Category Archives: art museum

art, art exhibition, art museum, ceramics

Laurent Craste

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Just when you thought you’d seen everything, you know what I mean?  Derivatives of derivatives of original artwork, materials driven artwork, Abstract Expressionist wanna-bes, etc., you go the The Everson Museum of Art (401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202) and this happens…

…and it is AMAZING!

Laurent Craste is exhibiting his historically accurate vessels, which have been displayed with weapons that have seemingly destroyed them.  The juxtaposition of the delicate gold fleur-de-lis patterned porcelain attacked by actual baseball bats, axes, arrows and the like, is jarring.  It’s just the oddest thing and yet it speaks to the anger that peasants of the past had towards their regal governments.  I guess your reaction will depend on which of the two factions you associate with – are you a have or a have not???

It’s fascinating, intriguing…and beautiful!

from www.everson.org

Iconoclasts

On view November 15 through May 24, 2026

Iconoclasts marks the American museum debut for French-born Canadian ceramist Laurent Craste. Over the past decade, Craste has committed a wide range of indignities and abuse against his ornate vases and urns, including pummeling them with baseball bats and crowbars and piercing them with arrows. Despite the violence that runs through his work, Craste has a great passion for historical porcelain. Working with porcelain allows Craste to explore the prestige and power of upper-class society, but also inequality and the strain that is placed on working people. The anthropomorphic nature of Craste’s vases echoes the human body, making it no surprise that people feel strong emotions when seeing a helpless vase struck by a baseball bat. Triggering these strong emotions in his audience allows Craste to connect on a deeper level as he asks questions about class, money, and power.

Join us for a special artist talk with Craste on Thursday, February 5, 2026. (see the website for exact time of the lecture) 

art, art exhibition, art museum, Karen Tashkovski

Mapping Joyce Kozloff

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Joyce Kozloff’s exhibition at The Everson Museum of Art (401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York) maps her significant career as an artist.  It is a global view of society as seen through the veil of decorative pattern.

There is a distinct femininity about the work due to the color palette and the meticulousness of possibly holding a tiny paper between tweezers, laying it atop an old map that may have been located via browsing flea markets or antique shops then applying it to the artwork with glues, precision and painstaking patience, adding drawing, colored pencil and other media – and then multiplying that effect by all the pieces presented in this show that were created over forty years.

The dedication to this process and the willingness to continue to both work and present the epic conclusion not as a retrospective but as a rest stop on the road to the next and the next addition to her travels is truly inspiring.

I am in awe of the beauty of this showcase. The way the three dimensional pieces mimic the ideals of the collages, the way the vintage, current and even celestial maps are layered to become something other, as though Kozloff has created a new world that is truly breathtaking – it’s soooo good.

I stood inside the sphere in the center of the second gallery – a sort of echo chamber that allowed me to pretend I was Jodie Foster in the movie “Contact”, an explorer heading to another realm.  One could spend hours in there inspecting all the detail.

I guarantee students would love this and I encourage local art teachers to plan a field trip soon.

The Joyce Kozloff: Contested Territories (1983-2023) exhibition runs through April 5, 2026.

Oh, and this thing (above) spins!

Joyce Kozloff (b. 1942) is a major figure in both the Pattern and Decoration and the Feminist art movements of the 1970s. In 1979, she began to focus on public art, increasing the scale of her installations and expanding the accessibility of her art to reach a wider audience. Kozloff has since executed a number of major commissions in public spaces across the globe, most recently Memory and Time at the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. United States Courthouse in Greenville, South Carolina. Since the early 1990s, Kozloff has utilized mapping as a device for consolidating her enduring interests in history, culture, and the decorative and popular arts. Her work is in public collections across the country including the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; the Jewish Museum, New York, NY; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. Kozloff received a BFA from Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, PA in 1964 and an MFA from Columbia University in 1967.

abstract, art, art exhibition, art museum, ceramics, drawing, Karen Tashkovski, painting, sculpture

Art Talk: Lessons In Geometry

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Today I visited The Everson Museum of Art (401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202) for the Steffi Chappell-led art talk.  It was a Lesson in Geometry.

As Director of Curatorial Affairs, Chappell curated this exhibition from the Everson archives.  Currently, the museum’s finest collection of non-representational paintings and sculptures are housed in two of the upstairs galleries.  Works from Sol Lewitt, Susan Roth, and many other American artists are on view through March 29, 2026.  Some of the pieces are recent acquisitions.

When discussing geometric forms, we are talking about measured shapes.  Drawing a circle free-hand is not geometry.  These pieces utilized rulers, protractors, right triangles and compasses.  Many were conceptualized to appear machine made with very smooth brushstrokes and precise edges (I mean – you can totally tell those artists used masking tape in order to eradicate  the humanity – so that was a bit of an unsuccessful desire).

Steffi Chappell spoke of the historical significance of the abstract art movement in the United States specifically, and how it sort of separated into factions with Abstract Expressionism dominating after World War II.  Geometric Abstraction sprouted from a need to break free of emotional trappings.

Even though many of these pieces were created when I was a child (kind of a long time ago), it was refreshing in that Star Trekkian way to do away with all the emotion and volatility of social justice art, mental illness art, low frequency vibes and the like, at least for the afternoon.  This work, in essence, is art for art’s sake.  It is about using the elements of art to establish the principles of art in a structured instead of intuitive way.

The result:  the viewer responds to color, rhythm, line quality, etc. and appreciates its boldness in size or serenity in shape.  Many artists experimented with canvas shape, new materials, and/or optical illusion.

It’s the kind of abstract art that kids will hesitate to say – I could do that – because the underlying geometric structures and measuring techniques were clearly time consuming, lol.

Artists have obsessed over the relationship between mathematics and art for millennia. As artists turned toward abstraction in the early twentieth century, Europeans like Piet Mondrian used geometry to create a set of rules and parameters that guided their creative process. Meanwhile, American artists began developing their own styles and movements—particularly Abstract Expressionism, which was typified by bold, quickly executed brushwork, drips, and splashes. In the mid-twentieth century in the United States, artists laid the groundwork for Geometric Abstraction as a more cerebral alternative to the often macho flamboyance of Abstract Expressionism. Over the ensuing decades, artists used geometry to produce abstract works that ranged from the dazzling Op Art of Victor Vasarely to the restrained Minimalism of Sol LeWitt.

Lessons in Geometry traces the evolution of hard-edged abstraction in the United States as artists sought to use pure geometric forms to create works with balance, harmony, and order. For these artists, shape, line, and color took precedence over representational compositions. The Everson’s collection reflects the wildly varied ways that artists have used geometry to serve their personal expression, from the analytical formulations of Robert Swain to the shaped canvases of Harmony Hammond and the spatial illusions of Tony King.

 

abstract, art, art exhibition, art gallery, art museum, installation, Karen Tashkovski, sculpture

Eternity & Infinity

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According to artist Yayoi Kusama, the world is a circle – a polka dot blip in the universe.  You’ve gotta love a person who sticks to a bit (or blip).  She’s been cultivating ways (read installations) in which to incorporate her round motif for decades.  Apparently, her obsession stems from childhood trauma – hallucinations containing an influx of dots in her surroundings.

One with Eternity:  Yayoi Kusama is currently on view at The Buffalo AKG (formerly called the Albright-Knox Gallery),  1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222.

There are three gallery spaces housing three different installations.  The first contains an enormous polka dotted pumpkin sculpture.  The second is a mirrored room filled with red and white amorphic shapes. These look to be of cotton fabric stuffed with poly fiberfill.

The third room is a sort of disco style light show thingy.  You enter the room through a curtained opening and find yourself in a house of mirrors.  She calls it a mirrored infinity room.

You must purchase tickets for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition in addition to a museum fee.   There is a timed-entry feature because two of the rooms are small and require a more intimate experience.  They only allow you forty-five seconds a turn.

We were able to have more time because there were less people in attendance.  Even still, three minutes wasn’t a lot, especially when you travel over two hours to get there, lol.

There is still time to immerse yourself in polka dots.  The show continues through March 2, 2026.

Thank you, Penny, for a fabulous adventure.  So fun!

art, art exhibition, art museum, Karen Tashkovski, sculpture

Ethereal Beauty

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If you haven’t yet travelled to Munson (310 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13502) to see Celestial Bodies, then I will say you’re welcome in advance because, well, it is that magnificent.  I trust you will love it too.

New Yorker Karen LaMonte graduated from RISD then began a journey that took her from a glass blowing workshop in New Jersey to Prague to international fame as a sculptor.  She has won numerous awards and fellowships for this impressive body of work.

She works in glass, stone, bronze – working with experts as a team to produce life-sized female forms.  The headless sculptures are exquisitely draped gowns.  Although they resemble Greek caryatids, they are incredibly modern in design – ruched halter tops, asymmetrical sleeves, the appearance of stitched seams and floral embroidery – OMG, they are spectacular.

In addition to the life-sized items, there are quarter-sized miniatures.  They are so beautifully feminine.  As I viewed the show, I imagined myself wearing these gowns because each one was a perfect #ootd.  And because they were missing someone else’s head and arms and were clearly my size, it was an effortless phenomenological vision that induced movement, dance, joy and above all, elegance.  A girl can dream….

Karen LaMonte is my new favorite artist.

Munson is open Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sunday noon – 5:00 PM.  Call (315) 797-0000 for more information.

Celestial Bodies:  Sculpture by Karen LaMonte will be on view through December 31, 2025.

angels, art, art exhibition, art museum, art venue, inspiration, Karen Tashkovski, sculpture

God Speed & God Bless

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Although these sculptures in the Robineau Memorial Gallery (at the Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202) have the ability to move and create sound, there is a big sign at the entrance that tells us to not touch them because eventually, a docent/museum person will demonstrate them.  This did not happen on Sunday when there was one person at the desk, one person wanting to wax juxtapostion-laden sentences about the supposedly social justice paintings in the basement and another who stood adjacent to the skateboarding tragedy that has infiltrated three upstairs galleries in addition to glorifying its trespass of the outdoor courtyard.  No security guards and nobody in the viewing room of the text driven CNY initiative artist.

Still, I was drawn to the magnificence of the woodwork and spiritual infusion of it that constitutes D. Lee DuSell’s sculptures.  He died last year – three of these pieces had previously been displayed here in 1980.  They are part of a series he’d initiated in the 1970s when a spiritual calling allowed divine inspiration.  Christian symbolism and church iconography coalesced as part of the landscape of his artwork.  There are angels and the sounds of pipe organs, the idea of pulpits and of course, the large scale that acknowledges his deep faith.

In addition, he had harvested the wood on his own land, which creates a bond with the natural world and he’d incorporated the love of his family into each turn while also teaching at the university for thirty years, which grounds his work in a love of humanity, as well.

The show is called Benediction, as it relays a sort of swan song, a “spiritual ending” to quote the text, to his quiet strength and its innovative tenacity.

I was able to realign my source energy in this room after the other exhibitions provoked me so negatively.  I highly recommend a visit to see Benediction at the Everson.  It is on view through August 31, 2025.

This Sunday there will be a City Market event on the grounds complete with food trucks, music and artisans peddling their wares.  The museum will be open with a pay-what-you-will sliding scale, that is,  if you are not yet a member (members are free).

art exhibition, art gallery, art museum, fiberarts, Karen Tashkovski, quilting

So Many Quilts

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BEST OF SHOW, Fuzzy Mall, Dundas, Canada, “Emma and Clarke 2 composition 1” 2023, $4,800

Full disclosure – I was hiding those turkey rocks in Emerson Park in Auburn, New York the other day and there was no bathroom there.  I was all – maybe I can drive over to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center and use the restroom there?

I parked the car across the street and almost peed my pants because I thought it wasn’t open.  There is scaffolding everywhere.  The gallery is undergoing a huge renovation.  Luckily, it was open.

And luckier still, I have a membership card.  So after that mini drama, I was treated to this technicolor array of internationally produced quilts.  The Quilts=Art=Quilts 2024 exhibition is on display and will be up through January 5, 2025.

Deborah Boschert, Lewisville, TX, Percolating”, 2024, $2,250

It is spectacularly colorful.  These large scale function-to-decorative objects brilliantly fill the walls and I must say these photographs do not do this show justice.  They are stunning in person or as my Mom always says, they are “Wow-ie!!!” !!!

Lela O’Dell, Oklahoma City, OK, “Plush Curiosities”, 2023, $3,000
Kerri Green, Dallas, TX, “tool Box”, 2024, $3,500; Viviana Lombrozo, San Diego, CA, “Ordered Chaos”, 2023, $2,750

The Schweinfurth is located at 205 Genesee Street, Auburn, NY 13021.

Gallery hours:  Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sundays 1-5pm.

Yan Liu, Mubarak Al Abdullah, Kuwait, “Kuwait Futurism”, 2021, NFS
Pat Pauly, Rochester, NY, “Rite of Spring”, 2023, $4,800

Kathleen Loomis, Louisville, KY, “Welcome”, 2024, $6,000
Anna Brown, Bungwahl, Australia, “Canopy 27”, 2023, $2,500
Bobbi Baugh, DeLand, FL, “House of Leaves”, 2024, $3,900
Kevin Womack, Forest, VA, “Remnants”, 2023, $1,375; Sheree Rasmussen, Castleton, Canada, “The Landscape Within”, 2024, $3,500

Karen K. Stone, Dallas, TX, “Red Molly”, 2024, $6,500

Jennifer Candon, Harvard, MA, “Stone Soup”, 2023, $7,900
Katie Chester, Charloteesville, VA, “Backstretch”, 2024, $6,500; Caroliina Oneto, Sao Paulo, Brazil, “Chromatic journey to stillness”, 2024, $2,500
Laura Shaw, Portland, OR, “Lucca, Recycled”, 2023, NFS; Kevin Womack, Forest, VA, “Night Watch”, 2023, $1,975

Viviana Lombrozo, San Diego, CA, “Sotto Voce”, 2022, $$3,000

Karen K. Stone, Dallas, TX, “Vincent”, 2024, $6,500

Julia Graziano, Manlius, NY, “Take Another Look”, 2024, $6,500

Marge Tucker, Norwell, MA, “Solstice”, 2024, NFS; Jennifer Fons, Dublin, OH, “Hiraeth 119”, 2024, $3,000
Fuzzy Mall, Dundas, Canada, “Kate Jackson 2 composition 1”, 2024, $3,600; Valerie Goodwin, Tallahassee, FL “Effervescent”, 2024, $6,000
abstract, art, art museum, assemblage, collage, editorial design, found object

Waxing Politic

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I used to deliver newspapers – The Syracuse Herald Journal and the Sunday Post Standard.  I started as an eight-year-old, making $20 a week.  Back in the ’70s, that was a lot of money. I was able to buy a car when it was time for that, and other stuff, like a TV and stereo for my bedroom….

I always thought I’d be a writer, an artist too, but – I don’t know, I mean, I used to read the paper every day back then.  Was I going to be a Lois Lane?  Now the paper is a relic and maybe I am partly to blame because I write for fun, not for money.  And you can read it for free.

Years ago, Tim Atseff was hired as an artist for the Syracuse Herald Journal.  That job segued into political cartoonist and later upper management.  He was more recently instrumental in creating the Central New York Magazine and other publications that focus on local interests.

He’s still very much an artist and this exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art is a powerful homage to his career.  Atseff paints on bifold insulation boards in his basement studio.  The artwork is enormous and yet easily transportable, which I find genius.

The work focuses on the current political climate and incorporates assemblage, collage, text and a vibrant color scheme.

The paintings succeed in joining technical proficiency with abstract and graphic devices, which manifests into a Robert Indiana/Larry Rivers-type vibe, something akin to a powerful Americana symbolism juxtaposed with a feeling of unfinished business.

As well, I recognized that the artists’ own political views are not unclear yet, like the propaganda of politics, the work can justly be claimed by the opinionated based on perspective alone, if that makes any sense.

I loved the scale of it all, the large headline texts and the humor (calling the paper in one painting “The Daily WTF”), the giant -30- indicating the end of a news story….  The installation elements are full of smaller items, like the sand on the floor in the Final Edition piece had pennies sprinkled in – this was not lost on my eagle eye.  There is perfection in that rhythm.

There is such a strong message here about the loss of a media that at one time was our main source of information, given to us by just-the-facts-journalists.  Now who are we supposed to rely on for that info?  Lois Lane is out of a job and I am assuming there’s no pension.  Thank goodness I went the teaching route so that my art and writing stuff can remain in the realm of for-fun.

This show is about the end of an era, an American institution in rags, in shambles.  The newspaper thrown out like yesterdecade’s garbage.  It’s bittersweet and beautiful, and larger than life.  So SO GOOD!

Tim Atseff – Final Edition will be on view through December 29, 2024.  The Everson Museum of Art is located at 401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York, 13202.  See their web-site for further details including hours of operation and how to become a member in order to support the museum and keep up-to-date on future events..

art gallery, art museum, art resources, Arts & Crafts, ceramics, clay, family, figurative, heritage, history, Karen Tashkovski, printmaking

Voting with Jen G.

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I’ve driven past the Matilda Joslyn Gage house a gazillion times.  You know how it is – you see the sign and say to yourself, one of these days I will investigate what that’s all about.  It is located at 210 E. Genesee Street, Fayetteville, New York 13066.

I mean, yes, it is about abolishionist Gage, and her connection to the Underground Railroad, friendship with fellow suffragette Susan B. Anthony AND she also happened to be L. Frank Baum’s mother-in-law.

Small world.

My almost thirty year connection with Chittenango, New York and all things Oz should have brought me here sooner,  No matter because today I was invited to an open house and art reception for the fabulous Jen Gandee.

Jen has created an installation of pottery and digital imagery utilizing human silhouettes representing her experience with long lines at the voting booths during the 2020 election.  These figures are stenciled onto ceramic cups glazed in variations on skin color.  They are also superimposed on printed documents from the Library of Congress, papers that have historical significance to our voting system.

The show was made possible through a CNY Arts Initiative grant.  It will be on display until November 24, 2024.  Check the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation web-site for hours of operation.

Other rooms in the house display Gage’s connection to Native American tribes in the area, women’s rights and a historically accurate parlor room, as this house was her childhood home.  They’ve removed the kitchen and replaced it with a gift shop.  They can also accommodate physically handicapped via a small elevator.

P.S. I loved that they served cucumber sandwiches at the event.  I almost felt like I could fall through one of those Land of the Lost time doorways and find myself in 1924, but only because the rooms reminded me of the museum in that Christopher Reeve movie “Somewhere in Time” plus I’ve been falling into too many timey-wimey rabbit holes on YouTube lately.

Thank you, Jen Gandee for giving me a reason to explore this wonderful home and for being an inspiration as both artist and advocate.

art, art exhibition, art gallery, art museum, Karen Tashkovski

Fifteen Reasons

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Here are fifteen reasons (excluding the magnificent Marisol collection) to take a trip to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery & Museum in Buffalo, New York:

  1.  VINCENT VAN GOGH

2.  PAUL GAUGUIN

3.  PAUL CEZANNE

4. FRIDA KAHLO

5.  AMEDEO MODIGLIANI

6.  GIACOMO BALLA

7.  GIORGIO DI CHIRICO

8.  ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG

9.  FRANZ KLINE

10.  JASPER JOHNS

11.  SALVADOR DALI

12.  PABLO PICASSO

13. ROBERT MOTHERWELL

14.  SUSAN ROTHENBERG

15.  WILLEM DE KOONING