Emerge Gallery is pleased to highlight the power of words and their connection to visual arts through the exhibition Art & Words. An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, April 7, 2018, from 5-8 PM with an advance preview the previous night as part of Saugerties First Friday. A poetry reading is planned for Saturday, April 28, 2018, from 4-6 PM.
For as far back as the times of Plato, writers have been inspired by art to create poetry true to the form of the original work, yet adding their unique poetic perspective. Art & Words is taking the model one step further by not just engaging existing artwork to inspire poetry, but by also using existing poetry to inspire artwork.
Art & Words consists of an exhibition of art and poetry— side-by-side — that includes artists and poets inspiring one another. Existing poetry was collected by 21 invited poets and artwork was curated from 22 artists throughout the Hudson Valley and New York Metropolitan area. Those artists and poets were given the opportunity to select poems or pieces of art that spoke to them from the submitted work and to create a new piece of art—be it a visual art piece or poem—based on the original inspiration. The challenge will be in determining which came first, the poem or the artwork.
Participating artists are Tara Bach, Loel Barr, Diane Christi, Shelley Davis, Josh Dorman, Debra Friedkin, Andrea Geller, Patti Gibbons, Cheryl Gross, Martha Hill, Linda Lynton, Ann Morris, Elaine Ralston, Betsey Regan, Marilynn Rowley, and jd weiss. Participating poets are Kim Addonizio, Nicelle Davis, Michelle DeCicco, Lucy English, Monica T. Fiorentini, Barbara Hall, Patrick Hammer, Faith Shakti Heylinger, Robert P. Langdon. Judith Lechner, Will Nixon, Jonathan N. Pazer, Allen Shadow, Raymond J. Steiner and John J. Trause. Theresa Land Daniel, Josepha Gutelius, Ellen McKay, Ann Marie Roselli-Kissack, and Ana C.H. Silva are participating as both artists and poets.
Art & Words is part of the celebration of National Poetry Month in the Village of Saugerties. The celebration is sponsored by Shout Out Saugerties and consisted of various poetry events and related activities throughout the month of April. Additional information may be found on the Shout Out Saugerties Facebook page. Artwork from Art & Words will be available to view and purchase through the Emerge Gallery shop at www.emergegalleryny.com.