Connections: An Artist’s Viewpoint

This exhibition features the work of New York Metropolitan area artists who take their inspiration from nature.  Although they share a common interest and a penchant for abstraction, each presents a uniquely different perspective. Currently, there are four artists in the exhibit. 

Katherine Mangiardi’s ghostly flowers inhabit a world swathed in gauzy webs and tendrils; delicate lace and painted embroidery scraps are intertwined throughout.  The compositions pulsate with life and movement.  In some, rivulets of red pigment flow over the monochromatic surfaces, like blood coursing through veins.  Whether they reference growth or decay, cellular formations or celestial constellations, Mangiardi’s paintings hint at the interconnection of all living things. 

Similarly, Tedd Stratis’s forest of linear forms suggests molecular structures or branching arteries.  His carefully layered patterns, three to five strata deep, have a solidity that differentiates from Mangiardi’s more ethereal approach.  Stratis conveys depth through a gradation of tones as one layer slowly dissolves into another in a hypnotic, rhythmic progression.  His color choices evoke the seasons (the oranges of fall, the pinks of spring) while a high concentration of oil in the paint creates glossy, luminous surfaces.

Like Stratis, Joyce Wenglowski uses color as an emotional connector to the natural world.  Brilliant blues and greens suggest tropical water and lush foliage, while reds and yellows recall fiery sunsets.  Large swatches of cool color engage with warmer hues in a delicate dance between representation and abstraction.  Wenglowski’s saturated palette, energetic brushwork, and floating forms create a joyful viewing experience.

In contrast to Wenglowski’s sweeping fields of color, Susan Christenson’s multimedia constructions provide quiet, intimate encounters with nature.  Her color photographs of tree branches and budding leaves are small, close up views.  The images are mere fragments, arranged like glass panels in a window frame.  While Christenson’s work is the most realistic and referential, it nevertheless invites viewers to slow down and contemplate their relationship with the environment.

Connections: An Artist’s Viewpoint remains on view through May of 2010.  The Studio: An Alternative Space for Contemporary Art, a Westchester based organization, selected the artists and artwork on display.

Ellen J. Keiter

Curator of Contemporary Art

Katonah Museum of Art