Park Row Gallery News

Recent works by Philmont painter Liz McIlvaine and Copake painter Steve Rosenzweig will be on exhibition at Park Row Gallery, 2 Park Row, Chatham, April 11 through May 21. An opening reception with the artists will take place Saturday, April 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the gallery.

Liz McIlvaine's fairly large-scale paintings are rooted in nature. She describes them as more expressive than abstract. "My work is grounded in real imagery, and very often references fabric. I see fabric as a prominent metaphor for the human condition. Much of my work talks about what it is to be human, even though it may be a grid of light or branches that shows how light refracts or reflects," she said. "Color is also a huge metaphor in my work. I use deep reds, clear blues, and acidy yellows. In some ways the color is the subject matter."

McIlvaine, a graduate of the Bard College, MFA program has been painting most of her life and was on staff at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia through the 80s and 90s. She presently operates a local small company specializing in custom fabric construction.

Steven Rosenzweig uses dream imagery to transform traditional landscape paradigms into something more surreal. "The ideas are transported: I externalize the feelings of flying, floating in dreams to motivate pictures that dwell between the corporeal and the metaphysical."

Rosenzweig explains that previously his work was fauvist and somewhat nonnaturalistic in its treatment, however the sub context wasn't immediately apparent to the viewer. "These paintings are really an extension of that work. The difference is the process is more a part of the painting." Rosenzweig earned a BFA from SUNY Purchase in 1986, and worked for artist Red Grooms before becoming a production designer in television and film. His paintings, which are varied sizes and often square format, are definitely informed by his work in film production. “While there's not a direct influence, there certainly is a theatrical element to my work that I think comes from that experience," he said.

Friends, Rosenzweig and McIlvaine find that while the nature of their work is not collaborative, creative support is particularly beneficial to their explorations as artists. Part of the reason for the Park Row exhibition, they said, was to challenge each other to create new work. "We have similar ways of talking about art and there really is a feeling of being a comrade in arms," said McIlvaine. Rosenzweig agrees: "Living in the country, being a full-time painter, there's a lot of solitude. Artists need support and to socialize with each other.” For more information about Steven Rosenzweig, visit www.steverosenzweig.com