New exhibit at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance

Posted 8/21/12

NARROWSBURG, NY — “The Continuing Line,” an exhibit of paintings and works on paper by Elise Freda, opens with a reception on Friday, October 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Delaware Arts Center’s …

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New exhibit at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance

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NARROWSBURG, NY — “The Continuing Line,” an exhibit of paintings and works on paper by Elise Freda, opens with a reception on Friday, October 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Delaware Arts Center’s Alliance Gallery at 37 Main St. The exhibit will be on view through October 27.

Admission is free. Call 845/ 252-7576 or visit www.ArtsAllianceSite.org.

“My paintings and drawings have long been both abstract and based in nature. They begin with observation. I find my shapes, colors, spaces, textures and line in the trees, plants, fields, mountains and skies that surround my studio in Callicoon's rolling Beechwoods,” explains painter Elise Freda.

The title of this exhibit, "The Continuing Line," evolved from Freda’s recognition that line has been a constant in her work since 1980. “The line starts as part of the underpainting, weaves through the building of layers, and ends up on the surface of my paintings and works on paper.”

Freda’s paintings explore a world of contrast: light/dark, warm/cool, surface/depth, and organic/geometric. Her work is process oriented, and she finds her image during the process of making it. “All of the changes, additions and subtractions become part of the finished work,” she explains. “I enjoy the mystery of abstraction, the unknown eventually evolving in to the known.”

Freda came to the Upper Delaware River Valley from New Jersey in 1965 when her parents, Fred and Helga Andkjar, both artists, bought a farmhouse with land and a barn for a studio in Callicoon. “It was a good place to grow up as the outdoors played a major role, and the Delaware River was a perfect playground,” she recalls. She and her husband Joe returned to the river valley in 1993 when Elise became Gallery Director for the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance. Her work has been exhibited extensively in group and solo shows throughout New York State, Pennsylvania, and across the United States; her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and The Brooklyn Rail.

Since 2005 she has divided her time between painting and selling real estate. “I have become adroit at quickly changing hats, and it has forced me to become productive in the studio in shorter periods of time,” she says.

“Free and open to the public, the exhibit is sponsored by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, the Arts Council for Sullivan County, NY, and is made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Alliance Gallery is located at the Delaware Arts Center at 37 Main Street, Narrowsburg, NY. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the exhibit call (845) 252-7576 or visit www.ArtsAllianceSite.org.

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