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Water, water, every where
Hudson River region artists explore the ubiquity of water

March 13 through October 3, 2010

The Gallery at 199 Main Street, Beacon, NY | Directions

Joel Adas | Peter Brauch | Erica Hauser | Laura Moriarty

Richard Sigmund | Shawn Snow | Ian Wickstead

Water is in our existence everyday; it runs through our pipes, fills our drinking glasses as well as our bodies, and is a prominent feature in the Hudson Valley landscape.

Water is so pervasive in our lives that it is not always part of our daily cognition, often appearing peripherally or at obscure fleeting moments. We often accept that it is there without specifically seeing it, and may only become conscious of its presence through a suggestion of related imagery – a bridge, a reed – something that places our minds, rather than our eyes, within its reach.

Images of water are often idealized in art as a tranquil surface reflecting sunrises, sunsets and moonscapes, or as the turbulence of mountain streams coursing their way through deep wilderness. In Water, water every where, a new exhibit at Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, water appears in a variety of unexpected forms – from the suggestive glance at an urban rooftop water tower to the contemplative image of rain falling on pavement to the molecular turbulence of tidal churning – evoking the presence of water in ways that remind us how ubiquitous and important water is to our busy modern lifestyles.

For this exhibit, curator Linda Stewart has brought together seven Hudson River region artists whose art explores and conveys the elemental nature of water in its varied forms. Water, water, every where features works by Joel Adas, Peter Brauch, Erica Hauser, Laura Moriarty, Richard Sigmund, Shawn Snow and Ian Wickstead, and takes its title from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Coleridge.

Water, water, every where runs March 13, 2010 through October 3, 2010, with a free public reception with the artists on Saturday, March 13 from 6–8 p.m. at Beacon Institute’s Gallery at 199 Main Street in Beacon, NY.

Beacon Institute gallery hours: Weekdays 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturdays 11 a.m.–5 p.m. (second Saturdays until 8 p.m.); and Sundays 12-5 p.m. For more information call (845) 838-1600 ext 16 or visit www.bire.org.

About the Artists:

Hailing from the mouth of the river in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint, Joel Adas’ paintings capture the visceral qualities of looking up and through landscapes, lending the viewer the sense of being inside his frame. His paintings of river reeds and grasses against a cloudy sky deliver a sense of intimacy with the water and evoke the sensation of floating on a raft gazing up the colorful sky and clouds. Joel grew up in an academic family and traveled widely with his parents, living throughout the U.S. and London during his upbringing. He studied painting in Florence and completed his BFA at Rutgers and his MFA from SUNY Purchase.

Peter Brauch’s responsive installation evokes the fluid nature of water through its active visual movement and intersections of material and space. Originally from New Jersey, where he honed his spontaneity as a street artist, Peter spends a considerable amount of his time in the environs around his current home in Germantown, NY, exploring the natural landscape and reflecting it in his installations. Spontaneous by nature and formalistic in process, Peter studied art at Bard College under Ed Smith and Judy Pfaff.


Erica Hauser’s tightly orchestrated paintings evoke a sense of man’s relationship to water through the aged and often historic architectural elements she depicts. Through the use of simple strokes and stark detail, Erica captures the complexities of surfaces and patinas to create the sense of realism and give the viewer an active sense of participation within her scenes. Her images suggest the duality of man’s dominance and sublimation to the forceful element. Originally from Brewster, NY on the banks of the East Branch Reservoir, Erica now lives in Beacon after a hiatus in New York City where she studied at The School of Visual Arts.


Laura Moriarty is a force of nature, a self-taught artist who has developed a tactile method of encaustic painting and sculpture that conveys depth and life in the elements of earth and water. Originally from Beacon and now living in Rosendale, NY, Laura considers her material a“textbook of geologic processes” and shapes the pigmented wax objects until an abstracted landscape emerges. Laura devotes several months each year to artist residencies, working on her art and teaching her craft to other artists.


Richard Sigmund’s paintings of road surfaces evoke the grime and decay of urbanity as he captures the post-industrial aura of his childhood spent around the Philadelphia railroad yards in which his father worked. Richard saw light through the dark landscapes of his youth, and places his light sources within his canvases as a character in dialogue with the road surfaces. Richard has had an extensive exhibition career which includes a solo show at P.S.1 MoMA. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.


Shawn Snow creates abstractions inspired by the patinas of surfaces aged and rusted by the elemental effects of water. His paintings capture the distinct characteristic of water’s convex surface tension, as well as its turbulent undercurrents. His work explores many facets of water, including the dual nature of the element as nurturing and entropic; its symbolism as primordial consciousness; and the optical qualities of light passing through the transparency of its waves. Shawn attended the Rochester Institute of Technology and lives in Troy, NY.


Ian Wickstead was a photographer long before he knew how to use a camera. A native of the Hudson Valley, Ian captures the region in documentary, landscape and abstract photography. He brings photographic abstractions from his lens that evade the human eye, capturing the play of light on ice formations. Ian studied at Boston University and lives in Poughkeepsie, NY.

 

Gallery, bookstore and gift shop hours:

Weekdays: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturdays: 11a.m. – 5 p.m. (second Saturdays until 8 p.m.)

Sundays: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

(Please note: We occasionally close the space for special meetings.)

Past Exhibits