There’s really nothing I like better than a solo exhibition.  It’s a chance to see an artist’s body of work and learn their point of view. It’s an opportunity to understand the visual and maybe connect with it and the artist in an emotional  way.

Susan Roth is exhibiting abstract work in three of the four main galleries at the Everson Museum of Art.  She works with Golden Artist acrylics and has a personal relationship with the company. She’s suggested products based on her needs, as written in one of the artist statements on the walls of the show.

I think these blurbs help the average Joe non-artist/non-patron understand how important her work is.  That she spent a lifetime experimenting with materials to the point that she designed some as well.  It’s just beyond cool.

 

There are paintings and sculptures and combinations of these. Unusually shaped canvases that make you want to reach out and touch them.

Are they hard and crumbly like pumice stone or smushy plastic a la Silly Putty?  They really draw you into Roth’s universe and the more you look, the more you want to remain transfixed.  Each piece dedicates itself to the next and you witness a visual life.  Not sure if I would get the same response if I only viewed one of her pieces, but they are just incredible all together in this space.

I was at the member’s art reception on Friday night.  The show, sponsored by Pathfinder Bank is titled Handmade: The Art of Susan Roth, and runs through August 30, 2015.  The Everson Museum of Art is located at 401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, NY.  Go to http://www.everson.org for more information.

On Saturday, I attended an art reception at Wine 105 – Art & Wine Pairing: the Not So Still Lifes.  I was there before for the Diana Godfrey show.  This time Mark Raush is exhibiting his large scale flower still-lifes.

They are also acrylic paintings, filled with gestural lines of vibrant color and texture!  I think Raush’s work is the kind people want in their homes – a statement piece the average Joe can understand.

They are artsy-familiar, if that makes sense.  I wish I could do a trade with him. art for art, but these pieces command thousands.  They are in the $7,000-$8,000 range (they take Visa and Mastercard), while I am currently selling paintings at around $200-ish.

Anne Novado curated the exhibit.  She also coordinates shows for Gallery 4040 (4040 New Court Ave, Syracuse, NY), which has another opening this Friday night.  Mark Raush has more to show us there, as well as Arlene Abend, Katya Bratslavsky, and Walter Melnikow.  Wine 105 is at the corner of Hawley and Green Street (and Catherine Street) in Syracuse.