The Crary Art Gallery hosts a reception | News, Sports, Jobs

Ben Gibson’s Crossfire

The Crary Art Gallery will host a reception of its new exhibition from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Artists Rosemary Lyons and Ben Gibson will open Rosemary Lyons: Alter Pieces and Ben Gibson: Recent Paintings and Drawings. The two artists will present short lectures for the guests from 2 p.m.

Rosemary Lyons presents a series of 23k gold leaf egg tempera paintings depicting single flowers on board, inspired by early medieval altarpieces.

“Flowers are one of the beautiful expressions of nature and seem joyful to me to the point of being transcendent. she said.

Lyons said she drew inspiration from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its Renaissance Hall and the medieval museum The Cloisters, where she was struck by the composition and art forms used. Some of the contrasts in her work include borders from Renaissance books coupled with modern text messages, and she uses real flowers from her garden as inspiration for the egg tempera paintings she creates on altar-shaped backgrounds.

Some of Lyon’s works are constructed with plasterboard, and most are on the backs of cigar boxes and have evocative words etched into their surfaces.

Lyons, who has an MA in Fine Arts from the University of Buffalo, knew from about ten years old that she was going to be an artist, and says she was highly motivated and learned a lot from it. that she knows by her own investigation, her curiosity and a lot of hard work. She says the “Why” of what she does is more important than “What,” and she uses obstacles as inspiration to create.

Of his current exposure, Lyons says “The words come from an internal dialogue about my existence as an artist. They are an invitation to reflection.

Gibson uses botanical forms as his subject, exploring the color and shape of flowers, with an awareness of their symbolism of love, devotion, passion, happiness and envy, as well as their use in messages of consolation, of congratulations and well-being.

“The symbolism of a flower only interests me as something to reinterpret by drawing or painting its visual form. I try to invent visual metaphorical meanings in contrast to the traditional symbolism of the subject. Gibson said.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Gibson is a graduate of the Kendall School of Design and Aquinas College, with degrees in illustration, painting, and printmaking. He also received an MA in Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He began teaching at Daemen College in Buffalo, NY, teaching painting and drawing, and offering design classes at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, NY Gibson then taught drawing and painting at the University of ‘Edinboro of Pennsylvania, retiring in 2012. His large paintings and drawings have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are in collections such as the Albright-Knox Gallery, the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery and the University of Pittsburgh. Gibson will be giving a short talk at 3 p.m. at the opening, to discuss his work and share his artistic experience.

Both exhibitions will run until October 31, 2021. Opening day activities include the Tabouli Middle Eastern food truck on site, as well as artist talks by Lyon at 2pm and Gibson at 3pm

The Crary Art Gallery is a private, non-profit art museum, located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Market Street in Warren. The exhibition hours, after the opening, are Fridays and Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free entry. For more information, visit craryartgallery.com.

Based on the latest CDC recommendations regarding indoor activities and the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the region, the board of directors of the Crary Art Gallery requests that all visitors, supervisors and artists wear a mask when they are there. Free disposable masks are available at reception.