December 2024
WallFlower Wawa
December 4 - December 21
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
In a mother-son duo exhibition, Wallflower Wawa turns our gaze toward the watchers on the perimeter. Silenced by their own shyness, welling up in tears, passed over for more popular blooms, this exhibition mines figuration’s capacity for introspection. Transforming the Barn Door Gallery in an explosion of color, these paintings and wall sculptures from Nickolas Roblee-Strauss and Jacqueline Strauss seek to understand the melodramas of less obvious party guests. In both artists' work, a sense of exuberance pervades. Color, pattern, and playful reinvention of form make for celebrations. For some it’s difficult not to dance—as figures swivel and sway before us. Still wallflowers peer out from pulsing surrounds with halted commentary, melancholy creatures of celebration’s fringe. Wallflower Wawa invites its visitor to a party, whose somber messaging incites contradictory interpretation. A mix of weeping dancers and twisters on the edge of temptation, the exhibit asks us to look to the perimeter and see what blossoms sprout from the wall.
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Jacqueline Strauss (she/her b. Amsterdam, 1964) is a textile artist living in rural western Massachusetts. Her soft sculptures explore the spirited nature of seemingly inanimate remnants bringing to fruition a bottomless imaginative population. Playing the wise fool, she probes the puerile medium of stuffed forms for edgie, more complex emotions and shapes. In the past year, she has shown at Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA, Club George, Northampton, MA, and the Wendell Free Library, Wendell, MA. Her work has appeared in the local press as well as the Dutch journal Textiel Plus.
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Nickolas Roblee-Strauss (he/him) is an oil painter born in rural western Massachusetts. His work explores themes of queerness, the historicity of the medium, and precarious 21st-century experience. Over the past two years, he has worked under the guidance of established artists in New York City, and his paintings address the evolution of gestural language.
He has shown at 440 Gallery and Thomas van Dyke Gallery in Brooklyn, NY as well as the Granoff Center, List Art Center, Joukowsky Institute, and Salon 149 in Providence, RI. He holds a BA in Modern Culture & Media from Brown University, where he was a Royce Fellow and Brown Arts Institute grant recipient. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
November 2024
Pliable Entanglements
November 5 - November 30
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Audio Timestamps:
Pliable Entanglements Statement 00:00
Eva R. Barajas 02:07
María Sparrow 03:10
Ross Momaney 03:55
We ask that you see our body of work as an imperative call to be present in our shared Pliable Entanglements. Our visual collection serves as evidence illustrating the interconnectedness we inhabit through universal and foundational elements. The experiences we imagine, the instances that could have been, and the concrete histories that make up who we are all intertwine here. Pliable Entanglements offers the viewer the ability to honor their own past, present, and future while simultaneously acknowledging the malleable connections we have to the network of lives to which we are linked. These pieces serve as reflections of the overlapping histories and experiences of the artists, reminding us that we are not the first, the only, or the last to have them.
Through drawing and printmaking, we seek to explore the narratives of the past and their infinite connections to the present. Our shared tactile connection to the earth manifests through ceramic vessels that act as relics of timelines, memories, and experiences in alternative and imagined landscapes. Using clay to construct artifacts of invented experiences reflects the conception of the personal histories of what could have been and serves to fill in the gaps of the unknown. The ever-present threads that connect all of us are expressed through fibers weaving together the communal and personal histories we have experienced, both real and internally constructed. Together, these pieces bind the many histories and experiences of the artists while offering a moment in time to build a shared experience with viewers.
As humans, we are all connected through shared Pliable Entanglements. Our personal landscapes are infinitely malleable and subject to ever-evolving internal and external influences. May this presentation of artwork guide you to value the permeable and unseen links that connect us all and carry the notion that anything we observe, we change; anything observed changes and connects us in perpetuity.
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Eva R. Barajas (she/her/ella) is a disabled, queer, interdisciplinary artist, educator and cultural producer.
Descended from Southern Paiute/ Comanche and mestizaje peoples. Currently living and working on the unceded land of the Nonotuck people (Northampton, MA ) pursuing a Master’s in Art Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a focus on accessibility education in the arts.
Her installations reflect her dedication to exploring disability, craft, grief, stimming, care, collectivity, and joy. An invitation to engage with the intricacies of creative labor, embracing the malleability of experiences and the potency of imagined scenarios.
Her goal is to craft spaces that resonate with the vibrancy of unspoken dialogues, the malleability of experiences and a celebration of infinite diversity in infinite combination.
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María Sparrow (she/they) is a teaching artist based in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Sparrow employs painting, fiber, and printmaking techniques in combination with historical research in order to probe questions of memory, identity, alienation and belonging. With half of their family based in Argentina and half in the U.S., Sparrow’s ongoing “Stains” series seeks to understand racial formation across these cultures. Focusing here on research on racial formation in Argentina, the artist offers a specific case by which Argentine and non-Argentine viewers alike might consider their own cultural racial constructs.
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Ross Momaney (he/him) is a visual artist and arts educator. He grew up playing in the woods of West Dummerston, Vermont with plenty of room to roam and explore, letting his vivid imagination run free. As a child, he often played with and built elaborate imagined worlds with lincoln logs, LEGOs, and any other materials he could find.
From a young age, Ross knew he wanted to be a teacher. He attended the University of Maine at Farmington where he earned a BS in Elementary Education and Art. He is currently in the Master’s program for Art Education at The University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Prior to his graduate work, Ross was a teacher at an elementary school on Deer Isle, in Maine. There he taught writing and English, as well as third grade before becoming the school’s art teacher. His work in the classroom supports imaginative inquiry and play while providing equitable experiences in the arts for all learners.
Ross’ own artwork focuses on process and self-interpretation with an emphasis on constructing imagined worlds and relics from his imagination. At the core of his artistic practice, Ross centers on creating pieces that illustrate how he perceives and experiences the world. His work delves into the ways lines exist in our environment, both natural and constructed, and investigates how these elements can shape our understanding and awareness of the different landscapes that surround us. Most of Ross’ work utilizes clay to create and build relics of personal expression. Ross examines how signs, text, and images function as tools for navigation and communication, as well as how a given object serves as an artifact of personal experience. Ross’ art invites viewers to reflect on the subtle yet powerful ways that visual language influences our perception of the world.
December Split Level Gallery 2024
New Voices, New Perspectives
December 4 - December 21
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
The Quabbin Arts Association introduces "New Voices, New Perspectives,"The Quabbin Art Association, in partnership with the Northampton Center for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, presents New Artists, New Perspectives featuring 20 emerging artists from nine universities and colleges throughout the Connecticut River Valley area who wish to pursue a career in the visual arts. These artists represent American International College, Amherst College, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Mount Holyoke College, Springfield College, The University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Western New England University. In an effort to remove some of the barriers often experienced by emerging artists, each participating artist received a 2-year membership in the Quabbin Art Association and a $250 cash stipend to help support the development of their work. Enjoy the show!
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Quabbin Art Association (QAA) promotes community interest and appreciation for the visual arts by providing education, support, and opportunity for artists who live and work in the Pioneer Valley. Founded in 2016 by Belchertown, MA residents Denise Fontaine-Pincince and Jennifer Turner, QAA offers year-round exhibit opportunities for artists at venues throughout the Valley, holds monthly membership meetings featuring guest artists, offers artisans markets and teaching opportunities for our members, and promotes community interest and appreciation for the arts through outreach activities supported by our members and offered free of charge to our community.
PARTICIPATING Artists:
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Jenezy’s work focuses on themes of domesticity, identity, individualism, and family. Through anatomical references, Jenezy makes an effort to connect the physical and emotional state of beings, superficial and internal identities, and gendered roles within a typical American family structure. She broadly discusses concepts of lineage and history through recurring characters/figures within her work. She continues to explore these dynamics and juxtapositions through playful, saturated colors and kitschy plastic finishes, causing false invitations to private scenes of tension and animosity.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Heeju Yoo was never allowed to explore their passions, motivations, or inspirations. Instead, they spent their time organizing a non-profit called the "Korean Cultural Service of Massachusetts," which opened a Korean library for immigrants, offering books in their native language and teaching Korean to Americans, including immigrants and second-generation children. They formed a team of translators to translate Korean poems into English to promote Korean literature in the U.S. Inspired by visual art, they gained the confidence to publish their poetry and have released four books in Korea since then. About 15 years ago, they started painting to cope with their busy lifestyle and overcome fatigue, which helped rejuvenate their spirit. They create ceramics, sculpture, and installation art, but their main focus is painting. Their works embody the poetic images they write, aiming to illustrate and visualize the invisible aspects of the soul and time.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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We use the term "natural" to describe the world that is untouched and left alone by human intervention. In this way, human existence is often seen as unnatural. Despite how we manipulate nature and curate our unnatural synthetic environment—our homes, our bodies—we are made from the Earth, just like every other creature. How can we learn from the creatures of the Earth in their natural states?
Caly Van Leeuwen employs a blend of colors and textures that intertwine, representing humans, animals, and other living beings all within the same space. This artistic choice reflects their interest in exploring the tension between the natural and the artificially modified. Their sculptures further examine this conflict through the materials they manipulate: wool and epoxy. Wool requires a collaboration between sheep and shepherds, while epoxy is a completely synthetic material.
Amherst College
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Sarah Paradee has always loved painting even though their first instructor was a Paint-by number kit. While in nursing school, they were able to take their first painting class, lighting their passion for the art, progressively improving from that first day. They are excited to have the opportunity to continue to grow and learn more techniques.
College of Our Lady of the Elms
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Western Massachusetts artist Erin Shabunin explores chaos through her abstract ink and paper scenes, inviting viewers to lose themselves while discovering meaning in her nebulous work. By using printmaking ink without the constraints of an engraved plate, Shabunin employs a subtractive mark-making process that embraces her materials' unpredictable and ephemeral qualities. Transitioning between using a ballpoint pen and scratchpad and then returning to monoprinting has influenced the direction of her work, revealing new details that enhance her unique mark-making vocabulary. She explores the challenges of breaking away from established patterns, focusing on her stream of consciousness.
Greenfield Community College
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Eads Fouché explores the relationship between sculpture and geology by representing the
connections between space and place. His work blurs the literal and metaphorical line between the arts and geology by building sculptures based on 3-dimensional lines. Lines are more than just 2-dimensional strokes on a page; they are movements, thoughts, emotions, and 3-dimensional. They are how he thinks. While lines can divide, they also connect. Not only can they visualize a bridge between seemingly disparate concepts, but they also manifest dynamic movement, making them a powerful tool for communication. In both geology and sculpture, the 3-dimensional line is fundamental in representing form, movement, and space. Lines are how we understand geology. Whether it be 2D lines on a geologic map, segregations in the geologic time scale, a scientific figure, or 3D lines of bedding planes, science functions through lines. Eads wants to expand our understanding of line from a 2-dimensional division to a 3-dimensional connection between ideas and spaces. In the same way that the Earth draws 3-dimensional lines to create mesmerizing geologic formations, Eads sculpts pieces to illustrate the interconnected relationship between line, geology, and place.
Amherst College
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Rhaymi Porter’s work combines charcoal, acrylic paint, and photography to convey emotional intensity. They begin with a rough gesture drawing before gradually building upon it. The charcoal captures the raw qualities of art, while layers of acrylic paint add vibrant colors and energy to the composition. Rhaymi believes their photographs convey an emotional depth similar to that found in their drawings, showcasing dramatic shadows and sophisticated realism. With its ability to freeze time, photography allows them to preserve fleeting emotions—those delicate, transient moments that often go unnoticed.
By using these mediums together, Rhaymi invites viewers to reflect on the relationship between the physical world and the emotional landscape we navigate. This combination explores the tension between what is seen and what is felt, revealing the quiet, powerful truths that emerge when we take the time to look closer. Each piece uniquely reflects Rhaymi's journey, and they hope it encourages others to connect not only with their own experiences but also with the universal themes within them.
American International College
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Catalina Alexopoulos is a 22-year-old artist who began her drawing journey at the tender age of six. Initially, her focus was solely on horses, and pencils were her medium of choice. As she grew older, Catalina started to experiment with various styles and materials, ultimately discovering a passion for pastels, particularly pastel pencils. Most of her artwork is created with these pencils or regular pencils, enabling her to capture fine details that she cherishes. Additionally, she enjoys working with charcoal, paint, watercolor, clay, and oils for a more varied artistic experience.
Her pastel animal portraits hold deep personal significance, representing animals that have touched her life, whether they are still present or have passed on. Catalina finds joy in sharing these portraits with others who also know and love the animals depicted. Although her primary focus is on animals, she sometimes draws contortionists, reflecting her own passion as a contortionist. This dual talent allows her to express her creativity through both her artwork and her circus performances.
Elms College
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Mars is a Western Massachusetts-based artist and an upcoming graduate of Greenfield Community College. Growing up in Northampton, Mars was exposed to the arts extensively through both public spaces and school programs. With a strong background in art classes during high school, Mars is set to graduate this spring with an Associate’s degree in Visual Arts.
Mars's art practice is driven by a combination of meditation and movement. While creating, Mars experiences a silencing effect on the mind, transitioning from the chaos of the outside world to a focus on color, texture, and movement. Mars identifies as a movement experimentalist in the arts, and as their work expands in scale, they find that they can move more freely, infusing dynamics into each piece.
Currently, Mars is presenting a body of work titled Parallels, which is the culmination of a two-year project featuring 13 pieces. In April, Mars had their first solo exhibition of this series at Anchor House of Artists in Northampton. Parallels represents the mental, emotional, and physical landscapes that Mars navigates in daily life. Throughout the creation of this series, gravity and texture have served as anchor points, providing a framework for exploring movement within the visual art-making process.
Greenfield Community College
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Nhu Truong has been passionate about art since childhood. Growing up in an Asian household, they often kept this passion hidden. Nhu was self-taught until attending college, where they discovered inspiring art professors and enjoyed learning new techniques in their art classes. They found watercolor to be an engaging, challenging, and budget-friendly medium. Their artwork reflects the places they have visited, such as their grandmother's house in Vietnam, as well as destinations they wish to explore and learn from.
Springfield College
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Madison Deboise-Wetherell is an artist whose work reflects her life experiences, including her childhood, the environment where she grew up, her time at a private Catholic institution, her queer identity, and the trauma stemming from the intersection of these worlds. As a queer woman raised in a religious setting, Madison's upbringing has profoundly shaped her identity and artistic voice.
In this body of work, she explores the themes of trauma and introspection that emerge from Catholic youth experiences, despite not identifying as religious herself. Through a combination of multimedia illustrations and physical sculptures, Madison expresses the concept of queer children navigating religious spaces, reflecting on her own experiences.
Westfield State University
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Emma Aiken has grown up and lived in Western Massachusetts, near the shining waters of the Quabbin Reservoir. Living with so much boundless nature around them has been a constant inspiration. They started drawing when they were little and haven't stopped. Their inspiration is the towering hemlocks, intricate insect patterns and designs, and frilled fungi that grow in their local woodlands. Creating finely detailed flora, fauna, and mythical creatures from their imagination, Emma uses watercolor to wash vivid colors across the paper and fine-line pens to make their creations pop, transporting viewers into a world of myth and legend. They invite viewers to wander into the forests of their creation and to meet the beings that dwell there.
Holyoke Community College
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Bela Achaibar is interested in painting, printmaking, beading, and working with textiles. Deeply inspired by South Asian figurative traditions, the creolization of culture in the Caribbean, and Black feminist theory, she tells the stories of those she knows and loves through her artwork. She works closely with her subjects to understand how they want to be represented. Her juxtaposition of circular and linear storytelling conventions allows her to explore a broader historical imagination while also grounding her work in her current reality, thereby creating new visions for the future.
Amherst College
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Lize Brown works to intricately examine the complex journey of healing, focusing on the recognition of harm and the emotional landscapes intertwined with recovery. Through predominantly two-dimensional mixed media pieces, Lize crafts visual narratives that invite reflection on the dynamic interplay between pain and resilience. Their practice also focuses on the complexities of nostalgia, exploring how it shapes and reshapes our perceptions of the past in relation to the present. By weaving these themes together, Lize’s work seeks to evoke a deeper understanding of memory, emotion and the process of self- discovery.
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Ariana Masterjohn is a central mass artist driven by encapsulating moments of time through art. She is greatly inspired by the natural world and often incorporates natural elements into her work. Encouragement from past teachers to experiment and embrace creativity has fostered her love for mixed-media work. She invites you to take a moment to experience the beauty of the small things we often take for granted.
Western New England University
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Aj Treat is a senior at Mount Holyoke College who primarily creates art on paper and canvas using charcoal, pen, pencil, and oil paint. They prefer working on a larger scale, as it allows for more movement and lends greater impact to their subjects. Aj creates art to better understand their personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Much of their work features imaginative creatures or distorted figures, reflecting how their imagination and experiences influence the creative process.
Their pieces often contain narratives aimed at creating connections not only between themselves and the viewer but also at encouraging a deeper understanding of perspectives that may not be widely recognized. Aj seeks to initiate conversations around identity and how different identities affect individuals’ navigation of the world. Through these dialogues, they hope to foster greater empathy and understanding among people.
This body of work specifically explores the multifaceted experience of inhabiting a body, focusing on the inner feelings of being observed and the scrutiny that one's body faces from external viewers.
Mount Holyoke College
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As a 3D sculptor, they explore the limitless potential of humble materials like paper, paper clay, and papier-mâché. Their work seeks to transform the everyday into the extraordinary, celebrating the simplicity and accessibility of these mediums. By manipulating texture, form, and structure, they create pieces that invite viewers to reimagine the possibilities of traditional craftsmanship and materiality.
Through their sculptures, they aim to evoke a sense of curiosity and connection, showcasing the beauty in the process of building layer by layer. Each piece becomes a tactile narrative, reflecting their fascination with form and the stories materials can tell.
Springfield College
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Using painting as a lens, Sophia Jakobson mines both personal and historical archives to create multimedia objects and images that draw influence from the environment, embodiment, and queerness. Like an archeological dig, they explore materials like collage, fiber, and paint as a form of physical poetry building. With particular attention to shadow and its relationship to abstraction, they construct emotional landscapes that unearth remnants of the past, ghostly and unsayable, yet still tangible and felt. Through this process, Jakobson builds space for grief- of family, of a body that feels broken, of a world that is cruel and treacherous- and reimagines possibilities for community and care.
Mount Holyoke College
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Malyna Dansereau is a 20-year-old graphic design major at Holyoke Community College. Their work serves as a physical embodiment of their perception of the world around them. They often find themselves drawn to the ordinary rather than the exceptional, viewing the mundane with greater significance than many do. Their goal is to explore the complexity that lies beneath the surface of simplicity, using their artwork as an outlet for this investigation. Malyna extracts and interrogates the memories they associate with each item they illustrate.
In addition to emphasizing the unremarkable, they strive to work with non-traditional media to establish a direct connection between their pieces and the objects they depict. By crushing rocks to create their own paint or ritualistically burning wood to produce charcoal and ink, they consistently infuse significance into both their processes and the materials they employ in their artwork.
Holyoke Community College
Bios Coming Soon:
Valentina Cacaj
November Split Level Gallery 2024
“Everyday/Every Day” &
“We’re All Looking for Home, Beauty, and Freedom”
November 2 - November 30
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Everyday/Every Day
On the Mezzanine
Everyday/Every Day is a photo-a-day project undertaken by three Northampton, MA women
who have committed to choosing one photograph to post on Instagram. Beginning in December
2021, the women, members of a peer-led photography group, decided that posting a daily photo
was a way to be held accountable and to share their work. During the past almost three years,
the photographers discovered the deeper spiritual value of focusing on the often-overlooked
beauty of ordinary, everyday life. They have found that this practice has sharpened their artistry
and plan to continue.
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Deb Lohmeyer (She/Her), a self-taught photographer, has lived in the Valley for 39 years. She began taking photos in 1979 with a Pentax K1000 in Southwest Missouri, where she grew up and was inspired to read photography books and experiment with different techniques.
In the early 2000s she bought a digital point and shoot. She started taking photos for personal use from which she made color notecards. In 2017, with a new digital camera, she renewed her passion by taking classes at Hill Institute in Florence, MA, and The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA.
In 2019 she formed a peer-to-peer group for women photographers which is ongoing.
In her black and white photos, she is drawn to the tonal aspects of rural and urban landscapes that, through shadows, light, and mist, express both possibility and memory. In her work, she hopes to evoke and invite the viewer’s emotions.
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Joyce Lak (She/Her) is a Northampton native. Since she retired as Head of Procurement and Stores, Physical Plant Department, U/Mass, Amherst, she has been able to continue raising champion dogs and to indulge her passion for photography.
Joyce has taken photography classes with John Green at Hill Institute, Dede Steele at Smith Vocational School, and Jim Spencer and Marty Espinola, both at the Northampton Senior Center. Joyce is especially grateful to the late Roland Normand, a mentor who was inspiring and more than generous. Roland saved her much effort by guiding her to the Panasonic Lumix line.
Joyce finds Western Mass a glorious place for nature photography. She especially loves working with macro subjects that offer details too fine and too brief for the naked eye. Her favorite spots for pictures are the Northampton Community Gardens, Look Park, Childs Park and the surrounding rural towns. She enjoys the challenge of taking photos each day without fail, as this group has done for the past three years, comparing each others’ results.
Camera equipment is a digital mirrorless Panasonic GX85 camera with various lenses. Favorite lenses are an all-around lens, the Lumix 14-140 mm, and a macro lens, the Olympus 60 mm.
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Nancy (She/her) was a founding faculty member of Hampshire College, where she taught organic chemistry and related courses from 1970 until she retired in 2008. In addition to teaching, Nancy was instrumental, with other women in the School of Natural Science, in creating the Women in Science Program. She also collaborated in developing the Day in the Lab programs which invited middle school girls and students from underserved schools into the lab for a day of hands-on projects; these included isolating DNA, doing experiments with insects, and making slime and superballs
After retirement, Nancy and her dog visited nursing homes, rehab centers, and college campuses under the sponsorship of Bright Spot Therapy Dogs.
Then in the spring of 2017, Nancy enrolled in a nature photography course at the Hill Institute, where she explored new ways of looking closely at the world. She completed three spring semester courses, but COVID-19 closed the classes at the beginning of her fourth semester. During her time there, she exhibited her work at the Hill Institute as well as in several art spaces in the Northampton area.
On January 1, 2022, Nancy and two friends made a new year’s resolution to take at least one photograph a day and share it on Instagram: no cheating on dates and no skipping. This practice has become a way of life – they are now almost through their third year and enjoying the challenge immensely.
Nancy’s scientific training informs her approach to photography. Both require seeing with new eyes, understanding and experimenting with light and color, and appreciating structure and composition. Photographing every day has introduced her to new places, new techniques, new friendships, and a greater understanding of the world we all live in.
We’re All Looking for Home, Beauty, and Freedom
On the Lower Level
The work is an interrogation about notions of home, we arrive at a collective human experience. How do people look when they are sad or anxious? What does a photograph of a person sitting on a park bench tell the viewer of the photograph about the stranger? More importantly, what do these conclusions about strangers tell us about ourselves?
Adeyemi Adebayo seeks to critique and understand themselves through their observations of others. They notice that they are drawn to people in spaces that feel familiar, particularly public places. "What can I interpret from what I see?" they ask. Adeyemi is also attracted to people at rest, recognizing that all moments of rest are temporary. They find themselves often in solidarity with the various moods they encounter.
Adeyemi's work explores the human disposition as it is expressed in various states and throughout different periods. A recurring theme in their work is the quiet, contemplative, and subtle yet revealing nature of people as they navigate life. This includes moments like enjoying a day at the beach or fighting for freedom against oppression.
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Adeyemi is a Nigerian documentary photographer currently living in Massachusetts. In his work, he explores man and his environment, particularly migration, strife, and the notions of home. He is interested in photography alongside other art forms as a means to evaluate dispositions and the human experience critically, both in the presence of bodies and the potential absence of, as they undergo movement, daily life, subjugation, injustice, and prejudice.
October 2024
In Light of Time
October 5 - October 30
Opening Reception on October 5th
We three artists: Mary Ann Kelly, Laura Radwell, and Carolyn Webb, are celebrating our longstanding relationship to the Connecticut River Valley. Individually, we realize how we have been altered, inspired and influenced by our immersion in this special place over time, recognizing and responding to its unique natural beauty. Over time and in its light, we find individual and profound spiritual allure: the lay of the land, the verdant woods, the plentiful waters. Perhaps this exhibition can also be seen as a gesture of gratitude for a community which seeks to protect its natural resources, promoting preservation, public interaction and access to the shared bounty.
Through painting, sculpture, prints, and drawings, we share our journeys of discovery, for the first time together. This immersive installation, featuring a blend of lines, gestures, color, and symbolic forms, is a creative conversation with each other. The distinctive style of each artist complements the others, flowing between the walls and floorspace to celebrate timelessness, resilience, harmony and grace.
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Mary Ann Kelly made a quality of life move with her family to Northampton in 1997 from Washington, DC. Here the rich, natural reminders of transformation, metamorphosis and the aging process inspired her to celebrate these themes in her two- and three-dimensional abstractions. These artworks enable her to pursue her love of light, gestural line, texture, and colorful patinas while manipulating non-traditional and natural materials. Each work is a mindful journey in space-making — celebrating the simplicity of form, quiet space, and the wisdom of stillness — evoking contemplative presence and timelessness.
Mary Ann received her MFA from Massachusetts College of Art in 1987. Since then she has studied with various teachers and was accepted to a residency at Vermont Studio Center in 2002. She has exhibited her work throughout Massachusetts, in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York City.
“My love of Japanese aesthetic and calligraphy informs my work, including the concept of Ma.” Ma is the pure, essential void between all things.
- an emptiness, yet full of possibilities
- a resting space, or a pause between notes
- silent intervals that give form
- and therefore an invitation to breathe”
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In the early 1990s, while focusing on growing a small communications business, Radwell began capturing detailed images of surfaces that chronicled erosion and decay, and began a process of manually collaging images of real world objects that she transformed into abstract compositions. This work continued over time, enabling her to harness evolving technologies and to make use of digital art forms incorporating both her images and drawings. In 2014, after a long hiatus, she returned to oil painting, but in ways that were informed by the digital work of previous years. Now Radwell paints “from the inside out” and produces lyrical abstract studies using color, texture, and form that retain landscape’s resonances.
Radwell has exhibited locally and regionally. In 2020, she won First Prize in the New Britain Museum of American Art Annual Nor’Easter Juried Exhibition. Several of her paintings have earned places in juried exhibitions in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. She spent six weeks (two artist residencies) at the Château d'Orquevaux in France.
“How does a visual narrative begin?
Perhaps, in my case, deferring my dream to paint brought a multi-layered storage process of audio/visual observations of natural beauty and the manmade cacophony in the outside world, depositing subconscious recordings of the soft and sweet, sometimes loud and discordant sounds. These contributed to the inventory of impressions collected in my inside world.
The ultimate result of this process could be described in emotional terms, yet it seems simplistic to describe a creative practice as a reflection solely of emotions; but it is. The world is in chaos, and painting from such a personal place is unavoidable. If the outward expression of the good, the bad, the ugly, the sublime are all mixed together, then what more is there? Having lived with ADHD most of my adult life, I have learned to discipline thoughts and actions in my work life for almost half a century. Now it’s a different time, and the challenge is not to accomplish discrete tasks but rather to let myself be without such careful filtering. In some sense it is an unholy mess, which might explain why the work I’ve done over this past decade varies so much and travels along a spectrum of disharmony and imperfection to serenity and peace. It’s later in my life, and there is much to express; I choose to do it without the pressure of rules. The things I strive to incorporate into my work is a bit of mystery, unpredictability, color, always glorious color, and a touch of light.“
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Sculptor and printmaker Carolyn Webb has maintained her studio in Williamsburg since receiving her MFA in sculpture at UMASS in 1981. Previously she studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where she was awarded a Scheidt Traveling Scholarship and a post-graduate fellowship in sculpture.
Other awards include a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant for Sculpture, an A.R.T. Grant, a Fellowship Residency at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Pennsylvania Academy, the Hyde Collection, the New York Public Library and the University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMASS among others.
Growth, renewal, and a fascination with processes that build and destroy form are the basis of her life’s work.
“My original perception of the world through observation of incremental change is expressed in my work, which is often either built over long periods of time with layers of ink in the case of prints or slow carving or laminating techniques in built wooden pieces. I regard the practices of sculpture and printmaking as intertwined and complementary, as both are material and process driven. I work in many different media. Each is employed for their distinct tonal resonance in service of the work I envision.”
Listen to their interview on WHMP Radio with host Lary Hotts HERE
October Split Level Gallery 2024
Out of Context: Reimagining the Figure
October 4 - October 30
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
This group comprises members of the resident Center for the Arts Drawing Group who meet up on Wednesday mornings to create and connect. Together, they are presenting a show of their works titled "Out of Context."
The gallery of figure drawings is a captivating display of the human form captured through the eyes of talented artists. The artworks vary in style, showcasing the diversity of approaches to figure drawing.From quick gesture sketches to detailed, lifelike representations, each piece tells a unique story and evokes a range of emotions. The gallery is a celebration of the human body and the artistry involved in depicting it. As you walk through the space, you can't help but be drawn into the beauty and complexity of the human form, immortalized on paper or canvas. Each drawing invites you to appreciate the skill and creativity of the artists while contemplating the timeless subject of humanity.
Participating Artists:
Ruth Bauman
Harriette Block
Rosetta Marantz Cohen
John Darby
Mary Gilman
Sherri Gionet
Michelle Machinnes
Tom Martin
Scott McDaniel
Elizabeth Meyersohn
Gloria Nicholls
Mary Wilson
Deb Orgera
Pacifico Palumbo
Harriet Pollatsek
Sulafa Roumaya-Elia
Emily Schmalzer
Steve Stankiewicz
Elizabeth Stone
Chris Sullivan
Dominique Thiebaut
Katherine Weinstein
Iris Wheaton
September 2024
Different Lenses:
Exploring Northampton MA and local areas
September 4 - September 28
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Exhibiting our work as a group allows for two separate photographers to capture the vibe and atmosphere of the Northampton community in a dynamic way. With its diversity and urban and natural landscapes, our photography provides stories of people, structures, shapes, colors, light and shadow. We both strongly believe in photographs with very minimal editing and no AI. Images, especially with street photography, are moments captured in time that tell a story. The images will speak to the viewer as they exist in the actual moment of capture.
We are very excited to present our work and to continue to explore the many ways in which we can continue to tell the story of Northampton, its surrounding towns and the many diverse peoples, urban, and natural landscapes.
Thank you,
CC and J
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Jesse Merrick (he/they) grew up in western Mass. and also spent a lot of time during his formative years in New York City with his Grandma. Jesse has been creating art since he was a little kid and is a photographer, filmmaker and art/technology teacher at a local public high school (Frontier Regional), where he teaches photo, video & other classes full-time. Aspects of J. Merrick’s formal training include Film School at Mass Art in Boston, Video Production and Film Studies at UMass Amherst and a M.Ed in Instructional Technology, from MCLA in North Adams, MA. Jesse comes from an artistic family (including a Croatian great-grandfather who was an influential sculptor) who always encouraged his interest in art.
Currently, Jesse is most focused on photography work, with a special focus on continuing and expanding the traditions of black & white street photography. Famous street photographers such as Berenice Abbott, Gordon Parks, and Vivian Maier, among others, are influences on his photo work. An interest in documenting real-life moments without adding or subtracting anything with Photoshop is explored in J. Merrick”s photo work. Historic, retro, and vintage imagery that displays a timeless quality are also common themes in J. Merrick”s photography. Jesse Merrick lives in Florence, MA, and is thankful for family, friends, and a positive Western Mass. community.
In the future, Jesse Merrick is interested in creating unique visuals for local businesses and photography related to anti-racism, LGBTQIA+/civil/human rights, and other historical projects. For more information related to buying photo prints, individual or group photography lessons, or collaborating on photo projects, please contact Jesse Merrick.
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Carolina (she/her), of Dominican descent, was born and raised in Washington Heights, NYC. She currently lives in Northampton, MA, with her family. Carolina is truly self-taught, learning by doing and being in the moment with her camera. She explores digital and film photography through books, videos, and, of course, by getting out there and practicing the art of photography.
Carolina feels that in her photography, she experiences a sense of connection and gratitude with her surroundings. In college, she was obsessed with classic films, abstract art, and graphic design.
Artistic influences include artists such as Frida Kahlo, Georgia Okeefe, Salvador Dali, Ansel Adams, and many others.
Carolina got her 1st camera in 2022. From then on, she has been happily capturing images that she feels create
an emotional connection with the viewer.
She enjoys street photography, landscape, abstract, and nature photography. Carolina's passion for creativity and her journey into photography is truly inspiring. It’s wonderful how she has developed her skills and followed her curiosity, leading her to capture images that resonate deeply with viewers. Her story and gratitude make her work even more special.
August 2024
emerging artist showcase
Five local emerging artists
august 2 - august 29
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Art has always gone hand in hand with community, from the first cave paintings to the Eastern Island Statues. Artists of every status represent the physical voice of their community at that time—and emerging artists are stepping stones into the realm of that expression. In this exhibit, the art of each individual artist is not sectioned off, but organized according to how each painting communicates with the other. If artists from different backgrounds can still find connection through different pieces, then we as a community can find connection to one another. Supporting art, and embracing emerging artists, is one of the many ways we can push back against toxic individualism.
-Forrest Graey
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Debra Hoyle is an artist and writer from Western Massachusetts with a studio/gallery in the small hill town of Conway. Conway sits on the South River, about an hour east of the Berkshires. Currently she is exploring mixed media using collage, monoprints, and acrylics. Her inspirations come from the beauty of the natural world, a love of history, memoir, mark making, color, texture, and the movement of energy. Pieces often begin with an idea and a personal process which then lead into an unplanned, intuitive unfolding. Debra usually works in series, and formal elements such as design, composition, value, and color are always considered. Her many layered pieces invite the viewer to connect with a sense of mystery and discovery. Art is at the core of the way Debra perceives life. She is mainly self-taught and has studied with a number of artists both in person and online. She has also worked in oils, pastels, and watercolors. Some influences are the abstract expressionists and contemporary artists such as Louise Fletcher, Jane Davies, Judy Woods, and Nicholas Wilton. Debra has exhibited at the Hosmer Gallery in Northampton, MA (solo show), Blake and Co., Orleans, MA, The Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, VT, A3 Gallery, Amherst, MA, Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA, and at libraries in her area. Debra has also had a healing arts practice for over 30 years, and has a degree in art history.
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Forrest Graey (she/they) is a hobby artist who enjoys writing and cycling in her spare time. As someone on the spectrum, when she paints she finds it’s easier to cultivate inspiration by giving herself over to hyper-fixations and seeing what inspiration comes from them. While she is not currently painting, she is creating another piece of art in the form of her debut novel, “Bloodwater”.
You can follow her writing process on Instagram, @author.forrestgraey
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Kari Giordano is a visual artist and educator working in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Her primary work is within the digital realm and she creates photographs and graphic design for commercial and personal use. Her current digital photography work, False Moons, comments on our search for social connection and aims to communicate our search for both individuality and group identities, and how we’re driven by instinct, experience, and collective consciousness.
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Rosetta Marantz Cohen has lived and painted in Northampton for 34 years. Her art celebrates the pleasures of everyday life in this community and the intimate world of her own painting studio–a converted garage behind her house. She finds humor and solace in very small things, and seeks to convey those feelings in her work.
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Ruthie Baker is a photographer and mixed media artist working primarily with analog and alternative photographic processes. Her work combines photography, collage, poetry, and sculpture, exploring how analog photographic processes can be combined with other mediums to create something strange and new.
Ruthie is interested in capturing the mundane experiences of daily life to examine themes of memory, tradition, self, and family. Her work centers on the emotional significance of modest objects and interpersonal relationships, as well as the fragility of human life.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Studies from Emory University and is currently a final-year MFA Candidate at The University of Massachusetts - Amherst.