EARLVILLE The Earlville Opera House will unveil its second series of visual artist exhibitions from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 20.
According to a press release, the series will feature the works of three diverse artists, who produce unique forms of artistic media.
Henry J. Drexler and his exhibition Expressions will be on display in the East Gallery. Drexler was born in Chenango County and raised on a dairy farm in Smyrna. He has been painting since the age of 9.
With little formal training, he learned to paint by studying art books, visiting art museums, and experimenting with various techniques to develop his eclectic approach to painting. He paints with acrylics because he likes its durability, versatility and quick drying time.
As Drexler's release states, Growing up on a farm connected me and my artistic practice to the land, nature, and the rural environment. Although I occasionally paint portraits and village scenes, I am primarily a painter of various aspects of the rural landscape, such as trees, streams, barns, cows and lakes. I love the landscape of Central New York. It is the main inspiration for my work and the area's lakes and streams, vistas, barns and trees, particularly elms, are the subject of most of my paintings. This is where my heart is and it is the center of my art.
Drexler and his wife now live and work in a home that Drexler designed and built himself, overlooking the upper Lyon Creek Valley in Guilford. He also created gardens and planted thousands of trees on his property, completely transforming his 63-acre landscape. The sculpted landscape, his home, his life and his artistic practice are closely linked in a holistic artistic project.
Drexler's work has been exhibited in galleries in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Central New York. Currently it can be seen in Norwich at the Norwich Tire Company on Hale Street; Guernsey Library and Chenango Hospice on Court Street; Wilson Funeral Home and Commerce Chenango on South Broad Street; Chenango County and Surrogate Courtroom on Eaton Avenue; and online at www.drexlerart.comas well as at his home.
The West Gallery will hold the work of the Phoebe Rotters Before and After (River Swimming) exhibition. Rotter is a multidisciplinary artist living in Albany. Her visual work consists of translucent wall drawings that explore desire, personal mythology and body politics. She also creates public art as a muralist in the Capitol area and performs with Bread & Puppet Theater.
I am fascinated by the movement, by its frozen hands and gnarled branches, whose momentum is clear even as they are drawn and pinned to a wall. I draw inspiration from shadow theater, art history and home video recordings to create large-scale installations. Some compositions mimic cinematic conventions, a drawn jump disrupts the viewer while larger, juicier collages overflow from the edges of their Mylar, brimming with desire, ferocity and deeply personal mythology. I'm particularly interested in stories of transformation and conventions of beauty and monstrosity. What about the spaces between this centuries-old false binary, and why not both at once? Deliberate mark-making, fluid gestures and the freedom to work freehand are all essential to my final images. These pieces can be as immense as the space they occupy, or as delicate as the crescent of a bitten nail. From afar they strike; upon closer inspection, they are singing, Rotter said in the release.
Rotter received her Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from SUNY Albany where she received the Distinguished Thesis Award. She holds a Master of Arts in studio art from SUNY Albany and a BA in art history from Kenyon College. Selected exhibitions include Lorraine at Studio Troy, Before and After at Bread & Puppets Woodshed Gallery, Out of Office at Collar Works curated by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, and Here In Spirit at Hillsdale Church.
At the Arts Café, Abrina Rogers will exhibit her work You are Enough. Rogers created Beanz Creations Abstract Art which uses art to process life. She has worked through the pain of her divorce and describes art, as well as therapy, as healing and says in the release that after four years, she is now living her best life to the fullest.
What inspires me and my art is helping others. I sell my art with affirmations as titles or mental health awareness messages, Rogers added in the release.
The three exhibits will remain on display until May 25. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Visit Earlvilleoperahouse.com or call 315-691-3550 for more information.
