The Nature Lab: an homage to the RISD Nature Lab and its founder, Edna Lawrence Curated by Eric Wolf

LABspace presents "The Nature Lab," an exhibition of contemporary work by 92 artists. The selections for this show describe and represent nature in widely varying ways.  The curator, Eric Wolf, a painter and designer who graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and is now based in New York’s  Hudson Valley, has assembled a group of artists, including several alumni, in a salon-style installation that is richly colored, textured and patterned, much like the feeling of RISD’s extraordinary and unique facility.  The Nature Lab opens at LABspace on February 17th, with an artists’ reception from 2:00 until 5:00 pm. The RISD Nature Lab is itself the creative work of the late artist and faculty member Edna W. Lawrence.  Begun in 1937, it has evolved and expanded in the 80 years since.  Part museum of natural history and part lending library of specimens of every sort, the Lab gives artists across the school’s disciplines access to and direct contact with nature’s extraordinary wonders. Wolf has gathered pieces by artists across a wide spectrum of media.  This includes painting, drawing, sculpture, video, installation, photography, and even writing, with the inclusion of a poem entitled Snow by Geoffrey Young.  A catalog is in the works, designed by the writer and book designer Jonathan Lippincott, with an essay by artist and writer Patrick Neal, and another essay by Neal Overstrom, the Lab’s director. Artworks include Joshua Marsh’s meticulously crafted pencil drawing of acorns, Julie Evans’ paint and pencil evocation of the microscopic world of primordial organisms, Elena Sisto's ecstatic flying bumble bees, Zachary Keeting’s splashing abstraction that appears to reference the surface of a turbulent sun, and Francis Cape’s wry and elegant hand carved wood cabinet door, which refers to the banks of cabinets that hold many of the Lab’s treasures. RISD Nature Lab director, zoologist Neal Overstrom, has continued the development and growth of this important and iconic institution in significant ways.  High-tech microscopes, a big new green wall, and an array of saltwater aquariums are some of the latest additions he has introduced. Overstrom has also gained the attention of and funding from the National Science Foundation. Wolf writes “The RISD Lab is a model of what every art school, if not every school everywhere, ought to have in an age when students and people in general are unable to shift the focus from their electronic screens.  Nature has the unique ability to bring people back to their primal senses and awaken the curiosity that seems already plentiful in the minds and hands of artists here.” The exhibition opens at LABspace on Saturday February 17, from 2 until 5 pm, and continues through March 17th.  LABspace is located at 2642 Route 23, Hillsdale, NY 12529.  The exhibition will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and by appointment via labspaceart@gmail.com The Nature Lab will include works by: Shimon ATTIE Carol BETSCH Ricky BOSCARINO Loren BRITTON Francis CAPE JoAnne CARSON James O. CLARK Preston Scott COHEN Carl D’ALVIA Lisa Corinne DAVIS Lucky DEBELLEVUE Alberto DE BRAUD David DEUTSCH Carol DIEHL Peter DUDEK James ESBER Franklin EVANS Julie EVANS Alyssa FANNING Jay FEINBERG Emily FEINSTEIN Jane FINE Judy FOX Betsy FRIEDMAN Chie FUEKI Mark GIGLIO Kate GILMORE Margot GLASS Dave GLOMAN Nancy GOLDRING Elliott GREEN Nancy GRIMES Elizabeth HAZAN Benjamin HERNDON Elana HERZOG Bill JACOBSON Chris JOY Dennis KARDON John KELLY Zach KEETING Seth KOEN Philip KNOLL Black LAKE Pamela LAWTON Michael LEE Anne LINDBERG Joel LONGENECKER Danny LICUL Meg LIPKE Sabrina MARQUES Joshua MARSH Christian MAYCHACK Jenny Lynn MC NUTT Nader MEYKADEH Slink MOSS Donna MOYLAN Robert MURRAY Laura MURRAY Sue MUSKAT Patrick NEAL Itty NEUHAUS Ruby PALMER Caitlin PARKER Chris PENNOCK Zoe PETTIJOHN-SCHADE John Paul PHILIPPE Liza PHILLIPS Thomas PIHL Susan RABINOWITZ Eric RHEIN Alexander ROSS Victoria SAMBUNARIS Christopher SCHADE Katy SCHNEIDER Erik SCHOONEBEEK Carleen SHEEHAN Bill SCHUCK Elena SISTO Monika SOSNOWSKI Linda STILLMAN Lawre STONE Amy TALLUTO Steed TAYLOR Nichole VAN BEEK Tamas VESZI Sarah WALKER Royalyne WARD-DAVIS Alan WIENER Paul WIRHUN Rachael WREN Geoffrey YOUNG Paul David YOUNG LABspace was founded and is directed by the artist Susan Jennings. The gallery is dedicated to experiments in curation, exhibiting category-busting and/or materially surprising contemporary art, and hosting performance art, screenings, readings and music that push the boundaries of categorization, participation and/or experience. Image:  Selections from The Nature Lab include from left to right: Elena Sisto, Untitled, 2017 oil on linen 12" x 9" courtesy of Bookstein Projects Joshua Marsh, Acorns, 2017 . graphite on paper 7" x 8" courtesy of Jeff Bailey Gallery Francis Cape, Cabinet 61 The Nature Cabinet, 2017  white pine, linseed oil . 26" x 13" x 3" courtesy of Murray Guy Projects Elliott Green, The Borning, 2016 . oil on linen  18" x 24" courtesy of the artist Margot Glass, Dandelion, 2017 .  graphite on paper . 12" x 9" courtesy of the artist

"At a Loss" & "For Words" with Ghost of a Dream and Friends Opens Saturday November 11- December 16th

"At a Loss" work by Ghost of a Dream, Curated by Susan Jennings

&

"For Words" work by Shannon Finnegan, Jeila Guenramian, Kirstin Lamb, Guy Richards Smit, William Powhida, Andrew Prayzner, Mary Temple, Amanda Tiller, and Breanne Trammell, Curated Adam Eckstrom of Ghost of a Dream

LABpace is pleased to present two exhibitions, At a Loss, For Words November 11-December 16 at 2642 NY Rt 23 in Hillsdale, NY. The gallery is open on Saturdays from 11-5. 

On November 11th we shall have an opening reception from 5-7PM, and then on December 16th from 4-6pm we shall throw a closing party, which will also double as a Holiday party, and triple as a benefit for ArtForArtists and the gallery (ArtForArtists is an Artist’s Exchange Program run by Adam Eckstrom of Ghost of a Dream).

Susan Jennings (Owner/Director LABspace) invited Ghost of a Dream to exhibit a selection from their newest project. The title At a Loss references Ghost of a Dream’s process of cutting large block text out of vintage travel posters. The posters, which have been stared at for hundreds of hours, sell hope and feed our desire of escape to a perfect place. Ghost of a Dream uses text to subvert the image and makes the viewer question if that place or dream is attainable.

Rather than use the whole gallery Ghost of a Dream has chosen to show a curation of text based work titled for Words in half of the space. For Words is a curation of work by artists Shannon Finnegan, Jeila Guenramian, Kirstin Lamb, Guy Richards Smit, William Powhida, Andrew Prayzner, Mary Temple, Amanda Tiller, and Breanne Trammell. For Words is a unique edition portfolio put together by ArtForArtists, an artists exchange program Adam Eckstrom began in 2015.

Ghost of a Dream, The Collaborative Project of Lauren Was and Adam Eckstrom, www.ghostofadream.com

ArtForArtists is an organization that helps artists collect the work of other artists through unique edition trades of their own work. Adam Eckstrom curates and facilitates portfolios for like-minded artists to exchange. Each artist in the exchange receives a complete portfolio. Three additional portfolios are made; two are used to support the ArtForArtist program and to benefit other arts, political, and humanitarian organizations, and the third is kept in the program’s permeant collection for future exhibition. The sales from this show will ensure ArtForArtists is able to cover it’s operating expenses.

LABspace was founded and is directed by the artist Susan Jennings. The gallery is dedicated to experiments in curation, exhibiting category-busting and/or materially surprising contemporary art, and hosting performance art, screenings, readings and music that push the boundaries of categorization, participation and/or experience.

Images: WHATEVER (falling from paradise series) by Ghost of a Dream
What is ART? by William Powhida 

Indigo: The Seventh Color at LABspace, October 14-November 4, 2017

    Beth Dary, Crue 1, 2017  Mixed dye with indigo, raw pigment and encaustic on paper, 10" x 12" (framed)

LABspace is pleased to present Indigo: The Seventh Color a group exhibition of works on indigo paper curated by Lorrie Fredette and Brece Honeycutt from October 14 – November 4, 2017. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, October 14 from 5:00-7:30 pm and thereafter the gallery will be open weekends 11 to 5 p.m. and by appointment through November 4.

From the curators:

The beauty of Indigo magnetically attracts the viewer. It's richness and depth is an intoxicating visual drink. Dots, dashes, cosmologies; burn marks, rusted tones, twisted strands; grids, stains, topographies; chronicle the works by Christine Aaron, Beth Dary, Grace DeGennaro, Lorrie Fredette, Valerie Hammond, Jeanne Heifetz, Lotta Helleberg, Brece Honeycutt, Patricia Miranda and Paula Overbay.

LABspace’s mission is to function as a laboratory where artists and makers experiment, trying out new methods and works. In this spirit, the artist Jeanne Heifetz assembled a group of artists to explore dyeing sheets of paper in vats of indigo ink. Indeed, the alchemical process of indigo appeared as at first the paper emerged green but then oxidized instantly into a mercurial blue; Indigo on paper creates a dramatic moment.

Indigo gives us pause to take notice; this regal color demands our attention triggering an avalanche of history. Linnaeus named the plant, Indigofera “ after its land of origin and the Latin verb fero meaning ‘to produce.’ Throughout history, Indigo symbolizes royalty for the Egyptians, denotes Krishna in Indian miniature paintings, tells of the social order in Guatemala and clads Odin in Nordic Sagas. Sought by royalty and worn by the working class in the form of uniforms and bluejeans, Michael Taussig rightly deems “indigo is the crossover color.”

"A beautiful thing, though simple in its immediate presence, always gives us a sense of depth below depth, almost an innocent wild vertigo as one falls through its levels"

- Frederick Turner

LABspace was founded and is directed by the artist Susan Jennings. The gallery is dedicated to experiments in curation, exhibiting category-busting and/or materially surprising contemporary art, and hosting performance art, screenings, readings and music that push the boundaries of categorization, participation and/or experience.

                                    Grace DeGennaro, Weaving (Indigo #3), Watercolor on indigo dyed paper, 34” x 21”

     Paula Overbay, Jouer#12, Acrylic on indigo dyed paper, 8 x 9 ½”

    Jeanne Heifetz, Mottainai 13, Ink on indigo dyed gampi torinoko paper, 11” x 15”

                       Patricia Miranda, Florilegium, 2017, indigo tincture, Indigo-dyed paper, fresh water pearls,                                      horsehair, thread, 35” x 12” x 9“

                        Lotta Helleberg, Disintegration, 2017, Japanese mulberry paper, Strathmore printing paper, indigo                         dye and botanical contact prints, hand and machine stitching, 34" x 25"

                                                           Valerie Hammond, Persephone, 2017, Relief printed collagraph 

                                                           on handmade Kozo paper, 60" x 30"

                      Christine Aaron, What We Keep IV, 2017, Burnt Drawing on indigo dyed paper, 10" x 8"

Double Vision: Artists Who Instagram September 16 - October 7

Erick Johnson and Janice Caswell in conjunction with LABspace are pleased to present “Double Vision:  Artists who Instagram." This exhibition opens on Saturday, September 16th with a reception for the artists from 5-7pm. The show runs from September 16 – October 7, 2017.

LABspace is located at 2642 NY Route 23 just west of NY Route 22 in Hillsdale in Hillsdale. The gallery is open from 11-5 on Saturdays and by appointment.

Artists Featured in "Double Vision: Artist Who Instagram" Include:

Rosaire Appel
Janice Caswell
Erick Johnson
Mary Lum
Tom Martinelli
Liz Nielsen
Chris Sauter
Karen Schifano
Karen Schiff

Artists have long turned to photography as a means of augmenting their studio practice or as an end in itself. But today so many of us have a camera on hand and numerous ways to instantly display, share, edit and store images, changing how we interact with what we see.

“Double Vision” investigates the sometimes blurred line between studio and street. When the artist leaves the studio, what do they “see” and what do they photograph? Is it an extension of their vision, a corollary practice, or something in between? How do the two feed each other?

The curators, artists who are active Instagram users themselves, became aware of many others who are taking photos that seem directly connected to the art they make. Their photographs clearly relate to their studio work, though none of these artists consider themselves photographers or envision their photographs being presented as their art.

This show pairs the artists’ studio work with a sampling of the photographs they’ve shared on Instagram, allowing the two to coexist in the gallery space and highlighting their connections to
each other.

There is a catalog accompanying this show available at the gallery which can be viewed following this link http://janicecaswell.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/DoubleVision_catalog_digital.pdf

The image above is a photo posted on Instagram by the artist Tom Martinelli 
For more information, other or larger images contact Susan Jennings at LABspacelabspaceart@gmail.com or visit labspaceart.blogspot.com.

LABspace was founded and is directed by the artist and musician Susan Jennings. The gallery is dedicated to experiments in curation, exhibiting category-busting and/or materially surprising contemporary art, and hosting performance art, screenings, readings and music that push the boundaries of categorization, participation and/or experience.

MUSIC SEEN, An Exhibition and A Performance Series by Visual Artists Who Make Music to Open Saturday, August 19th, 5-8

Music Seen: Artists Who Make Music, August 19-September 2, 2017

Adriane Schramm, Untitled (Enid Ellen), 2017, mixed media

Steve DiBenedetto, Untitled, 2017, oil on canvas

Thomas Leo Chapman IV, Forward Flight of Pterodactyl   (state of mind of the: Pterodactyl Posse Pleoavcee Party Political), 2017,  Pencil, marker, watercolor on paper mounted to canvas board.

Mark Safan, Untitled , 2015, Cyanotype on Archival Rag Paper

MUSIC SEEN

Organized by Michele Thursz and Susan Jennings

Artist reception: Saturday, August 19th from 5-8pm. Open Saturdays through September 2nd 11-5 and by appointment via labspaceart@gmail.com

Performance series- Saturday August 19th  6:30-8pm and again on Saturday, September 2 from 6-8.  

LABspace

2642 NY Rt 23 in Hillsdale NY.

Music Seen Part 1 - is the first a series of exhibitions, performances, and publications, which explore the relationship between, visual artists and music.

Part one of this series is structured as an exhibition of visual art works by the artists and two evenings  of performances by the artists’ bands at LABspace.  Additionally, an online listening station with the artists’ music and/or performance videos  will available at http://labspaceart.blogspot.com/ as an extension of the exhibition.

SEEN plays with the terminology of a scene, a place where an incident in real life or fiction occurs. In this exhibition, we explore the intersection of the  "artist" and "musician" paradigm. In 2017 the term multidisciplinary covers what in the past separated the practice of visual arti and music. Today, many visual artists refer to the production model of the music industry, regarding collaboration, creation, and alternatives to the commercial  distribution model.

In MUSIC SEEN Part1, we engaged in a process similar to digging through crates of albums and uncovering a gem in seeking visual artists who are also musicians with bands. We followed strings to the unknown, the underground and even the secret places where the visual artist explores other avenues of expression through music.

MUSIC SEEN Part 1 participating artist include -

Adam Ames, Andrew Bordwin, Nurya Chana, Thomas Leo Chapman IV, Chou Wen-chung, Jennifer Coates, Steve DiBenedetto, Enid Ellen, David Humphrey, John Jackson, Inju Kaboom, Bill Komoski,Tom Kotik, Thomas Lail, Damon Locks, Reggie Madison, Paul McMahon,, Slink Moss, David Mramor, NN, Love Psychedelic Nevai, Laura Ortman, Alexander Ross, Mark Safan, Katia Santibanez, Katy Schneider, Adriane Schramm, Michelle Segre, James Siena, Jennifer Sirey,  Matt Tiernan

“There’s something very attractive about just being in a space with other human beings, and there is something magical that happens with the immediacy of sound, and how it affects people”^[1]  In  MUSIC SEEN the lights are on, and in clear sight and ear-shot these visual artist and their music is exposed as one practice. Join the scene,

Michele Thursz is an independent cultural producer and consultant based in New York City. She has served as director of contemporary and outsider art galleries, media collectives and art advisory companies, as well as consulted private collections. She has written and led public conversations about contemporary art and related professional issues.

LABspace was founded and is directed by the artist Susan Jennings. The gallery is dedicated to experiments in curation, exhibiting category-busting and/or materially surprising contemporary art, and hosting performance art, screenings, readings and music that push the boundaries of categorization, participation and/or experience.

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^[1] "How Artists Are Using Music to Seduce, Confound (and Entertain) Us." ARTnews. N.p., 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 08 Aug. 2017.

Closing Reception for Hat Tip, Saturday August 12th, 3-5pm

+1+1 Organizes "Hat Tip (artists choose artists)" at LABspace. Opening Reception Saturday, July 15th, 5-

LABspace and the NYC-based artist collective +1+1 announce the opening of "Hat Tip," with an artist reception on Saturday, July 15th from 5-7pm. The show runs through August 12th.

Tia Dale + Deb Todd Wheeler

Delano Dunn + Anna Ogier-Bloomer

Judith Linhares + Nicasio Fernandez
Nancy Shaver + Tracy Miller
Suzy Sureck + Amy Barkow
Karin Waskiewicz + Christian Maychack

Hat Tip is a group exhibition generated by each member of the +1+1 collective choosing an artist whose work they admire, and asking that artist to do the same, The organizing principle for Hat Tip is based on the idea that creative inspiration, provocation, and catalysts occur through relationships and connections to other creative minds. LABspace and +1+1 both value the fertility of artistic community, in Brian Eno's words the "ecology of talent" that exists through such interwoven connections.

Believing that artists know which work is best to show and which work best answers the call of the tipped hat of a colleague, the artist themselves have been trusted to choose what to exhibit. Hat Tip thus brings together artists at different points in their careers to build an exciting and unexpected visual dialogue.

+1+1 is an artist collective founded by Heather Cox, Janice Caswell, Beth Dary, Susan Jennings, Christy Speakman and Katarina Wong. The collective seeks to expand creative connections, encourage artist-driven curatorial experimentation, and spark cross-practice dialogue and collaboration.

LABspace was founded and is directed by the artist Susan Jennings. The gallery is dedicated to experiments in curation, exhibiting category-busting and/or materially surprising contemporary art, and hosting performance art, screenings, readings and music that push the boundaries of categorization, participation and/or experience.

LABspace is located 2642 NY Rt 23 in Hillsdale, NY just west of NY Rt 22 in Hillsdale, NY. Gallery Hours are Saturdays 11-5, some Sundays (check our Facebook page and/or website) and by appointment via labspaceart@gmail.com.

www.labspaceart.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/pages/LABspace/620894894642447?fref=ts