Natural Histories:
January 15 – February 25

Opening Reception:
Sunday, January 15 • 3 – 5pm

The Kirkland Art Center will host two accomplished artists from Central and Western New York in an exhibit titled, “Natural Histories.” Artists Rose Mackiewicz of Jefferson and Linda Parlato of Buffalo were selected by the KAC Exhibition Committee to exhibit their work in the main gallery from January 15 to February 25.

Mackiewicz will be showing two collections of mixed-media paintings on panels. The first incorporates natural and manmade images but veils them under layers of encaustic. The second is more abstract, made by tearing down old paintings, taking off layers of painted canvas and incorporating them into new pieces.  Those pieces are then repainted, scraping down and sometimes adding elements, in a collage-like process. According to Mackiewicz, “It’s a recycling of old ideas into new ones but keeping something of the past that was good.”

Parlato’s water-media paintings are images drawn in charcoal, of seemingly unrelated subjects, but those that have had a profound impact on the artist. Animals, games, people, obstacles, bones – images representing both the temporal and the eternal. As Parlato explains, “I spend many hours walking in the woods with my dogs.  As we hike the miles of state forest I maintained for 20 years and the nearby Zoar Valley I catalogue many visual treasures.  Back in my studio I recall images of this time of renewal; I begin by drawing with vine charcoal on paper and then add many veils of subtle color.  This quality has been strongly influenced by the sometimes misty, filtered light of the forest.”

The Opening Reception for KAC members is Sunday, January 15 from 3-5 PM. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 10:00AM to 4:30PM, with extended evening hours on Thursday until 7:00PM or by appointment. Rotary Clubs and other civic groups are encouraged to contact the KAC to schedule a meeting in the main gallery.