Anita Soos and Ken Lovell at Gallery 195; reception in September

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (First Niagara Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Anita Soos and Ken Lovell
Jun. 18—Sept. 20, 2013.
Artists' Reception: Tues., Sept. 10, 5-7 p.m.

Press release from the Arts Council of Greater New Haven

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of works by Connecticut artists Anita Soos and Ken Lovell at Gallery 195. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from June 18 to Sept. 20, 2013. An artists’ reception is scheduled for Tues., Sept. 10, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend and meet the artists at this closing reception.

Curated by Debbie Hesse, The Arts Council's director of artistic services & programs, the exhibit pairs the artists because both create abstract rhythms through the use of color, texture and pattern.

"While Anita Soos creates painterly prints that are atmospheric and reference the landscape, Ken Lovell, a digital painter, programs random elements from computer generated templates," Hesse said. "Both artists explore the balance of chance and choice, as dictated by the processes and materials inherent in their respective mediums."

Anita Soos graduated from Endicott College in 1968 and is the owner of Anita Soos Design, Inc., a Connecticut-based design company specializing in mail order, product development, greeting card design and advertising for a select group of clients.

Artwork by Anita Soos

In her artistic pursuits, Soos’ primary medium is paint, but also uses pastel, printmaking, drawing and mixed media. In her artist's statement, she says that she has created bodies of work based on the observations of water and photographic studies for the past 25 years.

"I am continually struck by the notion that the chaos in nature is perfectly ordered. The quality of light, the movement of the water, the time of day, low tide, high tide, wind, calm, sun, rain, clouds, storm. These all converge into a single moment that is singular, never to be repeated," Soos says..
Lovell received his MFA in painting from Yale University in 1992 and currently works at the institution as the technical director of the Digital Media Center for the Arts.

"My working method involves both digital means and traditional fine art concerns," Lovell explains in his artist’s statement. "Random elements and research material are programmatically combined using a digital collage technique of my creation. With these computer-generated templates as a starting point an image evolves, serially, with printed matter being altered by subjective physical performance. This mechanism of production allows elements of chance (the voice of the medium) to co-exist with painterly choices.".

Reception for Boisvert and St. Mary show at Gallery 195 Tuesday evening

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (First Niagara Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Ethan Boisvert and Mark K. St. Mary
Through Jun. 14, 2013.
Artists' Reception: Tues., Apr. 23, 5-7 p.m.

Press release from the Arts Council of Greater New Haven

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of paintings by Connecticut artists Ethan Boisvert and Mark K. St. Mary at Gallery 195 at First Niagara Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, New Haven. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from Mar. 19 through Jun. 14, 2013. An artists’ reception is scheduled for Tues., Apr. 23, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Ethan Boisvert and Mark K. St. Mary are both obsessed with colorful patterns and layered patinas rich with memories, yet each artist achieved this quality in their artwork through a different lens: St. Mary literally through the camera lens and Boisvert, through a heavily built up painted canvas. St Mary, using light, shadow and color, reframes recognizable places into abstract environments; seen together, these artists create abstractions that suggest both micro and macro universes.

Boisvert builds his canvas surface from densely layered, broad gestural marks- brushed and stamped- building a history of the artist's process in each painting. Borrowing from a rich tradition of abstraction, he reworks his canvases to reach what he considers "equilibrium."

Ethan Boisvert: "All Undone with Insipid Subsume"

"In my painting, I take a 21st century approach, an appropriation of styles created by the 20th century avant-garde. One could say that I sample or loosely appropriate purified styles and combine them into new works—a synthesizer if you will," Boisvert explains in his artist statement on his Web site.

Mark K. St. Mary is a photographer who also has formal training in horticultural design and holds a Masters in biology. In addition, he is a professional landscaper and carpenter whose other means of artistic expression are restoring period houses and designing and building custom furniture. An avid amateur photographer for 36 years, St. Mary began exhibiting work in 2007.

"My work is a visual representation of my emotional connection to elements of the environment. I strive to create a sense of presence, capturing a mood through the intersection of light, form and color… It has more to do with the value of light and shadow than with the actual subject—allowing the subject to acquire a grace unavailable in context so that the subject becomes irrelevant," St. Mary explains in an artist statement on his Web site.

Artists' reception Tuesday at Gallery 195 in New Haven

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (First Niagara Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Perry Obee & J.D. Richey
Through Mar. 15, 2013.
Artists' Reception: Tues., Jan. 15, 5-7 p.m.

Press release from the arts Council of greater New Haven

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of paintings by Connecticut artists Perry Obee and J.D. Richey at Gallery 195 at First Niagara Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, New Haven. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from Dec. 18, 2012 through Mar. 15, 2013. An artists' reception is scheduled for Tues., Jan. 15, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

According to Debbie Hesse, the Arts Council's Director of Artistic Services & Programs and curator of this show, the two are paired nicely because viewers will be able to compare and contrast their painterly styles. Both are representational artists; one gravitating towards interior spaces, the other toward exteriors.


Obee holds up the interior side of that dichotomy, often depicting his studio, himself, and other artworks, adding a level of intimacy to the work and building on the tradition of paintings within paintings.

Richey often chooses to paint outdoors. His 'plein air' works are not typical pastoral landscapes, but gritty street scenes. Still, the paintings incorporate vibrant colors and represent reality and New Haven in an honest and recognizable way.

Two artist show reception Tuesday at Gallery 195 in New Haven

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (First Niagara Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788  
Sarah Beth Goncarova and Thomas Edwards
Through Dec. 14, 2012.
Opening reception: Tues., Oct. 2, 5-7 p.m.

Press release from The arts Council of Greater New Haven

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of works by artists Sarah Beth Goncarova and Thomas Edwards at First Niagara Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, in New Haven.

The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from September 18, 2012 through December 14, 2012. An artists' reception is scheduled for Tues., Oct. 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend and meet the artists.

Goncarova works with acrylic paint, watercolors, sculpture/textiles, and collage. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture and extended media in 2002 and her Masters of Architecture in 2005.

For this exhibition, Goncarova will be showing intricate textile sculptures. In her artist's statement, she describes them as "undulating forms that crash and collide," and "sinuous shapes of light and shadow." Along with the use of sewn textiles, she has applied countless tiny crystals, which she intends to catch the light and "wink at you from the corner of your eye."

Goncarova has exhibited, among other places, in New Haven, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Brooklyn, Berkeley, and internationally in Norway and Germany. She also published a book, A Yearlong Summer, in 2010. You can see her work at goncarova.com.

Thomas Edwards was also trained as an architect while fostering his artistic career making paintings, drawings and prints. He received his Bachelors of Architecture degree from Kansas State University in 1971, then went on to get two Master of Fine Arts degrees, one from Kansas State University in 1978 and another from Yale University in 1983.

"Drawing, for me, covers a vast array of activities that in some ways are akin to breathing and in other ways akin to surgery," explains Edwards in his artist's statement. His works are layered, both conceptually and actually. He continues to explain in his statement that he uses simple landscapes in his paintings to describe universal experiences (a fence as an enclosure/limitation, a backyard as a trigger for childhood memories/a safe haven of play, or a prairie to represent unlimited space with earth, sky, and wind.

Edwards has exhibited across the United States and has work included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. His works can be seen at janehaslemgallery.com/Edwards.

Opening at Gallery 195 in New Haven Tuesday evening

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (First Niagara Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Tim Nikiforuk & Blinn Jacobs
Through June 15, 2012.
Opening reception: Tues., Apr. 17, 5-7 p.m.

Press release

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of works by Connecticut artists Tim Nikiforuk and Blinn Jacobs at First Niagara Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, New Haven. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from Mar. 20, 2012 through June 15, 2012. An artists’ reception is scheduled for Tues., Apr. 17, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Nikiforuk’s more recent work focuses on both portraiture of self-posting/social media sites and the abstract nature of biological entities and systems. Jacobs focuses much of her work on a dialogue between polygonal “shaped” canvases and the use of “painterliness” in regard to the interaction of color.


Tim Nikiforuk is a graduate of the University of Connecticut. His work can be seen in private collections throughout the Northeast region, as well as art exhibitions throughout Connecticut. Currently, he is an adjunct professor of Quinebaug Valley Community College, Gibbs College, and the University of New Haven. He currently lives in Middletown, CT.

Blinn Jacobs studied at the Yale School of Art as a special student for four years and received her MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. She has received awards from the Connecticut DECD—Office of the Arts, the Slivermine Arts Center, as well as fellowships from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and the Oberpfalzer Kunstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany. She currently lives and works in Branford, CT.

Opening reception at Gallery 195 Tuesday evening

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (First Niagara Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Sharon Butler & Geoffrey Detrani
Sept. 14—Dec. 9, 2011.
Opening reception: Tues., Sept. 13, 5-7 p.m.

Press release

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of works by Connecticut artists Sharon Butler and Geoffrey Detrani at Gallery 195 at First Niagara Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, New Haven. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from September 14 through December 9, 2011. An artists’ reception is scheduled for Tues., Sept. 13, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

The exhibit will feature work by Sharon Butler and Geoffrey Detrani. Butler uses a juxtaposition of brilliant color against stark backgrounds to evoke the linear state of natural life; many of her pieces are first inspired by the shape of everyday objects. Detrani depicts images of the natural world in explosive colors and “in a state of flux”, in an effort to capture the beauty of the world, but also its fleeting and entropic nature.

Sharon Butler is an artist and writer. Her grants and awards include a Connecticut Artist fellowship, Vermont Studio Center residency grant, and Connecticut State University research grants. Butler is an art professor for Eastern Connecticut State University and also maintains the award-winning art blog Two Coats of Paint, as well as contributing to numerous other publications. Her work has been included in galleries and exhibitions around the world.

Geoffrey Detrani is an artist, writer, and poet from Hamden, CT. Geoffrey’s work has been featured in numerous collections and galleries and has been the featured artist for such publications as The New England Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and Artscope Magazine. Geoffrey has received multiple grants and awards such as the 2006 Chashama Visual Arts Studio Award and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation residency grant. He is a contributing writer for the New Haven Advocate and a teacher in New Haven, CT.

Gallery 195 show opens Tuesday featuring Dubicki paintings, Peterson photography

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (NewAlliance Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Emilia Dubicki & Tom Peterson
June 7—Aug. 27, 2010.
Opening reception: Tues., June 8, 5—7 p.m.

Press release
The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of works by Connecticut artists Emilia Dubicki and Tom Peterson at Gallery 195 at NewAlliance Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, New Haven. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from June 7 through August 27, 2010. An artists' reception is scheduled for Tues., June 8, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

This exhibition showcases paintings and photographs by Connecticut artists Emilia Dubicki and Tom Peterson that explore abstraction through the use of color and light.
Emilia Dubicki's work has been exhibited in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Utah, and Japan. Locally, her work has been exhibited at the Player's Lounge Invitational Exhibition at the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, A-Space at West Cove Studio and Gallery, Kehler Liddell Gallery, Artspace, Artspace's City-Wide Open Studios, Arts & Literature Laboratory, and Visions Toward Wellness Gallery in Stony Creek, among others. Dubicki is represented by the Julie Heller Gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Kehler Kiddell Gallery in New Haven .


Tom Peterson's photography has been exhibited throughout Connecticut. Selected exhibitions have included The New Haven Seen: Existence, Stagnation, & Morphosis (2005) at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven's Small Space Gallery (now the Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery); The Art of Food: All Consuming (2005), presented by Artspace in partnership with the International Festival of Arts & Ideas; Artspace's City-Wide Open Studios (2006); Cultural Passages 2007 at Creative Arts Workshop; and Images 2008 at the Shoreline Arts Alliance, among others. Most recently, Peterson's work was the focus of Passing By, a solo show at City Gallery in New Haven.


For more information about this exhibition and Gallery 195 at NewAlliance Bank, call the Arts Council at (203) 772-2788.

Tuesday evening opening at Gallery 195

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (NewAlliance Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Barbara Marks & Vanilia Majoros
Nov. 17, 2009—Feb. 19, 2010
Artists' reception: Tues., Nov. 17, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of works by Connecticut artists Barbara Marks and Vanilia Majoros at Gallery 195 at NewAlliance Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, New Haven. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from Nov. 17, 2009 through Feb. 19, 2010. An artists' reception is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

This exhibition showcases lyrical paintings and prints by Connecticut artists Barbara Marks and Vanilia Majoros.

Painter Barbara Marks earned her BFA in 2005 from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts (Old Lyme) and her MFA in 2008 from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Marks' work has been exhibited in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, and at the Galleria Giotto in Italy 's Umbria region, where she studied at the International School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. She is a member of Artspace's (New Haven) Board of Directors.

Art historian Vanilia Majoros earned her Ph.D. from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She has written six monographs about European modernists and had more than 100 scholarly articles published in Canada, France, Germany, Hungary and the United States. Her work has been shown in New Haven and Hungary and is included in private collections around the world. Majoros was a participating artist in the Arts Council's recent gala fundraising event Somewhat Off the Wall and is on the faculty of Creative Arts Workshop.

Gallery 195 artists' reception on Tuesday evening

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (NewAlliance Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Phyllis Crowley & Janet Lage
Through Nov. 13, 2009
Artists' reception: Tues., Sept. 15, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents an exhibition of works by Connecticut artists Phyllis Crowley and Janet Lage at Gallery 195 at NewAlliance Bank, 195 Church St., 4th floor, New Haven. The exhibition will be on display during bank hours from Aug. 17 through Nov. 13, 2009. An artists' reception is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, from 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

This exhibition showcases photography by Phyllis Crowley and paintings by Janet Lage.

Photographer Phyllis Crowley's work has been exhibited Connecticut, and in Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Her work was included in the Arts Council-curated 2007 Player's Lounge Invitational Exhibition at the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven. Also that year, Crowley's work was featured in Roadside Attractions, a group show presented by the Arts Council. In 1995 and 1999, Crowley received Artist Fellowship awards from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts.

Janet Lage's work has been exhibited throughout Connecticut, as well as in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. In 2007, Lage won an award at the 78th Connecticut Women Artists Open Juried Exhibition, and, in 2003, received the 74th Annual Connecticut Women Artists Speedball Award. Her work has been featured in Studio Visit magazine.

Art opening at Gallery 195 on Tuesday

Gallery 195
195 Church St., 4th floor (NewAlliance Bank), New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Ginger Hanrahan & Amanda Martin
Apr. 9—June 27, 2008
Opening reception: Tues., Apr. 15, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents works by Ginger Hanrahan and Amanda Martin at Gallery 195 at NewAlliance Bank on 195 Church St., fourth floor. The exhibit takes place Apr. 9 to June 27, with an artists' reception on Tuesday, Apr. 15, 5—7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

In this exhibit, Ginger Hanrahan's rich paintings explore her intricate relationship to the environment, with a particular focus on the shape and color of nature's often overlooked items. Amanda Martin's photographs—represented as circular mandalas—explore the colorful and repetitive structure of flowers and plants.

Ginger Hanrahan received an MFA in painting at Western Connecticut State University and a Masters in Public Health at Yale. She has exhibited her work extensively, including the Bowery Gallery in New York City, Silvermine Guild Art Center in New Canaan, and The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in Fairfield. She currently resides in Bethel, CT.

Amanda Martin studied architectural history at Smith College and did post-graduate work in textile design at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been showcased extensively in the region, including the John Slade Ely House, the Eli Whitney Museum and the New Haven Lawn Club. She currently lives in New Haven, CT.

For further information about the exhibition and Gallery 195 at NewAlliance Bank, please call the Arts Council at 203-772-2788.