art

More than 25 years ago, artist Michael Price started on a journey to unravel the mysteries of the great painters of the Renaissance, starting with how they used stones and crystals -- called pigments -- to create the colors they brush onto canvas.

In the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries there were no tubes of paint.

As Price suggests, painters were the better for it.

No tube of paint can match the luster of ultramarine derived from lapis lazuli, nor the luminance of gray created by grinding stones into the powder and mixing the powder with oil, Price said during a lecture Thursday afternoon in the Roz Steiner Art Gallery at Genesee Community College.

Through the middle of next month, a collection paintings by Price, in a show called "The Chromatic Nude," display what Price has done using Renaissance techniques applied to more contemporary subjects.

Price's work isn't just a matter of using pigment-based paint for his work. He's also studied the geometry of Renaissance arts and applies the Golden Rectangle and Golden Proportions to his own work.

He's written a two-volume book, as well, on these subjects, called "Renaissance Mysteries."

Price, a resident of New York City, is originally from Stoke-on-Trent, England, and he attended the London Central School of Art and Design and Stoke-on-Trent College of Art. He has exhibited worldwide, including solo shows in the Post Gallery in Houston, Texas, Galerie Poller in Frankfurt, Germany, and David Findlay Galleries in New York City.

The YouTube video below covers the same material as Price presented in his lecture at GCC.

Chromatic Improvisation #9: Echo Discovers Her Echo

Chromatic Improvisation #7: Remembrance of Things Past

This is an example of pigments and tools that would have been used by a Renaissance artist -- or more precisely, the apprentice of the artist -- to make paints. From the website of Michael Price.

Artist and musician Chris Humel was featured in an opening art show reception at Independent Living of the Genesee Region at 113 Main St., Batavia, on Friday night.

Titled "8 X 10," the show features the work of Humel, who uses intensely hued acrylics, to depict postage stamps and other mail-related themes. Twenty years ago, he co-founded the still-active band BC Psychos. 

"I am a person with disabilities," Humel said. "I am 55 years old. I have been battling schizophrenia and related depressing problems for most of my life. My work is about breaking out of isolation and 'going postal' in a good way, by making contact with artists, writers and through the Post Office."

This is the third show in the series of the ARTiculations Ability Exhibition sponsored by ILGR and the University Heights Arts Association. The goal is to help artists with disabilities reach a wider audience. The association has a program to place art on the walls of local businesses and nonprofits.

Together they are looking to reach more artists with disabilities and feature them in art shows. ILGR serves Genesee, Wyoming, and Orleans counties.

"This gives them a venue for their art in the community," said Rae Frank, director of ILGR.

The partnership with University Heights helps integrate artists with disabilities into the wider artists' community, said Mary Ouimette-Kinney, cofounder of the association.

"It doesn't matter if somebody is in a wheelchair or has PTSD, we just want to make sure that people who are interested in art and would like for their art to be seen to put their art on walls," Ouimette-Kinney said.

Mary Kate, of Buffalo, with a postcard she made at last night's show. Humel has created a handmade postcard program for people to share with each other through the postal mail.

An opening reception was held at GO Art! last night for a show by artist Sean Madden.

Madden's work is recognized throughout Western New York. He is a teacher at Byron-Bergen High School.

Madden's early influences were Ernst Fuchs and Salvador Dali. He as also influenced by the psychedelic-era work of Robert Crumb, Robert Williams, and S. Clay Wilson.

In the paintings on display, Madden mixes well-executed realism with surrealism and his wild imagination and love of color.

The show runs through March 2.

Press release:

The third ARTiculations Ability Exhibition -- a forum for artists with disabilities in Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans counties to display their work publicly -- will open at Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) in Batavia on Jan. 19.

Titled "8 X 10," it features the work of Chris Humel, who uses intensely hued acrylics, to depict postage stamps and other mail-related themes. Twenty years ago, he cofounded the still-active band BC Psychos; he will be teaching a five-week course, “Cartoons by Kids” for young people 10 to 15, at GO ART! (Genesee-Orleans Regional Art Council) in Batavia.

A product of a partnership between ILGR and the University Heights Arts Association (UHAA), the exhibit will be on display through March 29^th. The opening reception, featuring Humel on his guitar, is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan.19th at ILGR’s office, 113 Main St., Suite 5, in Batavia. 

In Humel's own words, "I am a person with disabilities. I am 55 years old. I have been battling schizophrenia and related depressing problems for most of my life. My work is about breaking out of isolation and 'going postal' in a good way, by making contact with artists, writers and through the Post Office."

Other artists with disabilities residing in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties are encouraged to submit their work to this juried competition, as there will be additional ARTiculations planned quarterly exhibits in the future.

For over a year, ILGR has been “art partnering” for people with disabilities with the UHAA, a group of artists in North Buffalo with a commitment to community that places art in businesses and nonprofits through an established ARTpartnering program.

The organizers are pleased to note that the ARTiculations Ability Exhibitions has “mapped” into UHAA’s system by placing a plaque with a Quick Response (QR) code scatter bar graph that can bring up information about it when scanned by your smartphone.

For questions on the event, please call Patricia AbdusSalaam at (585) 815-8501, ext. 400. 

Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) is a member of the Western New York Independent Living Inc. family of agencies that offers an expanding array of services to aid individuals with disabilities to take control of their own lives.

The painting "Otherworldliness" by Michael Price.

Press release:

"The Chromatic Nude," paintings by Michael Price, will be exhibited in the Rosalie "Roz" Steiner Art Gallery from Tuesday, Jan. 16 through Friday, Feb. 16. In this collection of his work, Price invokes historic methods of preparing paint and pigments using protocols that include naturally occurring minerals to produce his own paints.

Using natural minerals and semi-precious stones, including but not limited to lapis lazuli, azurite, malachite, ochre and cinnabar, he creates natural and luminous colors similar to how Renaissance painters did their work in the 14th to the 17th centuries. Price has published a two volume series of books titled "Renaissance Mysteries" in which he shares his research and discusses the processes.

His works of art explore the nude and human figure conceived within a timeless universe aiming to reveal how archetypal images are carried within ourselves as real, or imaginary - as the physical world we inhabit.

"Slowly, my research into natural color led to major developments in my painting practice. The human figure as a central archetype has remained constant over the last 40 years, but the figures have evolved to convey the essence of my search -- a chromatic figure or nude," says Price. "The chromatic nude is intended to transcend the restrictions of realism.

"They are not symbols, but signs, like the figures of Nicolas Poussin, that indicate universal direction free from social mores. The structural foundation for a composition is established by a specific rectangular format composed of square-root rectangles. This allows the message carried within the image to attain its maximum impact and resonance to unveil the memory of our immortality reflected from the mortal perspective."

Price was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England and he attended the London Central School of Art and Design, and Stoke-on-Trent College of Art. He has exhibited worldwide, including solo shows in the Post Gallery in Houston, Texas, Galerie Poller in Frankfurt, Germany, and David Findlay Galleries in New York City.

Several opportunities to meet the artist are scheduled on Thursday, Jan. 25 at the Roz Steiner Art Gallery. Price will lecture at 12:30 p.m. in the Gallery, and receptions will follow at 1 p.m. and again 5 p.m. Additional artist exhibit history and work is displayed on his website at www.michaelprice.info.

The Roz Steiner Art Gallery is open to the public Monday -- Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and during special events as published at www.genesee.edu/campuslife/arts. Admission into the Gallery is always free and open to the public.

Press release:

A collection of artwork created during the Batavia Society of Artists' October demonstration will be sold and all proceeds donated to the Donald R. Carroll Toys for Kids Toy Drive.

The "art collaboration" pieces were made during a hands-on demonstration by artist and BSA Member Brian Kemp. He guided attendees through his art process, one that explores art "through creating as he goes, allowing the artwork and canvas to help direct the finished piece."

Attendees were given their canvas and directed to use their choice of a few mediums and color choices. Halfway through the demonstration, Kemp collected everyone's artwork and distributed the pieces to another artist to finish. 

The results are being displayed for the first time at this year's Winter Art Show presented by the society. It is on display now through Dec. 27th in the Gallery Room at Richmond Memorial Library, located at 19 Ross St. in the City of Batavia.

The public is invited to the opening reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 7. Take a look at the demo collaboration pieces and consider buying one to help the toy drive for local children.

To join the Batavia Society of Artists or for more information, contact Teresa Tamfer at 506-2465 or email   BSA.BataviaSocietyofArtists@gmail.com

The Batavia Society of Artists hung their artwork today at the Richmond Memorial Library for their annual winter show.

The show opens Monday with an opening reception Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

GO ART! hosted an opening reception Friday night at Seymour Place for a show of work by artist Jim Burns.

Burns, a photographer, created a series of works with a hammer, nails, twine, and wood called "Cabal and Zen."

The show runs through Feb. 3.

Photo courtesy of Jim Burns.

Information provided by GO ART!

GO ART! will present an exhibit of photography and illustration by local artist Jim Burns Nov. 9 through Feb. 3 at Seymour Place in Downtown Batavia.

Titled "Cabal and Zen," Burns says "The main portion of this exhibit was inspired by the tension of daily life and the desire for change. There are also individual images of beauty and peace."

There will be an artist reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16 at the gallery.

GO ART! at Seymour Place is located at 201 E. Main St. Gallery hours are Thursday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and the second Sunday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

(Editor's note: The statement by artist Jim Burns was changed at his request.)

Information provided by GO ART!

In addition to GO ART!'s upcoming member exhibit "Guilty Pleasure," (Sept. 10 - Dec. 9) there are two more exhibits, both featuring photography, planned this fall at Seymour Place. It is located at 201 E. Main St. in Downtown Batavia.

"Complex Society" consists of photographs by Bob Doyle to be shown in the Bank of Castile Main Gallery.

Doyle says "These images are from the early stages of a current long-term project…I am attempting to illustrate a definition of civilization by the notation (of) various elements or evidence of a structure that supports our complex society."

It runs Sept. 14 to Nov 3. Artist Reception is 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 8.

"The Beauty of Ireland" shows photographs of that nation by Barbara Knight in Oliver's Gallery in the Seymour Dining Room. It runs Sept. 14 through Nov. 3.

Knight has been a freelance writer and photographer for the past 25 years, working for two newspapers in her area. She has always had a love for photography, expanding her knowledge along the way. She has also had a dream of traveling to Ireland.

In April, this dream came to fruition when she visited the Emerald Isle for 10 days. These photos are a culmination of the sites she saw during that visit. Defined by her as "One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen!", Ireland's beauty is outstanding! She is thrilled to be able to share that beauty with those who visit during the exhibit.

There will be an Artist Reception Sept. 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. with music, light fare and beverages. The reception coincides with the one for the members' exhibit "Guilty Pleasure" (same day and time).

Regular Gallery Hours: Thursday, Friday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. and second Sunday of the month 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.