A Quiet Respite
Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Sue Bryan, Tracy Helgeson, David Konigbserg, Eileen Murphy, Judy Reynolds, and Harry Orlyk
November 13, 2019 through January 5, 2020
Carrie Haddad Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibit entitled A Quiet Respite, featuring new work by gallery artists that have dedicated their artistic practice to capturing our natural world. As another decade in the 21st century comes to an end, technology now finds itself ingrained in nearly every facet of daily life. When the weight of such connectivity becomes too great, oftentimes, one seeks solace in nature, whether it be in the backyard or a distant getaway. The landscapes highlighted in this exhibit, both real and imagined, are realized for their ability to provide just that; a respite away from it all. Paintings by David Konigsberg, Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Harry Orlyk, Tracy Helgeson, Judy Reynolds and Eileen Murphy will be on view alongside intricate charcoal drawings by Sue Bryan. The show will be on view November 13 – January 5, with an artists’ reception on Saturday, Nov. 16, 5-7pm. All are welcome to attend.
David Konigsberg’s conceptual landscapes come alive in the space where earth and sky meet. Dramatic backdrops of tumultuous clouds above gesturally painted fields, informed by years of living in the upper Hudson Valley, provide a stage for factual and whimsical subject matter like flying space pods, whirling tornados, or quaint country barns. The front room of the gallery will feature the artist’s new work presented in large scale and a salon style arrangement of miniature vignettes that dissemble various elements of his inhabited landscapes. Konigsberg currently lives and works in Hudson, NY and has been represented by the gallery for more than 15 years.
In late fall or early spring, you can find Kinderhook, NY based painter, Judy Reynolds, outside capturing our area’s most picturesque views. The time of year brings dramatic sunsets, stormy skies, and foggy marshes that lend a breathtaking light and atmosphere to the artist’s ‘en plein air’ paintings and pastels. While the Hudson Valley provides endless vistas, a recent trip to Scotland brought some invigorated inspiration to her repertoire. It’s almost other-worldly mountainous, emerald-green terrain is captured in new large-scale works, one of which will be on view besides scenes of the more familiar Catskill Mountains. Reynolds studied at the University of New Paltz and has lived in the Hudson Valley for more than 30 years.
Tracy Helgeson has become well known for her contemporary landscapes inspired by the rural farm scenes that surround her home in Cooperstown, NY. The area’s barns, extensive roads, and pristine fields are reinterpreted through the artist’s knowledge of graphic design and illustration. Trees become pops of magenta, mountains are envisioned in dark blues and purples, while the classic red barn provides a geometric anchor against expressionistic texture and subtle handwritten elements. Helgeson attended the Philadelphia University of the Arts, and it was here that she learned the under-painting skills and glazing techniques that distinguish her current work.
Jane Bloodgood Abrams’ paintings encapsulate the dramatic natural beauty of the Hudson Valley and for this she has become one of the area’s most celebrated landscape artists. Like her artistic forefathers, Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, Bloodgood captures views with an emphasis on clouds and an expansive sense of space to illustrate nature’s ethereal essence. Bloodgood-Abrams received her MFA from SUNY New Paltz, was inducted into the National Association of Women Artists and is listed in “Who’s Who in American Art.” She has exhibited with Carrie Haddad for more than 25 years.
Brooklyn, NY based artist, Eileen Murphy, finds solace from busy city life in her studio where she paints photo-realist scenes observed two hours north in Columbia County. The area’s sloping hills situated between crystalline waters and vast blue skies are frozen in time with the artist’s meticulous brushwork. Most recently, the famous Olana viewshed has become her subject, uprooting the aesthetic norms of a scene so commonly presented through an expressionist lens. Murphy has a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MFA from Pratt Institute. She was awarded artist residencies to Yaddo in 2013 and 2017.
Irish born artist, Sue Bryan, reenvisions scenes from her homeland and the Hudson Valley with an exquisitely detailed use of charcoal and carbon pencil. Radiant light projected onto mingled trees, dirt paved roads, and thick forests are captured in miniature and large formats, demonstrating the artists ability to display a feeling of monumentality no matter the scale. The primarily self-taught artist is influenced by the work of Inness, Blakelock, Turner and Corot. Her work has been selected for several juried and invitational exhibits in the US and was the recipient of the Award of Distinction at the 5th Annual Drawing Discourse, an international exhibit of contemporary drawing.
Coming into the twentieth year of representation at the gallery, Harry Orlyk shows no signs of slowing down his daily practice of painting the quintessential American farmland around Salem, NY. Working out of his van, the artist drives around the countryside, rain or shine, in search of the perfect scene to perform his ritual exercise. Shifts in color and light, changing uniquely with each season, are recorded on sheets of raw linen with thick impressionistic brushstrokes. Orlyk received his MFA in 1974 from the University of Nebraska and now exhibits regularly throughout the northeast region.
