Painter Deborah Paglione digs into her past.
By: Jessica Emili
If a picture is worth a thousand words, artist Deborah Paglione’s current exhibit at the Gallery at Chapin would be fodder for quite a lengthy memoir. Ms. Paglione’s Memories, on view through Sept. 28, includes 20 watercolor pieces that transport viewers as far away as Europe and as close to home as the Jersey Shore.
Ms. Paglione is the only living artist to have her paintings (of Drumthwacket and Morven) published in The Encyclopedia of New Jersey. Her artistic endeavors began at the age of 6, when she was introduced to watercolors in a Catholic school art class. And while Ms. Paglione has branched out to graphic design and photography she’s a member of the Princeton Photography Club she prefers to stick with painting in watercolors, acrylics and oils.
Memories is Ms. Paglione’s eighth solo exhibition in the Princeton area, but she’s chartered new artistic territory.
"I try to do something really different with each show," she says. "This one has a lot of big paintings. About 80 percent of the works are full-sheet, 22-by-32-inch works."
Memories frequently surface in Ms. Paglione’s work. "Everything I’ve ever done is recorded in my paintings," she says.
For this particular show, Ms. Paglione, who lives in Robbinsville, depicts places both far away and close to her heart. A sun-drenched desk with scattered papers and a half-full glass of wine, overlooking a view of Venetian canals, transports viewers to the enchanting city of Venice. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center takes center stage in another piece, with miniature skaters donning colorful attire set against a wintry background. In another, her son feeds the ducks on Long Beach Island under a beautifully setting sun.
Deciding which memories to reproduce is easy enough for Ms. Paglione. "I picture something I really want to remember, and then I work from there," she says. "Sometimes I take childhood memories, and think of somewhere I’d been as a kid and go back and photograph it. Or, if it’s no longer there, I just remember it as best I can and try to recreate it."
Aside from delving into the past for inspiration, Ms. Paglione tries to commemorate the present to use in her work. "When my friends and I went to New York, we stood in Times Square and had someone take our photo. In that photo, we could capture everything we saw at that time, at that moment, like the marquees with what was current ‘The Lion King’ was playing at the time," she recalls.
Ms. Paglione says she takes a "mental" approach to painting.
"I’ll just sit and look at a photo and think, what do I want to come out of this? And then I play lights against shadows and add color to it, try to add a little detail and some surprises here and there in the painting," she says.
Just as each memory is dear to Ms. Paglione, so is each painting in the exhibition. "I can’t choose a favorite. I love something about every painting. I’m actually very sad when I have to sell one," she says.
An opening reception will be held Sept. 13. Ms. Paglione hopes the exhibition will influence others to recall some of their own treasured memories.
"It’s a very emotional show," she says. "It’s so vibrant, so colorful. It’s going to bring out a lot of memories for other people and remind them of places they’ve been and things they’ve done."
Memories will be on view at the Gallery at Chapin, 4101 Princeton Pike, Lawrence, through Sept. 28. Reception: Sept. 13, 5-7 p.m. The exhibition may be viewed by appointment during school hours by calling (609) 924-7206.