BE THERE
RuminationsPresented by Viridian Artists, Inc. May 23, 2006- June 10, 2006Reception: May 13, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pmMarjie ZelmanArt is a great communicator, and some artists are better at communicating with their art than others. Marjie Zelman, opening at Viridian Artists May 23rd, is one of those artists. Her show "Ruminations" is a collection of her mixed media drawing/ painting that explores life with humor & intelligence. If you are looking for another way of addressing and understanding the madness of the world today, this is the show to see.This will be Zelman's second solo show at Viridian Artists and her art continues in its trajectory of blending the abstract with the real, the humor with the serious. Zelman has always approached her art intuitively, both as a teacher of life drawing and a depictor of life in general. Ed McCormack in Gallery & Studio observes that "Zelman possesses an extraordinary freshness of vision that makes it possible for her to make connections few other painters would attempt". "For while generally sympathetic to all the endearing peccadilloes that beset the human animal, Zelman's pictures also include a healthy amount of righteous indignation in regard to all that is base in our nature, as well as a willingness to eviscerate pomposity with a brush wielded like a stiletto." Perhaps this is the key to truly appreciating art in a troubled a world as today is. One can be made to feel guilty for thinking about art when there are wars about to happen and people starving, but in fact, it is often art that helps to clarify the truth of it all and Zelman's art does much for that cause. Zelman's states "my paintings grow out of my visceral response to the human condition… sometimes political, sometimes sociological as well as familial. It is the invocation of these people and their stories that usually prevails. No matter how often I plan to end a painting abstractly, my involvement with people seems to have its way with me as I watch figures emerge out of the mist onto my canvas." The artist studied Art History at Brooklyn College in the days of Ad Reinhardt and Jimmy Ernst and studied painting, sculpture & ceramics at Pace University & SVA, where she assisted the sculptor Akiba Emmanuel. She studied extensively with Akiba Emmanuel, art professor at SVA, spending several of those years as his assistant. Zelman also studied with Henry Gillette, master watercolorist and grand master pastelist. For eight years she ran “The Studio Upstairs” gallery in Croton-on–Hudson and continues to teach life drawing. She has curated numerous exhibitions and has exhibited her own art extensively, including many juried shows in the tri-state area, as well as several solo shows in Westchester.
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