and some significant love losses in my life, but I don’t believe in reliving the past. I look at every experience as a learning lesson and move on. I am an optimist!
After your husband passed away, you chose to move to Riverhead. Why did you choose the North Fork?
I found a small, historic chapel to renovate and love the peace and tranquility in my “little piece of heaven” chapel. The fact that it sits in the middle of wine country and has bucolic views offers wonderful opportunities to paint plein air.
What else are you passionate about?
My other passion is food and wine. I love cooking and coming up with creative recipes. It was my love of food that brought me to work at The Crushed Olive in Stony Brook. I would hand out my recipes, which received such good feedback that it was suggested that I write “The Infused Palate.” It is a collection of my recipes using the flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars now selling in forty-eight olive oil stores. It can be ordered from my website at www.theinfusedpalate.com.
‘A Summer’s Day’ by Eileen Sanger
What is the most important aspect of you that you would like people to know about you?
Wow, that’s a tough one! I guess that I am a passionate, caring and moral person. I enjoy life and always make plans so that I have something to look forward to.
What is the most important lesson you have learned in life?
My dear, deceased mother has taught me that life is 5 percent living, but your attitude and how you approach life is 95 percent. What a fabulous woman she was! I miss her every day, but she had taught me to always live in the moment.
What excites you the most about your future?
This month, I will be sixty-five and I am retired. I eventually will move to North Carolina with my new love, where I would love to start an art organization where I can teach and show my art and the art of others. I will continue to paint until I die since art soothes me and reaches my soul. It will be a part of me forever.
After a remarkable career spanning over 60 years, artist Ken Davies has earned the title of one of the top masters of realistic still life. Now Davies is the star of a special group show at the Reboli Center for Art and History in Stony Brook, appropriately titled Ken Davies: Realism in the 20th Century.
The 50-piece exhibit, which is the second show at the newly opened gallery and runs through April 30, focuses on Davies and his students, including Joseph Reboli, Richard Newman, Dennis Coburn and George (Gig) Thompson, all college classmates and lifelong friends of Reboli. In addition, work by Jo-Anne Scavetta and Daniel Patrick Buckley, collaborators of Davies, will be on display.
Davies was Reboli’s teacher, mentor and friend. “When Joe chose a college to go to, he selected Paier [School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut] because of its classical tradition. Ken Davies was the person who wrote the curriculum for Paier,” noted Colleen Hanson, trustee of the Reboli Center.
With many works in private collections as well as museums, Davies, 92, is known for his almost photographic-like quality of painting, taking the ordinary and transforming it to a work of fine art. Close to two dozen of the award-winning artist and former dean of Paier paintings will be on display. “We have paintings of Joe’s alongside of Ken’s to show his influence on Joe’s paintings,” said Hanson.
Ken Davies
Said Lois Reboli, Joseph Reboli’s widow and president of the Reboli Center, “I know my husband thought so highly of Ken Davies. He had such an influence on [Joe’s] paintings. ” She added that it was Davies who recommended Joe Reboli represent New York in the White House commemorative calendar published in 2000.
Reboli’s paintings on display at the current exhibit include three of the Pemaquid Lighthouse, circa 1994 (“Stairlight 1987,” on loan; “Fennel,” on loan; and “Beets,” part of the Reboli Center’s collection). Also on display will be “Shell,” a painting Reboli did as a student at the Paier School. A fifth, “Bellport Gate,” is on loan from Gallery North.
In addition, four of Reboli’s works from private collectors — “Hoses,” “Green Barn,” “West Meadow Beach” and “Screened Window” will be on display and for sale. The commissions from those sales will benefit the center and help finance the purchase of additional paintings for the center’s collection.
Said Hanson, “The reason we chose this to be the second exhibit is to expand people’s understanding and knowledge of Joe as a painter. In our first exhibit, A Sense of Place, we wanted to show both how important the community setting had been in the subject matter of Joe’s paintings and also how relevant the site of the Reboli Center was to Joe’s background, how close it was to his childhood home …”
Hanson went on to explain that Reboli’s aunt was an important part of the bank, the Stony Brook building that now houses the Reboli Center, and that “his grandfathers’ careers (were) involved in the setting — the grist mill, tavern, green grocer, etc.” in Stony Brook Village.
On March 17 from 5 to 7 p.m., as part of the center’s Third Friday series of programs, Long Island artist Dan Pollera will be speaking about his paintings of Long Island, his career, his connection with Reboli and his inspiration as a working artist. A question and answer period will follow.
April’s Third Friday program will feature poet and novelist Claire White. Christina Strassfield of Guild Hall is scheduled to speak in May and in June Deborah Johnson, author of “Joseph Reboli,” a volume published in connection with The Long Island Museum’s exhibit in 1998 will speak. The programs are free and open to the public; no reservations are required.
Johnson’s volume is for sale at the center. Lois Reboli noted that when the center ran out of the books, The Long Island Museum generously donated a number of copies. “We were thrilled with that. They were very kind to us. We’re so grateful to the community for all the support they’ve shown us. We hope to borrow more paintings from community members in the future.” She especially thanked Howard Eskin who recently passed away. “He was wonderful in letting us borrow paintings.”
Future plans include a garden show beginning in May. “We hope to never have the same show twice,” Lois Reboli said, adding that a garden party fundraiser is planned for June. She also noted that Fort Salonga sculptor David Haussler, who recently passed away, just had some sculptures delivered to the center for display. “We’re grateful to have his sculptures on the property… He’s remarkable.”
The Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main Street, Stony Brook is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Call 631-751-7707 or visit www.rebolicenter.org for further details.
Artist Stan Brodsky in his studio. Photo from Pam Brown
‘Santa Barbara #5’ by Stan Brodsky
Stan Brodsky, noted Huntington painter and C. W. Post professor emeritus of art, will be featured at the Reboli Center for Art and History’s second Third Friday event to be held Friday, Jan. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. This event is one of a series of free monthly cultural programs sponsored by the Center, located at 64 Main St., Stony Brook, that bring new perspectives on art and artists.
Stan Brodsky has been painting for more than 60 years and is known for his colorful abstract landscape paintings. He exhibits at a number of galleries and his paintings were the subject of a retrospective at the Hecksher Museum in 2013. Joe Reboli was an admirer of Brodsky’s paintings.
Doug Reina, a well-known local artist who has studied with Brodsky, will be interviewing Mr. Brodsky about his evolution as an artist, his sources of inspirations, and his observations about the art world in general. Although Mr. Brodsky is now 91, his passion for painting continues and his current work reflects his vigilance to his work as an artist.
The Reboli Center’s Third Friday program is free to the public and no reservations are required. For more information about the event, go to www.ReboliCenter.org or call the Reboli Center at 631-751-7707.
From left, Doug Reina, B.J. Intini, Pam Brown, Lois Reboli, Colleen Hanson, David Ebner, Robin Clonts and Jim Molloy. Photo by Heidi Sutton
By Heidi Sutton
The Reboli Center for Art and History in Stony Brook presented its first Third Friday event on Dec. 16. Over 75 people attended the standing room only event. “I’m overwhelmed at the positive response from the community and so thankful for their interest in the center and its programs,” said Lois Reboli.
Along with artist Pam Brown, who also hosted the event, the evening featured a Behind the Scenes art talk with Robin Clonts, David Ebner, Jim Molloy and Doug Reina and commenced with a Q-and-A. Due to its immense popularity, the second Third Friday event has already been scheduled for Jan. 20 from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Reboli Center is located at 64 Main Street in Stony Brook Village. For more information on upcoming programs, call 631-751-7707 or visit www.ReboliCenter.org.
Jim Molloy will be one of the featured artists at the Reboli Center on Dec. 16.
Doug Reina will be one of the featured artists at the Reboli Center on Dec. 16.
Pam Brown will be one of the featured artists at the Reboli Center on Dec. 16.
Robin Clonts will be one of the featured artists at the Reboli Center on Dec. 16.
David Ebner will be one of the featured artists at the Reboli Center on Dec. 16.
The recently opened Reboli Center for Art and History, located at 64 Main Street in Stony Brook Village, is inaugurating a new monthly program called Third Friday at the Reboli. Third Friday is modeled after a number of nationally successful events sponsored by art centers that bring communities together with artists, speakers, authors, performers and other special guests to offer programs that will allow the visitor to experience these institutions in an entirely different way.
“Our goal at the Reboli Center is to involve the community in our programs and be an inspiration for artistic and historical interpretations. We have had such an overwhelmingly positive response to our opening and we want to continue with offering exciting free programs like Third Friday at the Reboli,” said Reboli Center President Lois Reboli. “Our hope is that Third Friday will become a community tradition.”
The first Third Friday program will be held on Friday, Dec. 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Reboli Center. The initial program will feature a panel of artists who are currently exhibiting in the Design Shop at the Reboli Center. The artists Pam Brown, Robin Clonts, David Ebner, Jim Molloy and Doug Reina create in a variety of mediums, and the evening will allow the audience members to hear about the philosophies underlying their work and about the practical, artistic and other quirky processes at work in their studios. The audience will have the opportunity to join the discussion. In addition, visitors can get a sneak peak at the gallery’s upcoming exhibit, Joseph Reboli: A Sense of Place, which will be on view from Dec. 18 to Jan. 29, and shop for unique holiday gifts from local artists at the Design Shop.
Future Third Friday programs will discuss historical topics, introduce other artists, offer sketching events, present musical performers, hear local authors and offer other engaging programming that will bring new connections and fresh perspectives. Third Friday programs are free to the public and do not require a reservation. For more information call 631-751-7707 or visit the Reboli Center website at www.ReboliCenter.org.
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