The Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb delves into the wonderful world of color for part two of its Up the River show.
By: Ilene Dube
The water in the Delaware River has been a magical elixir for artists since the time of the Bucks County Impressionists in the late 1800s. The tradition continues today, with such well-known artists as Barry Snyder, Pat Martin, Paul Matthews, Barbara Osterman and many others working on both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides.
Last year, the Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb celebrated the Bucks County Impressionists, and curator Kate Somers promised there would be a part two. "There was just too much to fit into one exhibit," she has reiterated this year. Up the River Now continues at the gallery through Dec. 1.
The exhibit "shows the continuation of talent that has been in the Bucks County area over the last 100 years," Ms. Somers says. "From the Impressionists to the Modernists, the area continues to nurture a wonderful artists’ colony."
To narrow the choices from the hundreds of works Ms. Somers would have liked to include, she restricted the medium to painting, with the exception of one collage by Mavis Smith and two encaustics (wax on paper) by Alan Goldstein. "I chose to focus on artists who have been working for a substantial period of time, mid-career to late-career artists. All are dedicated painters," she says.
The paintings range from 1-foot wide canvases to paintings 60-by-68 inches. It’s hard not to get emotional when encountering Glenn Harren’s enormous works, "Morning Stream" and "Deep Purple." You have to step back at least 20 feet just to focus on these surreal visions of the landscape.
"Glenn Harren prefers to work that large and can pull it off," Ms. Somers says. "Its monumental size gives it impact. It’s certainly a different kind of painting than those of a smaller scale."
Unlike the truer-to-nature palettes of the Bucks County Impressionists in last year’s show, Mr. Harren and many of this year’s artists work in bold and bright colors birthday candle blues, Jolly Rancher greens, Gatorade yellow, Raspberry Zinger red. In "Distant Purple," farm fields are bold bands of orange, ochre and brown, against a brilliant purple background.
"With contemporary painters, anything goes," says Ms. Somers, recalling the French Fauvists who used wild colors. "James Feehan’s paintings are like magical realism. They tell a story. Alan Goldstein’s work is very contemporary."
Joseph Barrett’s "Quarry Farm" and "Bucks County Cottage" are reminiscent of Herbert Pullinger’s work in last year’s show, with its tangerine and purple colored roof, avocado green shutters and purple and blue fields. Although "Bucks County Cottage" is clearly a winter scene, with bare trees and new-fallen snow, its colors are summer bright, with rose, lemon yellow and watermelon-green houses. Mr. Barrett was also influenced by Fern Coppedge from last year’s show, with her lavender and pink rural scenes of rolling hills and houses in the distance.
Paul Matthew’s "Bull’s Island, Late Afternoon" takes its palette more seriously, capturing Nature’s bolder spectrum. He re-creates the bright mauve of the shoreline, touched by afternoon light, and the murky water reflects these, highlighted by ripples of baby blue. It’s hard to imagine how he captured that single moment of light.
Elizabeth Augenblick, on the other hand, goes cartoon-bright in her acrylics, and even the subject matter is whimsical. In "The Lions (Escape from the Peddler’s Village Carousel)," two golden felines with regal manes and candy-colored saddles encircle a purple kiosk, while a reindeer, also candy-colored, escapes through the woods. Not surprisingly, Ms. Augenblick is a book illustrator.
Tom Chesar’s paintings at first appear dark, but on closer inspection show a rich imagination. "His paintings are very jewel-like," says Ms. Somers. "He is a very careful detail painter." The animal figures that can be deciphered upon close inspection of his line work are really there. In "Mist," one can see all manner of sea creatures in the cross-hatchings. In "Birch Point," clouds roil overhead while boulders and pine trees along the rocky coast can be examined for hidden meaning, much like finding the Ninas in an Al Hirschfeld illustration.
"Large group shows can be immensely satisfying," says Ms. Somers, "like sitting down to enjoy a smorgasbord with a variety of wonderful tastes and textures."
Up the River Now continues at the Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Route 206 South, Lawrence, through Dec. 1. Gallery hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat.-Sun. and holidays 1-5 p.m. For information, call (609) 252-6275.