Selected artists “push the boundaries of what can be described as a landscape.”
NORTHAMPTON — There is an opening reception Sept. 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. for the 2013 Annual Landscape Exhibition, a popular fall event in the Valley, at William Baczek Fine Arts. The show, highlighting the work of 12 artists from around the country, is on view through Oct. 5
According to a release from the gallery, the selected artists “push the boundaries of what can be described as a landscape.”
The show includes Mallory Lake’s pastels of Italy as well as work from her new steam train series.
Scott Prior has contributed oil paintings inspired by his time on Cape Cod, as well as nocturnes. Some of these depict the glow of amusement park rides, or a New England lake at sunset.
“While seeming to be perfectly literal, Prior, of Northampton, makes changes in light, viewpoint and the placement of elements within his paintings, so that what at first seems like a near photographic depiction of a specific place, becomes more like a remembrance of a moment in time,” according to the release.
Colin Brant’s landscapes are said to show influences that :range from the French rococo painter, Fragonard to American fold art.”
According to the release, “The first impression of them is that they are traditional, but slowly they become something very different.”
Robert Sweeney, head of the art department at Amherst College, is showing a variety of landscapes, from New England and Italy.
Marc Civitarese creates abstracted landscapes using wax on oil paint. According to the release, Civitarese’s pieces “give the suggestion of crashing waves or elements of cloud formations, and like most abstract art they ask the viewer to finish the sentence ‘that looks like . . .’ “
George Nemethy seascapes are said to “look at once primitive and modern with their somewhat stylized boats and billowing sails.” His primary inspiration is said to be Indian miniatures.
Brooklyn painter, David Faust paints landscapes in oil of coastal scenes, using a highly restricted palette. Derek Buckner, another Brooklyn painter describes himself as a realist painter, yet “there is a sense of abstraction in the way he fractures light in an almost Cezanne-esque way,” according to the release.
Susan Mikula’s photographs have been described as “interpretive” and, according to the release, “she uses out-of-focus scenes and alternative forms of photographic printing to leave the meaning open and deliberately unclear.”
“Without political comment she depicts the vacated New England factories or vast, nearly empty beaches from both coasts, or ‘civil twilight,’ those moments just before dawn or after sunset when the sun is six degrees below the horizon,” according to the release.
The exhibition also includes Hale Johnson’s paintings of the 1980s and early 1990s, from a private collection. Paintings from the estate of John Roy, who broke his scenes into “tiny dots of pure color,: will be shown as well.
Philip Koch’s paintings in the exhibit reflect his “modernist influenced eye” on American landscape panoramas from the 19th century. “Each generation” Koch is quoted as saying, “needs a new image of what our Earth looks like in our time. There will always be a need for landscape painters to show us where we live.”
Selections from this exhibition and other works by gallery artists can be seen on the gallery’s web site at www.wbfinearts.com.
For more information, call the gallery at (413) 587-9880 or email at info@wbfinearts.com. The gallery, located at 36 Main St., is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.