The Studio presents:

STANDARDS & SHIFTS IN CONTEMPORARY ART:

WINTER SOLSTICE IV

at The Studio & The Arts Exchange

Exhibition & Events at Two Galleries:

The Studio: An Alternative Space for Contemporary Art

December 18, 2005 - January 29, 2006

2 Maryland Avenue , Armonk , NY , 10504 (914) 273-1452

Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 1-5 pm and by appointment

Reception: December 18, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Gallery Talk : Looking Closely by Susan Manspeizer on Saturday, January 21 at 2pm

The Grand Banking Room at The Arts Exchange

December 21, 2005 - January 25, 2006

31 Mamaroneck Avenue , White Plains , NY 10601 (914) 428-4220

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 12 - 5 pm

Reception: December 21, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm with a performance by Katz McCue at 6:30 pm

Gallery talk: Thinking Broadly by Marcy B. Freedman on Saturday, January 14 at 2:00pm

The Studio: An Alternative Space for Contemporary Art is pleased to present: Standards and Shifts in Contemporary Art: Winter Solstice IV , a group exhibition featuring the work of 50 artists from across the nation and a br oad, 18 of whom are participating in the Solstice series for the first time.

Tedd Stratis, founder and director of The Studio, has selected a diverse group of artists who work in painting, sculpture, print-making, video, performance and installation. Their artworks reveal the varied preoccupations of visual artists today.

Examples of installation art are prominent in the show. Kaz McCue uses assorted materials and incorporates performance into his installation, encouraging the audience to become engaged with his work on a variety of levels. The collaborative artists Margaret Kimura and Masha Ryskin have constructed an environment of draped fa br ic and cut paper - installed on the floor and the walls. The result is a dream-like, magical landscape. Other installations in the exhibition utilize video, projected digital imagery and light.

  There are several examples of both traditional and unconventional approaches to the use of three-dimensional structures. J. Pindyck Miller presents a wall sculpture made of cast and machined aluminum, evoking the established language of engineering and the devices of contemporary architecture. Susan Christenson incorporates photographic prints of human forms and the natural world into structures that appear to cascade down the wall or float off the floor. Colleen Toledano fa br icates cosmetic accessories, such as lipstick cases and perfume bottles, and arranges them into tableaus that have a decidedly feminist slant.

  A few of the selected artists work within the traditions of painterly abstraction. Bendel Hydes 's large and dramatic canvases are alive with color and gesture. Johanna Cooper fashions assemblages of painted panels that are poetic and luminous. Drawing and etching are the traditional means used by Ken Kenan and Adrienne Cullom , respectively. Kenan draws witty scenarios in ink and watercolor on a diminutive scale. Cullom cuts up her etchings and uses the fragments to construct whimsical collages.

Among the artists working with photography are Ellen Jantzen and Renata Rainer . Jantzen's computer-manipulated ink-jet prints combine images from the natural world so as to evoke surrealistic dreamscapes. Rainer's works seem to be, at first glance, straight unmanipulated photographic images. However, further examination reveals that the artist has overlapped separate photos to create mysterious new realms of experience.

   Standards and Shifts in Contemporary Art: Winter Solstice IV showcases the wide range of media and artistic expression that are characteristic of our era. Visitors to this two-venue exhibition will experience the exciting and provocative nature of art in the 21 st century.   

Gallery Talks:

At The Studio: Looking Closely by Susan Manspeizer on Saturday, January 21 at 2pm .

Ms. Manspeizer, an artist and educator, will discuss the artworks on view at The Studio, paying close attention to the mediums used and the issues confronted by the artists.

At the Arts Exchange: Thinking Broadly by Marcy B. Freedman on Saturday, January 14 at 2pm .

Ms. Freedman, an artist and art historian, will consider the works on view at The Arts Exchange in the br oad context of modernism and post-modernism.

The Studio: An Alternative Space for Contemporary Art is located at 2 Maryland Avenue in Armonk , New York . The Studio is open Saturdays and Sundays 1 - 5pm and by appointment. For more information, visit www.thestudiony-alternative.org or call (914) 273-1452 .

The Arts Exchange: is located at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains , New York . The Arts Exchange is open Tuesday - Saturday, 12 - 5pm . For more information, visit www.westarts.com or call (914) 428-4220.

Copyright: The Studio 2006