State of the art, Catskills style

While composing the score for “Sunday In The Park With George,” Stephen Sondheim said it best: “The art of making art is putting it together.”

I spent my week seeking out, and finding, art throughout the Delaware and Hudson Valley. Cruising through the countryside, I found myself stopping by the Genesis Gallery and had a look-see and chat with owner/artist Gloria Bernstein ( www.gbernstein.com ).

Bernstein, a long-standing member of the National Association of Women Artists, has enjoyed a prestigious career and her work has been seen in galleries throughout the country. A wide spectrum of her work is on display at her summer gallery located at 51 Broadway in Wood-ridge, NY, just around the corner from her studio.

A great deal of her work, Bernstein says, is “a healing process—and one of coming back to my roots,” and the themes reflected are of nature, landscapes and Judaic influence.

Disappointed in the attendance at the gallery this summer, Bernstein says that “People are just not interested in art—that’s my impression.” Sondheim would beg to differ when he states that “Every moment makes a contribution; every little detail plays a part.” The Genesis Gallery is free to the public (845/434-4349).

I continued my quest and wound up strolling through the stunning River Gallery - The Art of Living at 8 Main Street in Narrowsburg, NY ( www.rivergalleryny.com ). Specializing in fine art, the gallery showcases various artists’ work, in addition to furnishings and home accessories. Currently showing is “Four Season Serenade,” the work of self-taught artist Cheryl Korb, who still lives on the farm where she was born in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Korb says she has four subjects: spring, summer, fall and winter. She claims that she “can often tell the exact week which a particular painting depicts.” Using one-hair brushes, Korb creates incredibly delicate fine line pieces inspired by the bucolic atmosphere that surrounds her world. Her paintings of the countryside are (in my humble opinion) strikingly unique. “Serenade” can be seen at the River Gallery through the end of August.

On Saturday, August 1, The Liberty Museum & Arts Center debuts it’s 13th annual members show. In conjunction with Sullivan County’s bicentennial, the themed show focuses on work by over 20 artists that references Sullivan County.

Social commentary, scenic, historical and contemporary, the new exhibit, which runs through September 28, is rife with a variety of water colors, oils, acrylic and photography and works in conjunction nicely with the museum’s tribute to the history of the region.

I chatted briefly with artist Leland Parks, who said that “the assorted artists capture moments in time in the Catskills, before it disappears—we call it institutional memory.”

Much of the exhibit is truly evocative of a specific time and place, and stopping by the museum and arts center, located in the former Katz’s Bakery building at 46 South Main Street in Liberty, should be on everyone’s to-do list.

Describing the process of creating new work, Sondheim says that “Every minor detail is a major decision”—and how right he is.

Artist Erica Hart of Hankins, NY was just awarded the Grand Prize at the 74th annual national juried exhibition of the Cooperstown Art Association for her mixed media piece, “Great Mother.” Hart will be displaying new works in a group show at the Nutshell Arts Center ( www.nutshellarts.com ) at 6692 Route 52, Lake Huntington, NY, opening August 8.

The Delaware Valley Arts Alliance also has a couple of openings this weekend—see pages 18 and 26 for details. And the following weekend, the Catskill Arts Center ( catskillartsociety.org ) will open an exhibition, “Twisted Sisters,” featuring the work of Suzanne BeVier, Elizabeth Ennis and Ramona Jan.

Sondheim’s lyrics inspired me to seek out art. I hope that you will do the same. And that, as they say, is the “State of the Art.”

Visit Jonathan Fox’s blog at www.workingwithoutanet.blogspot.com .