Sunday, November 2, 2014

THE 2014 SEASON



This is an image of our door to enter the gallery.  Now the quiet season on Rocky Neck has begun and our gallery is closed until next spring.  Rocky Neck Gallery is grateful to all the friends, fans and new acquaintances that graced our gallery these year.  We appreciate your visits and support of the many artists in this cooperative gallery.  In the meantime follow our artists' news and events on our Facebook page, our Twitter feed (see links at upper right of this page) or by signing up for the Rocky Neck Art Colony's newsletter.  We wish you all the best until we meet again!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

MICHELE KENNA @ RNG

Along the Way
Pastel
Michele Kenna


 
The Rocky Neck Art Colony announces this season’s sixth Summer Artists Series exhibition, Connections Through Nature, featuring pastels by Michele Kenna. This final show of the gallery’s 2014 season opens Wednesday, September 24th and runs to Friday, October 12th. The public is invited to the opening reception on September 27 from 6 to 8 pm at the Rocky Neck Gallery Artist Collective, which takes place concurrently with the Rocky Neck Gallery’s fall “Color Party” celebration.
 
“When I am in nature I feel connected to my source,” says Kenna. “Away from the noise and distractions of daily life, I am able to lose myself while painting a landscape that inspires me.” 

She strives to free herself from the “tyranny of the line” as her teacher and mentor, Frank Federico, once taught her.  Spontaneity, strong strokes of color, gesture, and bold compositions are prevalent in her loosely articulated landscapes that capture the essence of the natural scene.

“The ‘letting go of ego’ and portraying my feelings about the scene and the time of day are always a challenge but an exciting one,” remarked Kenna.  “It is very satisfying when this resonates with the viewer.”
 
A transplanted Canadian, Kenna has lived in Massachusetts for over 30 years. Growing up in a family involved in art and theater, she pursued her own artistic aspirations by completing her degree in Fine Arts at the University of Toronto. After raising two children, Kenna continued to study with nationally known American artists who taught and mentored her in the pastel medium, her primary influences being Frank Federico, PSA 2012 Hall of Fame Honoree, and internationally renowned painter, Wolf Kahn. Kenna has also studied with well-known North Shore painters, such as Betty Lou Schlemm, Charles Movalli, Marilyn Swift and many more. 

Classes at the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly have inspired Kenna to reach out beyond traditional boundaries and to challenge herself to more abstract ways of expression. With a studio at the Porter Mill Studios in Beverly, Kenna continues to develop her unique style of landscape painting. She has exhibited her work in numerous galleries and art associations in the Boston area and the North Shore.
 
 Michel Kenna is a member of the Rocky Neck Art Colony, North Shore Arts Association, Cambridge Art Association, Concord Art Association, Marblehead Arts Association, Danvers Art Association, Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod and The French Library, Boston MA.

 
For more information, please contact Judy Robinson-Cox, manager of the Rocky Neck Gallery, 978-290-2639 or Michele J. Kenna, mjkenna@comcast.net.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

TEXTURE SPEAKS - NEW SHOW @ RNG



Jeweler Trish Nadeau Conant, is the fifth artist selected this year for the Rocky Neck Art Colony’s Summer Artist Series. Her exhibition “Texture Speaks” replicates the natural world in metal through the process of precious metal clay (PMC).  Conant’s new exhibit opens Thursday, September 4th, at Rocky Neck Gallery, 53 Rocky Neck Ave., and runs until September 23rd. Meet the artist and hear about her process this Saturday, 9/6, at a reception from  6 to 8 PM.  

When using PMC as a vehicle, stories evolve from the seen and unseen patterns of handcrafted texture tapestries that create a personal connection between the creator and the wearer. 

“Sometimes the connection I have as an artist is exactly the same as the wearer and other times it is completely different,” says Conant, “but the connection is made which sparks conversation. Jewelry is personal and I’m inspired by the connections I make with people. My jewelry is universal as it speaks to mothers, daughters, granddaughters, fathers, sons, and good friends and I find that extremely gratifying.”

Conant draws her inspiration from the natural world. A walk in the woods may spark a new design with a found fern.  Color could inspire the patina of her finished pieces.  Iridescent blue, purple, crimson red, orange, and gold created with acid and heat patinas mimic the rising sun or a moonlit walk. 

She molds twigs, birds, sea urchins, and gingko leaves, then carves and sculpts them to form organic yet elegant pieces of jewelry. She rivets leaf skeletons between metal discs that are protected by sheets of mica. She also recreates natural scenes using handcrafted texture sheets, created with polymer clay and paper, to produce realistic etchings onto the metal clay.  Using a cycle of friction and heat, she burnishes black and white artwork onto Polymer Clay. The Polymer Clay sticks to the ink on the paper and the paper is cured in an oven resulting in a low relief design.  These polymer clay sheets are rolled directly onto the metal clay or onto polymer clay, which is later set in a bezel or riveted in a frame.  

Her reversible pendants and earrings depict a different image, pattern or scene on each side.  She infuses pure 24 karat gold onto pure silver in a perfect marriage of metals. Conant’s focus is on uncomplicated designs, finding beauty in simple shapes and organic textures without compromising purity of form.  Assimilation of skill and a true love of process are reflected in each piece of wearable art.





Trish Conant is a special education teacher with a passion for creating.  She has been making jewelry for over 15 years and began using PMC in 2004 when she purchased her first kiln.  From the moment the clay touched her hands she was hooked.  

She began replicating her abundant collection of washed up shells and incorporating her stash of sea glass into the designs.  In 2006 Conant took her first class with Celie Fago where she learned how to create her own texture sheets and the ancient technique of Keumboo.  She continued to further her jewelry education over the years and has taken workshops with Tim McCreight, Pauline Warg, Linda Kay-Moses and Holly Gage.  What she loves most about PMC is that it can be textured in so many different ways.  She loves collecting things; twigs, flowers, grass, ferns, shells, pods etc.  and turning them into molds or rolling them directly into the clay.  

PMC is also a very green material with little waste.  It is made from reclaimed silver and every little sanded morsel can be reconstituted with water.  Because it is a pure metal, it will  adhere perfectly to the gold foil. 

In addition to the Rocky Neck Art Colony, Conant is a member of several craft organizations in Maine including Designing Women, The Society of Southern Maine Craftsmen and The United Maine Craftsmen.  She also participates in several art fairs in the summer and fall.

Rocky Neck Gallery is open 7 days a week.  Hours are Sunday - Wednesday: 11 AM - 6 PM; Thursday - Saturday  11 AM - 8 PM.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

CELEBRATING GLOUCESTER


PHYLLIS
oil/canvas
11 x 14


The Rocky Neck Gallery (RNG) is pleased to welcome Robert L. Williams as the fifth artist selected for this year’s “Summer Artist Series”.  
Williams’ new show, Celebrating Gloucester’s Heritage, opens Wednesday, August 13th and runs for three weeks until September 2nd. 
A relative newcomer to Cape Ann, Williams paints in the style of Regional American Impressionism, as seen in the work of nineteenth century New England painters, specifically those of Cape Ann.  The paintings selected for this show celebrate the heritage and tradition of the Gloucester fishing industry. 
Please join us and meet the artist on Saturday, August 16, at our gallery's reception from 6 to 8 PM


FURLING THE SAIL
oil/canvas
16 x 20

As a young man, Williams studied drawing and painting with Florence Collins, a former student of Daniel Garber, and Hugh Henry Breckenridge of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.  He majored in illustration and fine art at Philadelphia College of Art.  At the age of 21, Williams was selected as one of a few to serve as an artist in U.S. Marine Corps Combat Art program in Vietnam. 
In 1972, Williams studied in Florence, Italy, working among a circle of artists, including Benjamin Long IV, apprentice to Pietro Annigoni, master fresco painter.  In the following years, Williams restored church interiors that included commissions for original paintings in and around Philadelphia.
In addition, Williams established Motion Graphics, designing and painting hundreds of commercial and residential murals.  This led to his involvement in a number of career development programs, where he taught and worked with high school students to create community murals.
His recent move to Rockport inspired Williams to capture the extraordinary beauty and richness of Cape Ann in the great tradition of American Impressionism.
RNG gallery is open daily!  Stop in Sunday - Wednesday 11 AM - 6 PM and Thursday - Saturday 11 AM- 8 PM. 

Run by twenty-five juried artist members of Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC), the RNG Artist Collective functions as a co-operative, sharing the gallery duties among the members and sharing commissions on sales with the RNAC.  RNG is the sister gallery to the Cultural Center Gallery at 6 Wonson Street.  Together they represent a program of the RNAC to showcase contemporary artists and their work to the community.

The RNAC is a non-profit arts organization comprised of artists, businesses, and community members whose mission is to nurture excellence in the visual arts and to celebrate the artistic culture of Rocky Neck.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

DAVID PIEMONTE'S FLOWER POWER




Traditional silver gelatin photographer, David Piemonte, is the fourth artist selected for Rocky Neck Gallery’s Summer Artists Series 2014.  His solo exhibition, “Flower Power”, examines the intrinsic energy found within flowers that he strives to capture by photographing these in total darkness with medium format black & white film.  This dynamic new show opens Wednesday, July 23 and runs until August 12th.  An artist reception is this Friday, July 25 from 6 - 8 PM at the Rocky Neck Gallery, 53 Rocky Neck Ave., Gloucester.  Please join us - everyone is welcome to this festive event!

David’s deep reverence for detail is immediately evident in his photographs.  Photography for me is all about the moment, as is life itself”, says David.  I’ve always been fascinated by what the camera captures as opposed to what the eye sees.  At the same time, I feel my purpose as a photographer is to create images that sometimes ask more questions than they answer.  It’s the subtleties that create the mood of an image.” 

David draws much of his inspiration from the simplicity of nature as a symbolic statement of life.  It is this inspiration that allows him to create landscapes that are timeless and surreal. His elegant floral images have a mysterious beauty all their own.  As he explains it, “My floral images are ones of solitude and isolation. So often we think of flowers within the context of abundance and color.  Perhaps my floral images will allow the viewer to see them from a more intimate perspective.”

After attending New England School of Photography in Boston, David traveled through Europe.  The six months he spent there proved to be a pivotal time in his artistic career, particularly during his visit to Venice, where he discovered the beauty and solitude of night photography.  “It was there, in the late hours of the night, camera and tripod in hand, that I had that floating city all to myself.  I continue my search for nocturnal landscapes to this day . . . or night,” said David.

David has lived on Cape Ann since 1980 and exhibiting his work in numerous venues over the years.  Even with the advent of digital photography, David still prefers working with traditional medium format film and silver gelatin paper processed in a wet darkroom.  As he explains it, “I print everything by hand using archival processes for image permanence that I’ve refined over the years.  And the process of actually making the image can sometimes be as rewarding as the end result.”  

Rocky Neck Gallery is open every day: Sunday - Wednesday 11 AM - 6 PM, Thursday - Saturday 11 AM - 8 PM.  Please join us this Friday, July 25th for an artist's reception from 6-8 PM.  Meet SAS and gallery artist David Piemonte and see his stunning photographs.  

The Rocky Neck Gallery Artist Collective functions as a co-operative, sharing the gallery duties among the members and sharing commissions on sales with the Rocky Neck Art Colony. The Rocky Neck Gallery, at 6 Wonson Street, is the sister gallery of the Cultural Center Gallery.  Together they represent a program of the Art Colony to showcase contemporary art.



Sunday, June 29, 2014

Laureen Adrienne Maher Paints Gloucester

A solo exhibit features artist Laureen Adrienne Maher @ RNG


LEAVING BIRDSEYE
oil/canvas


Rocky Neck Gallery (RNG) is featuring local artist Laureen Adrienne Maher in the next Summer Artist Series opening this Wednesday, July 2nd until July 22nd. This is the first time Maher will be showing her paintings at RNG in her solo show titled Building.  An artist’s reception and talk will be held on Saturday, July 5th,  6 - 8 PM.  Please join us - meet Maher, see her painterly renditions of Gloucester’s buildings and hear her discuss her work.  This fun event, open to the public, is at 53 Rocky Neck Ave, Gloucester, MA. 

"Building" is a collection of old and dilapidated Gloucester buildings that Maher has painted over the last ten years.  “What I love most about art is perspective”, says Maher.  “When starting a painting, I try to surprise people with the not-so-popular view of the subject to offer a fresh new take. In every beautiful vista or building I find what I think is horrifyingly delightful.  From there, I like to stage the ugly in a new light, like a ‘makeover’ … with the prettiest colors mixed from oil paints.”

An East Gloucester resident, Maher recently exhibited with the newly formed Magnolia Historical Society and had a solo show at Gloucester’s Sawyer Free Library called, “Birdseye View.”  Prior to that she was a portrait artist who painted many of Gloucester’s local rock stars.

Maher is also the owner and sole stylist at 12 Parker Street’s Beauty Bar,  She has worked in commercial printing and as an administrative assistant at Harvard University. She holds both a BA and BS degrees from UMASS/Boston. 

RNG is open 7 days a week: Sunday - Wednesday 11-6 PM and Thursday - Saturday 11 - 8 PM.  The gallery functions as a co-operative where all the artists are juried members and share gallery duties.  RNG is the sister gallery of the RNAC Cultural Center Gallery at 6 Wonson Street.  Together they represent a program of the RNAC to showcase contemporary artists.


For more information please contact Judy Robinson-Cox, Rocky Neck Gallery manager @ 978-290-2639 or judy@robinson-cox.com.or Laureen Adrienne Maher @ glougirl67@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

SERENDIPITY

Ruth Schneider and Matt Cegelis, artists and a married couple, are exhibiting in the next Summer Artists Series at the Rocky Neck Gallery (RNG) Artist Collective opening June 11 to July 2, at 53 Rocky Neck Avenue, Gloucester.  


INTERPLANETARY
Ruth Schneider



This new show, titled Serendipity, will feature their abstract mixed media prints.  The public is invited to the opening reception on Saturday, June 14, from 6 to 8 pm.  Matt and Ruth will give a brief talk about the serendipitous process of merging multiple images creating one-of-a-kind abstractions.
Matt and Ruth relocated to Rockport from Dayton, Ohio one year ago and already the couple has made a noticeable impact on Cape Ann’s artistic community.  They have both exhibited work in two shows this year at the Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC) Cultural Center Gallery: Here & Now, a juried member’s show and Pixel Revolution, a curated digital painting exhibition.  This July, they will be in another RNAC Cultural Center Gallery exhibit: A Fine Line, juried by Al Minor, the assistant curator of contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Matt and Ruth are both members of seARTS, where Matt was recently elected vice president.  Last fall, Ruth became a juried member of the Rockport Art Association photography division.  Matt is also exhibiting in the Art in the Barn show this coming weekend at Essex County Greenbelt and both are showing work at the Gloucester Stage Company in August.
When asked how they managed to make such an artistic impact, Ruth replied “Blame it on my husband—he got us both involved in the Dayton, Ohio art scene after he left his sales position at LexisNexis three years ago.  After moving here, he jumped right into the arts scene, volunteering and submitting [work] to the various galleries. It has been a heck of a ride!  We’re thankful that the local art venues have accepted our work.”
Ruth’s interest in photography began during college in the 70's, when she was majoring in art and design.  She had a darkroom for 15 years, and did freelance work for various magazines and publications.  Portraiture and landscapes were her main focus and she worked mostly in black and white, utilizing the "Zone System", which was formulated by Ansel Adams..
While raising two children, she barely used the camera except to document their family life.  With the advent of digital cameras, she took it up again, mostly for recording travel adventures.  It wasn't until two years ago, that she discovered the ability to “play around” with her images, using free software on her computer.  Since then she has been merging her photographs with old, unfinished paintings.  She goes through her photo files choosing which images would work with either a painting or texture (which she photographs separately) or another photograph.  “It has been a real learning experience, and great fun to see the surprising results,” says Ruth.



BIRDFISH AND THE MOON
Matt Cegelis

Matt’s work is primarily focused on a combination of abstract photography and digital mixed media images that he creates on his iPad and his camera. He often merges multiple images, using a palette of digital tools.  “It typically takes many trial and error combinations to build the foundation of an image that I like.  Dead ends, where nothing good comes after much effort, are not uncommon.  On the other hand, knowing when to stop ‘improving,’ when a compelling image is achieved is a constant challenge as well,” says Matt.
This exhibit, the second in the Summer Artist Series, runs from June 11 - July 2 at RNG on 53 Rocky Neck Avenue, Gloucester.  The gallery is open 7 days a week: Sunday - Wednesday 11-6 PM and Thursday - Saturday 11 - 8 PM.  Please join us for an artists’ reception on Saturday, June 14, from 6-8 PM.
The RNG functions as a co-operative where all the artists are juried members and share gallery duties.  RNG is the sister gallery of the RNAC Cultural Center Gallery at 6 Wonson Street.  Together they represent a program of the RNAC to showcase contemporary artists.
For more information please contact Judy Robinson-Cox, Rocky Neck Gallery manager at 978-290-2639 or judy@robinson-cox.com.