The New Rochelle Arts Fest 2010 included many opportunities to venture into artists private workshops and studios. At the Media Lofts a variety of artists opened their doors to the curious public. They even provided snacks and welcome activities for children, including collage making and sketching.
Media Lofts (http://medialoftarts.com) at 50 Webster Avenue is a mixed-use, artist studios and condominiums. According to their website, the loft was founded in 1978 to provide an environment for artists, designers, craftsmen and a variety of art-related businesses. In 1983 it moved to the Knickerbocker Press building and now includes residential condominiums. The handsome Knickerbocker Press building is brick with a terraced roof line and inlaid slate roof.
Valeri Larko makes large oil paintings of urban and industrial landscapes. The artist is drawn to lots and parcels at the edges of Brooklyn and the Bronx with abandoned factories, scrap yards, urban waterways, urban overpasses, bridges, and once vital and still beautiful buildings in a state of decay. Her compelling paintings capture the detail of the landscape, including graffiti and litter, and add beauty with sweeping skies, grass and lighting. The artist told us that she paints on location at the same time each day and that some paintings take three months. (http://www.valerilarko.com)
Robin Tedesco layers oil paint on wood panels creating warm pieces with depth and energy. The artist often makes several pieces that relate to each other in color and mood and may join then together with hinges or side by side. The artist adds paint and removes paint until the piece is complete. The artist told us that she is inspired by Italian reliquaries that she has studied in her travels. (http://www.robintedesco.com)
Judith Weber is an accomplished ceramic artist who, in addition to creating stylized teapots and serving pieces creates custom tile installations for residential and commercial applications. (http://judithweber.com)
Folk Art fans (me!) will enjoy the hair curler lamps and wooden ruler lamps by Venezuelan educated architect Heredia. According to a bio near his work, Heredia “built interiors for designers such as Fendi, Dolce & Gabana and Hugo Boss”. His “zoomorphic forms … cross the boundary between sculpture and furniture”. These lamps are beautifully built and are orderly structures with repeated common elements. The hardware, including rods and screws, plexiglass, and lighting components are part of the overall design. The middle lamp shown below is partially made of black and red bic pen parts.
Bernard Rowan sculpts the live nude model in stoneware clay. The pieces range in size from around one foot tall, 2 foot tall to larger almost life size pieces. What is particularly interesting and beautiful about this art is that the human form may be very literally composed on some pieces to complete abstraction on others. Also, lovely to see is the range of colors that the clay becomes after being fired and the rough texture of the pieces that makes you want to touch them. The artist was quite humble despite his impressive work.(http://web.mac.com/bkrowan/iWeb/Bernard%20Rowan/bernard%20rowan.html)
Jane Balanoff paints everyday common objects onto smaller canvases and mounts the original object on the top of the work. (http://mjbalanoff.com)
Nancy Egol Nikkal is a collage artist who tears and paints pieces of paper and arranges them in larger quilt-like grids. This artist explained how she assembles her work and even had pieces of paper for children to attempt their own creations. (http://www.nikkal.com)
Here is a small sampling of the varied and beautiful jewelry by Ludovic Ledein (http://www.symbiotique.com/)
Thank you to the New Rochelle Council on the Arts (http://www.newrochellearts.org), the participating artists and the event organizers for an enlightening day and inspiring event.
Click here to see Saturday’s gallery impressions –
http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/new-rochelle-arts-fest-2010-rocks
