Park Row Gallery News

The abstract landscape paintings of Mimi Forer will be on exhibition at Park Row Gallery, Aug. 12 through Sept. 23. An opening reception will take place Saturday, Aug. 19 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Forer lives in Old Chatham, where she finds the inspiration for some of her latest ethereal works.

"I am fascinated by color, by the emotional effects of painted light, and feel strongly connected to nature. I love painting also for the physical qualities, not only of the paint itself, but also the action of painting. My work is often a series of controlled accidents," says Forer, a mother of three, who is breaking her hiatus from exhibiting with the Park Row show.

However abstract they may seem, the paintings are unmistakably landscapes. There are horizons, water, sky, marshes, rivers and hills each suggested by the painting process she employs.

"Interestingly, when people look at the pictures, they identify a place that they are reminded of, that is familiar to them. I believe we all have visual memories of places and we make those connections from whatever in the image has sparked our memories, whether based on a physical or emotional connection. On a subconscious level, those visual recollections occur to me as I paint, and it is that that I am sure defines the finishing point of a painting," she explains.

Forer, who counts William Turner, Willem De Kooning and Richard Diebenkorn among her influences, has studied at the Art Student's League, The School of Visual Arts and Parson's School of Design. She was also a Max Beckmann fellow at the Brooklyn Museum School (a 2-year, international post graduate program for painters and sculptors) and earned a bachelor's degree from Marymount Manhattan College, where she received high honors in studio art.

For more information, Contact Jeff Risley at Park Row Gallery, 518.392.4800 or e-mail