The Pelham Art Center’s annual faculty exhibition set a theme for the first time: “Rebirth, Renewal, Revitalize.” The show opened on Jan. 18 and runs until Feb. 23, featuring various forms of art created by 25 of the center’s teachers.
The theme celebrates the possibility of new beginnings that come with the new year. “I really wanted a theme that would resonate with, not only the artists in the show, but just everyone that enters the Pelham Art Center,” said Rosa Van Zandt, gallery and events manager.
The artwork on show spans several media, including ceramics, oil painting, charcoal drawings and sculptures.
Artists found different inspirations for their pieces, with Elizabeth de Bethune and fashion illustration teacher Kristin Moore-Gantz both focusing on nature.
De Bethune focused on the liveliness of the natural world and the relationship between light and color when creating her pieces featuring hydrangeas and irises. Moore-Gantz observed nature and created art that provides a feeling of another time, as seen in her piece of an acorn squash and a pumpkin squash titled “Greensleeved Brave.”
Two other artists, Edgar Jerins and Letizia Gentile, chose their loved ones as subjects.
Using oil on wood, Jerins created two paintings featuring his wife, Alana, while Gentile drew her son with charcoal in a classical approach. Jerins said he wanted people to take away a feeling of who his wife is from looking at his paintings alone.
Though Gentile is a teacher of observational painting and portrait drawing, she said she was interested in learning something new while creating. “Working feeds the soul,” Gentile said. “Creating feeds the soul. It’s not so much about the end product as it is about discovering things along the way.”
Donna Ross, a teacher at the art center for 40 years, showcased different mediums. She created a small environment made out of found objects, including an iPhone box, titled “Iconoligy.” Ross said she believes people should spend more time experimenting with the boxes their iPhones come in, instead of being on their actual iPhones.
Though each artist brought new approaches to the Pelham Art Center through the theme of “Rebirth, Renewal, Revitalize,” Gentile’s work will travel well beyond Pelham. Her portrait of her son, titled “Cragsmoor Porch,” was picked up by an organization called Lunar Codex, which seeks to preserve art by sending time capsules with photographs of artwork to outer space. In one month, a photo of Gentile’s charcoal drawing will have the honor of being sent to the moon.
