During a 40-year artistic career, Ellen Blalock has created numerous projects including a film documenting the travels of Beyond Boundaries, a local group, in Ghana; “The Last Series,” whose images deal with depression; and “The Fathers Project,” a series of photos depicting teenage dads. Beyond that, she’s made a large number of quilts, the focus for her current, one-woman show at the ArtRage Gallery. Stitching Stories: Thread, Needle, Narrative: The Quilts of Ellen Blalock presents work made over the last 20 years. It encompasses quilts large and small, pays homage to ancestors, and demonstrates the artist’s ability to improvise with…
Author: Carl Mellor
Images from the 2019 Peace Calendar range from artistic illustrations about environmental protections to photos of global demonstrations for human rights.
Over the next month, various local venues will showcase hand-crafted items for the holidays. Check out these six Syracuse stops to shop local.
Since 2010, the Syracuse Veterans’ Writing Group has both met on a monthly basis and presented its members’ work in public contexts: in conferences, in readings at the ArtRage Gallery and other venues, and in a 2017 anthology published by Parlor Press. On Thursday, Nov. 8, the group’s members will read their work at the Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center, 401 University Ave., on the Syracuse University campus. The event, titled “Returning from Conflict: Nonfiction Readings by the Syracuse Veterans’ Writing Group,” is part of the SU Symposium series for 2018-2019. There’s a reception starting at 5 p.m. and readings…
Edgewood Gallery’s A Touch of Light exhibit focuses on creations from three veteran artists: John Fitzsimmons’ paintings, Carmel Nicoletti’s art glass and Dana Stenson’s jewelry. The show not only connects with current projects but also highlights variations in the local trio’s works. Many of Fitzsimmons’ pieces come from his “Treetop Series,” a group of oils that he began 14 years ago and returns to periodically. These paintings reflect a non-figurative approach. “Sea of Green” is large, vibrant, and full of green color that dominates the canvas. Similarly, explosive red and gold colors rule “When I Look to The East”; indeed,…
The Dowling Art Center will showcase 20 different and diverse artists at its open house the first weekend in November.
Early in his career, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) shocked the French art establishment by creating the sculpture “Age of Bronze.” It depicted a flesh-and-blood subject, an ordinary man in the nude, instead of an idealized figure. Rodin went on to make dozens of sculptures dealing with the realm of human behavior. He viewed people as spiritual and physical, ugly and beautiful, joyous and anguished. At SU Art Galleries, Rodin: The Human Experience focuses on the artist’s exploration of the human spirit. As he delved into human psychology, the sculptor rejected traditional depictions of people. Instead, he contorted limbs and torsos to…
Over the last 15 years, Neil Shigley has created 40 “Invisible People” portraits, a series of prints to acknowledge the humanity of people who are homeless.
The works look at connections between people, reflect on the media, and show how incisive photos can challenge societal perceptions.
As part of our special Arts Issue edition published on Aug. 29, we’re taking a look into the future for all things crafty, musical and thespian in Central New York. Plan your schedule accordingly! The 2018 Syracuse art season is all over the lot. It encompasses anniversary parties for two longtime galleries, travel on Interstate 81, artworks ranging from Mayan textiles to sculptures by Auguste Rodin, from cups to kimonos. Here’s a run-down of what’s in store in the arts world at notable venues around the area: The Everson Museum of Art 401 Harrison St.; (315) 474-6064 The Everson has…
Editor’s Note: The Aug. 31 event has been rescheduled to Sept. 7 due to weather. On Friday, Aug. 31, the Urban Video Project kicks off its fall season with Urban Cinematheque, an outdoor film and culture festival at the Everson Museum of Art Plaza, 401 Harrison St. The evening begins at 7 p.m. with immersion into Syracuse’s cultural scene: Tables will be staffed by organizations including UVP and its parent group, Light Work; the Everson; Spark; Symphoria; and Likeminded, a consortium of youth focusing on art and community engagement. Food trucks from Byblos and Frank’s Franks will also be on site. Then at 8 p.m. there will be a free screening of the blockbuster…
The new exhibit at the Tech Garden’s downtown gallery has a diverse roster of artists, considerable flexibility and a provocative title: The End of the World. There certainly are works dealing with end times in one form or another, but the display also presents acrylics depicting street scenes, a photo portraying industrial labor, and several pieces paying homage to vintage signs. The overall blend works nicely. First, the show features art dealing with the Cold War era. Curator Steve Nyland brought in artifacts documenting that era: a sign for a fallout shelter and a second sign listing maximum capacity for a shelter area. Tim Riker’s watercolor touches on the specter of nuclear…
The new show at Community Folk Art Center showcases illustrator Jaleel Campbell’s digital portraits of African-American women and men. Feel That Funk emphasizes geometric shapes, vivid colors and liberal use of forms such as stripes, dots and domino blocks. Just a quick glance at the 16 illustrations and a mural establishes that there’s no prototype for Campbell’s work. In “Just Jiving,” a bearded man sits on a chair, and blue and orange colors dominate. The chair’s top is enlarged into a circular shape. “Just a Touch” takes a different approach in its depiction of a man and woman. She’s engulfed by a series of patterns, just one…
The new exhibit at the Edgewood Gallery, 216 Tecumseh Road, spreads an array of colors throughout the venue. Another Perspective encompasses purple, orange and other colors seen in Amy Bartell’s pieces, various colors for Delores Herringshaw’s artworks, and colors befitting Jason Howard’s latest body of work, glass sculptures depicting birds. And Sharon Alama’s jewelry plays with fuchsia, turquoise and other hues. The colors, of course, are just one element of this group show. It displays pieces from Bartell’s “Little House, Big Sky” series, inspired by her observations of Provincetown, situated at the very end of Cape Cod. In that series, she’s not portraying Provincetown landmarks like Macmillan Pier or the sand dunes in…
The 2016 presidential campaign has inspired a wave of media coverage including books, panel discussions on television and radio, and essays analyzing the viability of our current political system. It also was the starting point for Jim Ridlon’s current series of assemblages. Discord & Dissent: Commentary on Contemporary Politics displays 21 of Ridlon’s pieces at the ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave. In watching the campaign, Ridlon was struck by the antics and soap-opera performances of several candidates. He started working on the assemblages, combining and arranging everyday materials: found objects such as wrenches or cloth or rusted scissors or other items. Each piece creates visual puns, metaphors subject to a viewer’s interpretation. The works all reference the political…