Emlyn Taveras, an artist and art teacher at Hutchinson and Siwanoy schools, is having two of her pieces displayed through April 26 as part of the exhibition “The Female Gaze” in the rotunda gallery of New Rochelle City Hall. 

“The Female Gaze,” said exhibit curator Lynn Honeysett, “represents authentic voices of women artists who know best how to describe their own lives.”

Taveras’s “Vows to Self” is an oil painting of a wedding dress meant to reflect the relationship individuals possess or do not possess with themselves, she said. It emphasizes the importance of giving enough time and space to love one’s self and finding the vows and boundaries necessary to take care of the spirit.

The other piece in the exhibit is “La De Los Ojos Abiertos” (The One With Open Eyes), a wood-burning portrait of a woman with her hands covering her eyes. The work demonstrates the power of the female gaze as the woman controls the narrative of her own image and self, with the one action of her hands protecting herself from the false perceptions of her, Taveras said.

She said she hopes her works “inspire introspective and reflection of the journey of being a woman.”

To be a woman, Taveras said, “for me it is resilience, evolution, life and through my work, I strive to celebrate this journey and the strength, beauty and diversity of our experiences while shedding light on the social, cultural and political issues we continue to face.”

Her experience as an art teacher influences her work.

“I’m grateful to be able to teach young people how to explore their identity in the creative process,” she said. “Although the balance of time management is challenging, teaching provides an infinite amount of inspiration. I get to experience artists of all stages of development. It often helps me reflect on my own practices and explore ways to communicate my own forms of expression.”

Alongside Taveras, the show features works from Alexi Rutsch Brock, Anki King, Eleanor Grace Miller, Emmanuelle Loiselle, Marie Hines Cowan, Naomi Grossman and Sol Kjøk. 

In the history of art, the artwork made was often from the male point of view, which has trouble defining women, said Honeysett. Women are often depicted as being one dimensional, but through this event, female artists from diverse backgrounds are able to truly represent what being a woman means today beyond stereotypes, she said.

Taveras was given the opportunity to be in the exhibition after Honeysett saw one of her pieces in an exhibit celebrating Black History Month. She has worked on other public and private art installations in New York and currently has her work “El Granjero” (The Farmer) shown at the Vanda Gallery in New Rochelle.

One of her favorite pieces in “The Female Gaze” is “Fall,” painted by Anki King. Taveras said she loves King’s style of art and admires her courageous approach to painting without a concrete plan, putting complete trust in her imagination to carry her through the process.

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