ART OPENING : Saturday July 19th 6- 9 pm
Unearthing the Light: Upstate Art Weekend at THE CHURCH in Staatsburg, NY
Maggie Simonelli Fire, Pine 2004
Encaustic (beeswax), cinnabar, indigo, copper leaf and pine needles collected in Pine Barrens, NJ on floating birch panel
27” x 27“ x 2 1/2"
Fire, Pine by Maggie Simonelli is an encaustic painting made with handmade beeswax paints of cinnabar, indigo and embedded pine needles collected in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The theme is the moment of regeneration, birth and transformation. Fire is represented by cinnabar, pine needles represent the regeneration of the pine trees by fire, and the indigo represents the spirit of the pine trees though not seen in physical form their spirit continues on as an essence of the land. I was inspired to create Fire, Pine when I learned that the pine trees in the Pine Barrens regenerate through Fire. In order to seed the pine cones need fire to open. I thought this is wonder of nature and constructive relationship of th elements Fire and Wood. This painting was part of a larger series Pine Barrens Collection and the entire exhibition A Record in Wax based around nature, the elements and relationships in the Pine Barrens ecosystem. I collected many natural items from the Pine Barrens in NJ based on research from Pine Barrens Ecosystem and Landscape edited by Richard T.T. Forman the seminal book that used Pine Barrens as a prototype for multi-disciplinary sciences and the founding of the new science of Landscape Ecology.
Unearthing the light
Art opening Reception: Saturday, July 19, 6pm to 9pm
Upstate Art Weekend: July 17 to July 21, 12pm to 6pm
AT : THE CHURCH in Staatsburg 5 Market Street
Staatsburg, NY
On View: thru early September, by appointment
The exhibition features work by Nancy Burson, Celine Cannon, Alison Cornyn, Yolanda Cuomo, Elena del Rivero, Heather Greer, Sandra Harper, Jazmine Hayes, Jillian MacDonald, Ofelia Mangen, Tanya Marcuse, Rita Peress, Negin Sharifzadeh, Maggie Simonelli, Nina Sobell, Diana Weymar, and Marina Zurkow.
The Church in Staatsburg presents 'Unearthing the Light', an exhibition and related programming that reveals and reclaims hidden histories and erasures. The exhibition brings together artworks that address the neglect and erasure of bodies because of gender, race, and poverty. It also considers the body of the earth as a site of harm as well as growth.
It encompasses photographs, works on paper, paintings, sculpture, video, embroidery, and plant works.
Contact : Alison Cornyn, Curator and Director, The Church (917) 575-1025 e: alison.cornyn@gmail.com