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Smithtown Arts Council

"Horseshoe Crab Rising" 48" w x 34" h, by Hank Grebe

An artist’s little black book is often a secret stash of intimate expressions, innermost thoughts, and experimental techniques that lay the groundwork for their final piece. Now some of those secrets will be revealed at the next art exhibit at the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s Mills Pond Gallery in St. James. The juried show,  titled Little Black Book, opens July 23.

‘Eva and the Socks’ by Kyle Blumenthal. Images courtesy of STAC

Juror Carol Fabricatore invited artists to enter works that captured the spirit, movement and emotions of their subject. When selecting the pieces for the show she looked for “works inspired by life…works that conjured narratives…that took us to places we had never seen… or introduced us to people and places.”

Artists build their work through inspiration, references, sketches, models, underpaintings and other modes of planning. Entrants were required to submit writeups digital images, sketches, etc. that showed the evolution of each piece they entered into the show.  

The result is 60 works of art by 40 artists created using a variety of mediums including acrylic, charcoal, collage, colored pencil, gouache, graphite, ink, oil, pastel and watercolor.

Exhibiting artists include Amal, Ross Barbera, Shain Bard, Nancy Bass, Hema Bharadwaj, Kyle Blumenthal, Renee Caine, Nan Cao, Benjamin Cisek, Caryn Coville, Yunyi Dai, Kirsten DiGiovanni, James Dill, Jacob Docksey, Amanda Dolly, John Edwe, Ella Emsheimer, Nicholas Frizalone, Ayakoh Furukawa-Leonart, Hank Grebe, Susan Guihan Guasp, Stefani Jarrett, Roshanak Keyghobadi, Myungja Anna Koh, Mark Levine, Yuke Li, Edward Mills, Adam Mitchell, Amuri Morris, Patricia Morrison, Eddie Nino, Moriah Ray-Britt, William Reed, Melanie Reim, Marie Roberts, Dominick Santise, Fang Sullivan, Tracy Tekverk and Nina Wood. 

Little Black Book will be on view at the Mills Pond Gallery, 660 Route 25A, St. James through Aug. 27. Gallery hours are Wednesdays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, July 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information or directions, visit www.millspondgallery.org or call 631-862-6575. 

The Smithtown Township Arts Council is pleased to announce Winners Showcase I, a fine art exhibition featuring five winning artists from 2020 exhibitions. The exhibit is currently on view at the Mills Pond Gallery in St. James through Feb. 6.

 Smithtown artist Lucia Alberti enjoys painting landscapes in acrylics. Lucia finds it most comfortable to paint from her imagination, incorporating subjects she finds of interest. This allows Lucia to “create a story in her mind of another place and moment in time, while trying to capture a glimpse of it upon my canvas.” Lucia’s work has been exhibited widely in galleries across Long Island.

Huntington Station artist Shain Bard’s paintings evoke a sense of a moment captured in time that people can all subconsciously relate to. The way the light filters through the leaves of a small forest, the driver’s view of dappled sun shining through the trees on a Sunday drive, or of a snowy sunset on a suburban street.  “Nature and art are within and without us, something close to what I would call ‘home’. It is those moments when we most fully connect to our surroundings, those held-breath moments that I am interested in.”

Northport artist Margaret Minardi’s mixed media paintings juxtapose realism and expressionism. Combining years of classical training with a pure gestural mark making, she is inspired by the Expressionists of the 1950’s collage.  “I am constantly in search of new mediums and processes that can be synthesized into my works. “Important to me is serendipity. Mistakes keep me interested, intellectually challenged, and excited.” Within Margaret’s works, the viewer is constantly challenged to interpret and reinterpret what they see. There is a narrative beneath the surface of all her works. “Each brushstroke is a voice for my inner world.”

Valley Stream artist Mike Stanko, a lifelong Long Islander, has been showing his unique and whimsical art for over 20 years.  From his home in Valley Stream to the world beyond, he finds endless inspiration in the iconic, the familiar as well as the mundane — sunflowers, beach scenes, maybe even a grilled cheese sandwich. His paintings are bold and eye-catching and like the artist, convey joy, a sense of humor and a love of life.

Kings Park artist Pamela Waldroup is a fine art photographer whose work is about “hyper-focusing on the subject to solidify my own experience and provoke a memory, real or imagined, to surface both for the viewer and me.” She will exhibit black & white photographs from her series City Perspectives — Inside and Out. The works in this project “voice my strong desire to capture interactions between human, environmental and industrial elements through a geometric approach found in the repetitive patterns and shapes.” As an art educator, Pamela taught photography (darkroom and digital) and fine arts for 33 years.

The Mills Pond Gallery is located at 660 Route 25A in St. James. Gallery hours are Wed. to Fri., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sat.; Sun. from noon to 4 p.m.; closed Mondays. Admission to the gallery is free. Masks are mandatory. For more information, call 631-862-6575 or visit www.millspondgallery.org.

The Smithtown Township Arts Council (STAC) has announced that the works of artist Tina Anthony will be on view at Apple Bank, 91 Route 111, Smithtown now through February 4, 2021. The exhibition, part of STAC’s Outreach Gallery Program, can be viewed during regular banking hours. Modified business hours due to COVID-19 are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Some artists take a long time to fulfill a dream. Tina Anthony was always drawn to painting, but life always seemed to get in the way of her paintbrushes and easels. Ms. Anthony raised a family and taught school for 35 years. Then after a long period, she decided to study Art.  Fortunately, she found many great instructors on Long Island and has studied pastels, oils, drawing and watercolor.

Tina Anthony has been actively showing her work at various galleries across Long Island. Living only one block from Crab Meadow Beach and only a short distance from Stony Brook, the marshes and meadows have become a force of nature for this beach wanderer and observer of light.

For more information, call 631-862-6575.

Images courtesy of STAC

By Heidi Sutton

When was the last time you went to an art exhibit? When was the last time you strolled through a gallery, taking in the beauty of a painting, a photograph, a sculpture? Yes, virtual exhibits are a creative substitution but we all know it’s not the same. Thankfully, art institutions on the Island are slowly reopening their doors to the public with fresh and exciting art installations to lift our spirits and grant us a reprieve from the stresses of our daily lives.

On Sept 3, the Reboli Center for Art & History in Stony Brook Village launched their new season with Wild and Wonderful featuring the whimsical art of Vicki Sawyer and on Sept. 12, the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s stately Mills Pond Gallery in St. James introduces a juried fine art exhibition titled Contemporary Realism honoring an art movement in which subjects are painted from everyday life. The massive show highlights the works of 64 artists from 11 states who were asked to submit oil paintings “that captured realism through any approach or style.” Exhibiting Long Island artists represent 18 Long Island communities from Floral Park to Aquebogue.

Allison Cruz, executive director of the Mills Pond Gallery, has been cautiously waiting to present this exhibit to the public and is thrilled to reopen the gallery’s doors this Saturday. “The business of art does not really ‘take a vacation.’ Exhibits, calls for entry, shipping of work, jurying the entries all go on for months ahead of the actual exhibit since our juried exhibitions are national calls for entry. So when the pandemic hit, we were already halfway through the process,” said Cruz. The gallery received 162 submissions for the show.

Originally scheduled for July 11 to August 8, Cruz wisely decided to move the show to September and October in hopes the gallery would then be open for visitors,” she said.

Precautions have been taken to provide a safe environment for visitors using the guidelines from the New York State Dept. of Health NY Forward site. “Masks and social distancing are required and temperatures are taken upon arrival with a contactless thermometer,” explained Cruz. “We wipe down all high touch surfaces … ie: door knobs, entry ways, any surfaces touched by visitors, with CDC approved anti-viral wipes. We have constructed a plastic barrier for the office and schedule regular cleanings as required.”

Exhibiting artists include Amal, Shain Bard, Karl Bourke, Renee Brown, Charis J Carmichael Braun, Alberto Carol, Linda Ann Catucci, Sarah Ciampa, Aleta Crawford, William Dodge, Daniel Donato, Caro Dranow, Evee Erb, Megan K. Euell, John Fitzsimmons, Cori Forster, Nicholas Frizalone, Elizabeth Fusco, Symmes Gardner, Ashley Gillin, Emily Halper, Seth Harris, William Karaffa, Donna Kunz, Jane Langley, Thomas Legaspi, PJ Marzullo, Liz Jorg Masi, Kerri McKay, Clifford Miller, Joseph Miller, Joseph A. Miller, Indu Ramkumar, Doug Reina, Michele Riche, Audrey Rodriguez, Robert Roehrig, Oscar Santiago, Gia Schifano, Hannah Steele, Daniel van Benthuysen, Diane Varano, Robert Whistler, Janice Yang, and Patty Yantz.

Winners were chosen by juror Max Ginsberg, one of the most respected and highly accomplished realist painters today. The alla prima (painting directly on canvas without a preliminary drawing) oil painter is often praised for his political and social commentaries and for bringing to life on canvas the struggles of everyday people in his New York City home. His fine art has been exhibited and collected widely and has received countless major awards. The artist has taught art for 60 years and offers workshops around the country and abroad in his commitment to inspire today’s artists to master realism painting.

“I was very fortunate to connect with Max Ginsburg. I have never presented an exhibit of Realism here at Mills Pond and in speaking with Max about the exhibit, we both agreed that the show should be open to all styles of Realism since we shared the goal of encouraging artists to continue to pursue this wonderful style of painting,” said Cruz, adding, “[He] is held in such high regard in the art world and many of our entrants expressed that the reason for entering this exhibit was for the opportunity to have their work under the eye and possible selection by Max.”

Preparing for the exhibit has been a joy for the director. “I love this exhibit for many reasons. The art is technically wonderful … there is a wide variety of subject matter and styles … which is a testament to the skills and passion of our juror. He truly selected works based on their artistic quality and skill level, not simply looking for works that were similar to his own style or social realism subject,” said Cruz.

Best in Show ($1200 cash prize) was awarded to “Look” by Joseph A. Miller of Buffalo; second place ($800 cash prize) went to “My Guest, Lorena” by Hannah Steele of Pennsylvania and third place ($400 cash prize) was awarded to “Blue Beauty” by Liz Jorg Masi of Smithtown.

“Christine” by Charis J. Carmichael Braun of Northport; “Shaded Lily Pond” by Aleta Crawford  of Manhasset; “The Spanish Poet” by Karl Bourke of Huntington Station; “In the Frontline” by Alberto Carol of Florida; and “Father” by Hannah Steele of Pennsylvania received Honorable Mentions.

Cruz is excited to share this unique exhibit with the public. “Personally I have always believed that art is an essential and valuable component of communication. Think about how people from past civilizations communicated about their lives through cave drawings … What future generations learn about our times will partially be communicated through the art of our times. I was so hopeful that the gallery would be able to open to allow visitors to have an additional way of looking at the world … we have television, radio, internet, and for many, art is another method of exploring contemporary issues in the world.”

The Mills Pond Gallery, located at 660 Route 25A, St. James, will present Contemporary Realism from Sept. 12 to Oct. 16. Hours are Wednesday through 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.