Plainsboro Library hosts art exhibit

Painter gives flowers a human dimension

By: Molly Petrilla
   PLAINSBORO — To the untrained eye, Corinne Collymore-Peters’ "Garden Portraits" art exhibit may look like three walls of beautiful flowers.
   But on closer observation, her oil paintings’ blossoms and buds also represent basic human experiences: life, death, spirituality.
   In fact, Ms. Collymore-Peters says the exhibit — which is on display in the Plainsboro Public Library until the end of the month — was largely a reaction to a series of deaths in her family over a six-week span.
   "I think that these paintings have something to say," the Partridge Court resident said. "My flowers took on the sensibilities and personalities of human beings."
   Residents will have a chance to learn more about the artist’s inspirations and the meaning behind her work from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at an "Art Chat" in the library.
   For example, a painting titled "Mother and Daughter" that features two peonies — one in the midst of bloom and the other beginning to show signs of wilting — is symbolic of the relationship she shared with her mother, who passed away in April, and the one she now sees between herself and her daughters.
   Other paintings in the exhibit examine the changing roles within a family, and the circle of life, she said.
   Ms. Collymore-Peters studied abstract painting as an undergraduate student at St. John’s University in Queens. Later, she earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Schifanoia, an art school in Florence, Italy, where emphasis was placed on classical Renaissance style.
   This unique background is what makes her paintings both detailed and traditional, but at the same time has them "saying something else" in a more abstract style, Ms. Collymore-Peters said.
   For her current exhibition, she said she wanted to "break rules" and challenge many of the conventions she learned as an art student.
   "I did a lot of experimenting," she said. "It was really a way of expressing myself."
   Library Director Jinny Baeckler called the Garden Portrait paintings "very striking and exciting in the same sense that nature is."
   She added, "You look at them and say, ‘How is it possible to have such a beautiful purple and such a beautiful orange?’"
   Ms. Collymore-Peters said the 3-by-4-foot paintings are small in comparison to her usual works, which are often nearly twice that size.
   The artist is currently working on another series, which she hopes to exhibit in the library soon. In addition, she said she has now amassed a large enough body of work to show museum curators, and hopes soon to find a larger gallery or museum that will display her work.
   The gallery is located in the Plainsboro Municipal Complex at 641 Plainsboro Road. It is open to the public Monday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.