Cross Contemporary Art

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Peggy Cyphers: Solo Show

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Peggy  Cyphers:  Prints  and  Paintings

 

Peggy Cyphers solo exhibition of paintings and prints opens Sat, June 6th at Cross Contemporary Art in Saugerties, NY.   The art of Peggy Cyphers responds to the multi-dimensional experience of the landscape from the various viewpoints of living beings. Gazing skyward from the bottom of a cavern like a fox or towards the horizon in a ruffle of woodpecker feathers, Ms. Cyphers re-imagines the world through different animal consciousnesses, defying both perspective and gravity. For her show at Cross Contemporary Art, Peggy Cyphers introduces a series of cyanotypes (prints created by sunlight) using rare botanical prairie grass samples and mysterious equine imagery whose reverse shadows are suspended in a sky-blue ground.

    In the Brooklyn Rail, Jonathan Goodman writes about Ms. Cyphers: ” Cyphers makes it clear that she has opted for a double awareness, in which non-objective insight vies with close scrutiny of the natural world.” New York Times’ Roberta Smith notes that Cyphers paints “in an effortless style that corrupts and complicates the staining technique originated by Color Field painters like Helen Frankenthaler with various ideas in the air: notational, pattern-prone motifs, landscape references and allusions to textiles and fabric.” Cross Contemporary Art gallery director, Jen Dragon notes that “throughout Ms. Cyphers long and distinguished career, her overarching aesthetic concern has always been the interconnectedness of all beings to the earth and to each other”

About Peggy Cyphers:       Peggy Cyphers’ work can be found in many important museum,university and public collections throughout the world including National Gallery, Washington, D.C.Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. National Museum of Women in the Arts,Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Wash. and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, Iowa to name but a few. She is a recipient of many Grants include National Endowment for the Arts, Peter S. Reed Foundation, The Elizabeth Foundation, National Studio Award PS.1. Residency awards include Yaddo, Art Omi, Tong Xian Art Beijing, Santa Fe Art Institute, ISCP, Triangle & Clocktower/P.S.1. Currently, Peggy Cyphers is a tenured adjunct professor of visual arts at Pratt Institute. More information about the artist can be found: 
Artist’s website:  http://peggycyphers.com
Video interview: https://vimeo.com/86328765
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Cyphers

Portia Munson Solo Show

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Portia  Munson  “Little  Suns,  Hollow  Bones”

 

Portia Munson‘s solo show, “Little Suns, Hollow Bones”, transforms Cross Contemporary Art into a world of flowers, plants, bones and creatures. From brilliant dandelion wallpaper on the walls to magical mandala prints of blossoms and small animal corpses, this exhibition addresses the artist’s interest in environmental issues while infusing the gallery with the spirit of spring.
     Although a conceptual extension of her 2013 “Reflecting Pool” exhibit at PPOW Gallery in New York City, Portia Munson’s upcoming “Little Suns, Hollow Bones” presents some new imagery derived from the flora and fauna of the Catskills and Hudson Valley region. Munson’s digital scanning of her subjects is a meditative exercise in organizing the chaos of nature as its elements are caught at a moment in time. Choosing flowers that bloom that day in her garden, Munson creates intricate patterns of color and form that, according to Claire Lambe in Roll magazine, “although preserved through the magic of digital technology, are as ephemeral as sand paintings,” and as a reviewer for The New Yorker stated,“(have) a seductive luminosity; each floral element appears to emit light.”
More information about Portia Munson can be found:
Artist’s website: http://portiamunson.com
New York Times Article about Portia Munson: http://bit.ly/pmccanyt
Portia Munson’s recent Public Arts Project for MTA Arts and Design: http://bit.ly/pmcca01
Portia Munson Review in Roll Online: http://bit.ly/pmcca02

About Portia Munson: Portia Munson is a visual artist who works in a variety of media including installation, painting, photography & sculpture. Solo shows include exhibitions at PPOW Gallery, Yoshii Gallery and White Columns in NYC, among others. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US, Canada & Europe in such venues as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland; the Kunstahallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark; and in NYC at the New Museum, Ace Gallery, Exit Art, DC Moore Gallery and Affirmation Arts. Ms. Munson has taught at NYU, Yale School of Art, Vassar Collage and SUNY Purchase. She holds a BFA from Cooper Union and a MFA from Rutgers. Portia Munson has received fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell, Skowhegan, Fine Arts Work Center Provincetown, Art Omi, and others. Her work has been reviewed and written about in many publications including The New York Times, Art in America, Newsweek, Harper’s, USA Today, The New Yorker, Flash Art and Artforum.

Portia Munson “Little Suns, Hollow Bones” Solo Exhibition 
May 9-31, 2015
Artist Reception Saturday, May 9, 6-8pm
at Cross Contemporary Art, Saugerties, NY

[Show thumbnails]

Adrian Frost

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Adrian Frost has been an artist-in-residence at 11 Cross Gallery and the character of this space took its cue from his energy and work.  In person, Adrian is a powerful, compassionate and  inspiring personality.  He creates an enviroment around himself  that demands participation: there is no such thing as a passive observer in Adrian’s world.  This participation can be by stepping over a pile of salt cushioning a block of driftwood, crouching around a tipped form to view the reverse side or recoiling from the jagged edges of broken glass.

An encounter with Adrian is always memorable as is any encounter with his art.  At first, one is struck by the “arte povera” qualities: chipped plexiglass, broken planks, plateglass “mended” by masking tape  but on closer examination everything is beautifully crafted, deliberate and secure.  The appearance of fragility is purely deceptive as the strength of the artist’s message emerges.

“those who know speak not…” by Adrian Frost upright view courtesty the Image Factory

In his paintings, Adrian combats space forging not so much letters but forms that individually embody the power of the entire word.  Painted phrases such as: “improvised explosive device” or “have a nice day” invoke a new meaning when the space of each painted character is fought for with a passionate brush. In his sculptures, Adrian  chisels cryptic poems into weathered wood.  A long bench states: “those who know speak not, those who speak, know not”  and the interiors of the hewn letters are painstakingly lined in sterling silver leaf.  The installation of this piece, like many others, will shift depending on context and enviroment.  Sometimes, Adrian has exhibited “those who know…” as an upright bench, other times it has been shown face down, barely legible save by looking at a mirror placed underneath and partially obscured by coarse rock salt.   This sculpture, installed as a functional bench, invites body contact yet another placement puts the work out of reach by making its meaning more obscure.  Other artwork can be buried in dirt, shielded behind broken glass or flipped to the wall (“One Man” 11crossgallery Saugerties, NY 13 August 2010), and yet in another incarnation  (“Another Circle” Emerson Resort, Mount Tremper NY 4 June 2010), the same work can manifest a table, exhibit handsome framing or be mounted like a ladder inviting ascension.
Adrian’s next show “Introducing Furies: The Erinyes, Cthonic Deites Supernatural Personifications of the Anger of the Dead” opens September 3, 2011 3-5pm at The Art Colony Eureka Springs , Arkansas.

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