CALLICOON, NY — Artist Rich Rethorn has always felt a connection to water. He and his wife lived in the Long Island Sound shoreline area of Pelham Bay Park/Orchard Beach of the Bronx. They moved to the Upper Delaware area in 2002, and now live in Long Eddy next to Basket Brook. “We’ve continued to live next to water. That’s always a must for us when searching for a new dwelling,” Rethorn said.

The sounds and wildlife of the Basket Brook that they can hear and see from their 100-plus-year-old farmhouse inspired Rethorn to curate a show about water. That, along with the friendship he and his wife have formed with Gallery EVA owners Eva Drizhal and Leon Greenhill. The gallery in Callicoon exhibits Drizhal’s own work as well as area artists. “They are open to all kinds of ideas,” Rethorn said. “It’s an unconventional and eclectic gallery.” He suggested the show, “Water Works,” to them a couple of months ago and has since been curating pieces of art for the March 4 exhibit.

He put out a call to artists to submit their work inspired by water. So far, the artists in the show will be Rethorn and his son Kurt Rethorn, Drizhal, Elise Freda, Suzannah Hadorn, Phil Jacobi, Ramona Jan, Peter Kolesar, Naomi Teppich, Nancy Wells and Alan Wood. He also asked local environmental organizations to come to the show, and Damascus Citizens for Sustainability and Friends of the Upper Delaware River will send representatives. Rethorn plans to continue to work with Friends of the Upper Delaware River and present the exhibit again in Hancock this summer, as well as in other locations.

Rethorn was moved to mount this exhibit in part due to concern about the policies of President Trump. “This is something that came to me as a result of feelings of unease with the new administration’s attitude toward the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fossil fuels, fracking, etc.,” he explained. Trump nominated Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of the oil and gas-intensive state of Oklahoma, to head the EPA, and on February 17 he was confirmed. Pruitt, who has strong ties to the fossil fuel industry, has spent much of his energy as attorney general fighting the very agency he will lead, and has called for the dissolution of much of the agency’s authority. According to The New York Times, he will be “at the helm of President Trump’s efforts to dismantle major regulations on climate change and clean water—and to cut the size and authority of the government’s environmental enforcer.”

This attack on clean air and water spurred Rethorn to craft “Water Works.”

“This is alarming, and I think my feelings were warranted,” he said of the Trump administration’s actions, particularly in relation to fracking. While there is currently a ban on fracking in New York, and there has been a de facto moratorium on fracking in the Delaware River Basin since 2011, recent developments suggest the Delaware River Basin Commission may soon be permitting fracking (see page 4).

“Right after the election, I started thinking about what to do if the restrictions... were lifted,” he said. “I knew I needed the help of those who had been fighting to keep the river and the general environment clean.” The “Water Works” show will address these issues. Rethorn said, “I thought it would make sense for artists and activists to combine efforts.”

Rethorn has also invited Columbia professor emeritus Peter Kolesar to give a presentation on the history of Delaware River water management decisions and the complex political negotiations that have led to the current precarious balance among the numerous stakeholders who depend on it. Kolesar, along with research partner Jim Serio, developed much of the math behind the current flow regime and has been involved in the dialogue that has led to its conception and implementation. That puts him in an ideal position to provide an insider’s view in his PowerPoint presentation. A recent statement by New Jersey that it won’t vote to renew the current flow regime, which would have negative consequences for river ecology  (see pages 2 and 7) make this presentation particularly timely.

There will be a silent auction on some of the more reasonably priced works at the show, and the money will be donated to Water Defense, a non-profit organization dedicated to clean water by monitoring water sources for contamination.

From the mighty Delaware River to the babbling Basket Brook outside Rethorn’s home, all water is essential to life. “We’re surrounded by its meditative sounds, we enjoy observing its patterns and we love the clean sources of drinking water available here,” he said.

[“Water Works” will open on Saturday, March 4 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Gallery EVA, 35 Lower Main St. Call 845/887-3202.]