Among the Living: Eight of Our Favorite Contemporary Artists at Bert Gallery
Lee Dimeo, Frank Gasbarro, Kath Hodge, Dana Levin, Paula Martiesian,
Kenn Speiser, Robert Thornton and Carmel Vitullo.
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May 19 - June 18, 2010, Gallery Night June 17th
Providence, RI. Bert Gallery, located along the Providence waterfront at Corliss Landing at 540 South Water Street, continues its twenty-five year anniversary with the pocket exhibit, Among the Living: Favorite Contemporary Artists at Bert Gallery, featuring eight artists, from May 19 through June 18, 2010. The exhibit will feature work from Lee Dimeo, Frank Gasbarro, Kathy Hodge, Dana Levin, Paula Martiesian, Kenn Speiser, Robert Thornton and Carmel Vitullo. New Gallery Hours! The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from 11am - 5pm and Saturday 12pm - 4pm, closed on Sunday, by chance Monday and Tuesday. Call ahead - we are often at the gallery working during off hours! Free parking is available on the street in front of the gallery or in the parking lot across the street. Exhibits are free and open to the public. Please visit our website at www.bertgallery.com to preview our inventory of paintings in the gallery collection.
Being a contemporary visual artist has never been easy, the personal struggles from Van Gogh to Lee Krasner are the historical record of many a publication or exhibit. By the late 20th century the “contemporary artist” has been marketed as the sacred “seer” of society’s struggles - a kind of psychoanalyst for the world community. These are pretty heavy and lofty responsibilities to assume for any profession. Yet, over the centuries all artists share the common goal of creating a visual image that reflects their insights about the world around them. Refining their craft to develop their own visual language and commentary to inspire, provoke or sooth an audience.
For the past twenty-five years Bert Gallery has handled hundreds of paintings, sculpture and works on paper from artists in the past. It is hard not to reflect upon the legacy of historic artists and consider how contemporary artists are thinking and creating today in a rapidly fluctuating social milieu. Bert Gallery is fond of the historic continuum of painting, photography and sculpture. With this in mind, Bert Gallery celebrates in this exhibit the eight contemporary artists the gallery has continually promoted over the years. What ties theses artists together is their singular dedication and passion for “making art” despite the artistic climate or other life distractions. They “make art” day in and day out working in their studio, honing their craft, exploring their ideas in a visual media with little consideration of the consumer of their art. Stripped down to its essence, they create objects that give insight into their world and ours.
There will be one work to represent each artist, who have a combined career of over 160 years of making art in Rhode Island. Bert Gallery is happy to celebrate their success and dedication to creating visual images that will endure beyond this generation and speak of the late 20th and early 21st century into years to come.