Abstraction: Moods and Feelings at Center for the Arts

The goal of the new exhibit at the Center for the Arts, Abstraction in Moods, is to set up an interactive experience with viewers and to engage them in the “feelings” generated by the artwork. The selection of these artists was predicated on their working in different mediums: painting, glass, wood and clay. Artists were particularly selected for their range in boldness, calmness, simplicity and complexity in palette choice, strokes and design. 

Interactive “emotion” cards will be assigned to two pieces of each artist. These are to record the viewer’s feelings generated by specific pieces. They will be recorded in both emojis and corresponding narrative with a blank space for additional feelings not listed.

Participating artists are Cam Kowalski, Cindy Colligan, Erik Streeter, Garry Scott Wheeler, Ginny Mueller, Jean Campisano, Maggie DeMarco, Shawn Kelly and Terry Carter. The exhibit will be on display through November 10, 2022.

Art is about emotions and the exhibit offers a powerful tool for expressing these feelings. Art is about healing, and it is about hope. The timing of the exhibit was not planned. As we recover from Hurricane Ian’s traumatizing experience, our emotions run the gamut of anger, fear, numbness, insecurity, anxiety and more.

Terry Carter’s exhibit is a good example with his progression of emotional release expressed in colors. Shawn Kelley’s colors pop right up and catch your eye from across the room.

Erik Streeter of Easy Street Handmade brought several custom-made tables carved from exotic wood from all over the world. Erik works with black walnut from Nebraska (where he is from), monkey pod trees and Indian mahogany. His pieces exude warmth and strength.

Cindy Colligan creates one-of-a-kind pieces of glass art depicting the colors of the ocean. Cam Kowalski works as a medical illustrator at Arthrex in Naples while also creating abstract landscapes/seascapes with unique forms and colors. 

 “Girlfriends” is the theme of Ann Vreeland’s clay sculptures on exhibit at La Petite Galerie now through November 1st. According to Ann, clay is even better when paper is added for great strength. “It just feels good in my hands and can be molded, rolled flat, thrown or constructed to make objects that belie its stiff, brittle nature once it is fired in a kiln. It is truly remarkable in that it can be made to look like almost everything besides clay.”

Ann wrote that throughout history, women have been second-class citizens, secondary to their male counterparts. In art, their subservient social position was shown with an inclined head to show their deference to others, downcast eyes to show their virtuous modesty, small mouths to show their dainty voice and appetite, and long necks to show their fragility. Ann has borrowed these historic artistic references for her sculptures and combined them with her admiration for her mother, a hardworking hairdresser, who ran her own business with success, grace and skill. Ann can honor her with their joint appreciation of feminine hair and its many forms in her clay exhibit – “Girlfriends.”