Saturday opening at the Bruce Kershner Gallery in Fairfield Public Library

Bruce S. Kershner Gallery at Fairfield Public Library
1080 Old Post Rd., Fairfield, (203) 256-3155
Beauty Marks
Mar. 27—May 16, 2010.
Opening reception: Sat., Mar. 27, 5—7 p.m., Curator/Artists' Talk at 6 p.m.

Press release

Curated by Janine Brown, Beauty Marks, at the Fairfield Public Library's Bruce S. Kershner Gallery, is an exhibition of 10 Connecticut artists that use mark making in their art. The exhibition will run from Mar. 27 through May 16. The opening reception will take place on Sat., Mar. 27 from 5—7 pm with a brief talk by the curator and artists at 6 p.m. The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery is located at 1080 Old Post Road in Fairfield.

Ms. Brown states that "Beauty Marks was inspired by the history of the beauty mark." During 17th century France, high society women used faux "beauty" marks made of black taffeta to enhance their looks and communicate coquettish messages. For instance, a mark on the forehead suggested majesty, a mark close to the dimple was playful, and a mark at the corner of the lips was regarded as murderous. Similar to the French female aristocrats, the artists in this exhibition use their "beauty" marks to communicate a message to the viewer. The act of mark making for these and other artists is done by intentionally placing lines and symbols on paper or other supports to ultimately create the artist's unique message. In this exhibition, the humanity and the human form are the common threads, yet each artist in the exhibition communicates their reference to humanity in a different way.

Referencing the origins of man, Paul Kaiser's graphite drawings of hominid skulls on the worn pages from the first edition of The Tragical Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke combines the marks made by the artist with the marks of the typography of the book. The juxtaposition of the skulls and the story of Hamlet provide a subtle statement of man as beast.

Karen Sorensen also references early man with "Viking I" and "Viking II." Sorensen's life-size drawings of the Norse warriors provide an unsettling contrast to the tranquility of a library setting by showing the warriors in full armor with weapons drawn.

Likewise, Jak Kovatch has used the warrior as inspiration. Kovatch uses mixed media to create powerful graphic elements and linear shapes that wrap around or weave in and out of diffused forms. In the works selected for this exhibition, Kovatch starts with the skull and transforms it into various references of the warriors of yore.

Nomi Silverman comments on humanity with three of her works that deal with homelessness. The expressive use of lines and color characterize the sadness and despair that one imagines feeling if one was homeless.

Expression and use of line comes across in artist Peter Konsterlie's work, which fuses medical illustrations with linear marks and patterns to create his response to a loved one's medical treatment and illness.

Addressing the linear in a different way, Edith Borax-Morrison uses a woven sheath of free flowing strings and fibers to create references of women in her pen and ink pieces, "Ensnared" and "Wired Woman."

Noted for her works on ceramics and drawings, Judy Henderson was selected for this exhibit for her drawings executed on tea bags. Henderson's charming works are based on her interest in the human body and the head as a vessel holding information.

The other artists included in the show include Anne Doris-Eisner, M.G. Martin, and James Reed.

Saturday opening of abstract art at Kershner Gallery at Fairfield Public Library

Bruce S. Kershner Gallery at Fairfield Public Library
1080 Old Post Rd., Fairfield, (203) 256-3155
Linear Energy: Derek Leka & Mary Jo McGonagle
Jan. 31—Mar. 21, 2010.
Opening reception: Sat., Feb. 6, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in the Fairfield Public Library will be showing Linear Energy, the abstract paintings of Mary Jo McGonagle and Derek Leka, from Jan. 31 to March 21 during library hours. A reception will be held on Sat., Feb. 6 from 5—7 p.m. with a talk by the artists at 6.

Derek Leka has a Masters degree in Fine Art. He has exhibited in many juried group shows, including Silvermine Art of the Northeast in New Canaan, Creative Arts Workshop and Green Gallery in New Haven, Prince Street and Bowery galleries in New York. He recently won the Andrew Carnegie award in Painting at the National Academy Museum and won first prize for a violin design for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra anniversary event. (I previously wrote about Leka on Connecticut Art Scene here.)

Currently, Leka is an Adjunct Lecturer at Purchase College teaching Color and Drawing, and is also at the University of Bridgeport teaching Color. He also works for Liquitex Paint doing informational and product demos for Painting departments of universities in the New England territory.

Derek uses acrylics on canvas to create bright colors with clean sharp edges. He says his images involve "squares, rectangles, stripes, gradations, overlaps, deep and shallow spaces, hard and soft contrasts, traditional and non-traditional harmonies, heat, electricity, movement, growth, service, and dependency. The paintings explore Architecture, Nature, Music, Iconography, and Mythology. They have a slow methodical movement, and a logical progression."

Mary Jo McGonagle is currently a candidate in the M.F.A. program at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She has a BFA from School of Visual Arts in New York City in Graphic Design and has worked as Curriculum Coordinator and as a faculty member at Fairfield University in the Computer Graphic Design Program.

McGonagle continues to be active in graphic design and advertising. Her past clients have included: Conde Nast Corporate, Reader's Digest, Travel Holiday, Warner Brothers, GQ, House & Garden, Seventeen, Vogue, Glamour, Mirabella, United Media and Holland Advertising. Her awards and recognitions include Art Direction, Advertising Age, Connecticut Post, Communication Arts and Light of Day Awards. Mary Jo resides in Fairfield with her husband and four children.

She is at home with painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and technology. She says, "Through a combination of monotype and painting, I have created a series of bold, large, graphic organic expressions, which explore the shape of lines, color arrangements, movement, and their relationship to each other to create a layered textured effect. They reflect the interactions, pressures, controlled chaos, randomness and conversations that are present in our everyday fate-filled lives. The paintings are a visual abstraction of the energies that fill our lives." Her goal as an artist is "to make compelling images, which are interesting to look at, regardless of the meaning."