In place of a Gallery Reception on May 9, 2020, The Lake George Arts Project’s Courthouse Gallery presented an online talk with exhibiting artists Lee Malerich and Michael Van Winkle. For those that were unable to tune in for the Live Talk, follow the link above, or click the photo.
Follow these links to a brief slideshow film about each artist and their work:
Lee Malerich
Michael Van Winkle
Follow these links to view work for sale:
Lee Malerich Checklist of works
Michael Van Winkle Checklist of works
This exhibition will be installed in the gallery, but while public health mandates related to COVID 19 are in place, the gallery will remain closed, and we will not host any receptions or meetings. We will reassess the situation as restrictions are eventually lifted, possibly allowing for pre-scheduled gallery visits for individuals, or very small groups.
Both Lee Malerich and Michael Van Winkle create works depicting or referencing the human figure. Lee Malerich considers women’s issues, and bodies, as she recycles broken wooden furniture. Michael Van Winkle’s acrylic on canvas works depict figures in contorted postures, literally pushing against the painting’s perimeters. Each in their unique way taps into shared aspects of our collective human condition.
Lee Malerich utilizes discarded chairs, reassembling them into expressive sculptures that serve as metaphors for the female body. She says: “I make Uneasy Chairs. Chairs in which one cannot sit. Each chair represents a woman – They reflect the human body without describing it. They inhabit the body’s negative space. They contain many parts of many different chairs, redesigned so they can continue to stand, after losing a bit of themselves. Imagine scar tissue, as the viewer notes the differences between a normal chair and these mixed and matched rebuilt modifications which are the poster girls of resistance. How is a woman’s composition altered when she has a baby on her hip? Or when the baby is still in utero?”
Lee Malerich earned her BFA and MFA in Fiber/Fabrics from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Her work has been exhibited at many venues, including Columbia College; Coker College; University of South Carolina; Columbia Museum of Art (all in South Carolina); The Ormond Beach Museum, Ormond Beach, Fl; Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY; North Carolina Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC; and Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE. Her awards include three South Carolina Arts Commission fellowships in the area of Crafts, and one Regional National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She currently lives in Neeses, SC. Learn more about Lee Malerich at leemalerich.wordpress.com.
Michael Van Winkle’s paintings stem from a mix of observation, invention and memory. His recent paintings explore a broad tradition of representational painting and its relationship to abstraction. He says: “Dancers, explorers and amateur philosophers; the figures in my paintings and drawings are earnest and silly. They are working hard to discover meaning within the bounds of their environment. Their bodies are poised and their positions strain for purpose. However, the paintings aren’t primarily concerned with their actions or intentions, but focus on their material constraints and the painted environment they inhabit.”
Michael Van Winkle earned his BFA in Painting, with a Minor in Philosophy, from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, NY, and his MFA in Painting from State University of New York at Albany. His work was recently exhibited in solo shows at The Times Club, Iowa City, IA; ECA+ Gallery, Easthampton, MA; Historic Northampton Museum, Northampton, MA; Yates Gallery, Siena College, Loudonville, NY; The Foundry for Art, Design and Culture, Cohoes, NY; and in group shows at LabSpace, Hillsdale, NY; Collarworks Gallery, Troy NY; and Artspace, New Haven, CT. His awards include residencies at The Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency in Granville, NY; Ragged Edge Print Studio, Cohoes, NY; and Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT. He has taught at Skidmore College, Siena College, The Doane Stuart School, SUNY Albany, and College of St Rose. He currently lives in Mechanicville, NY. Learn more about Michael Van Winkle at: www.michaelvanwinkle.com.
Artist Resume /CV:
Lee Malerich
Michael Van Winkle
The Courthouse Gallery is located at the side entrance of the Old County Courthouse, corner of Canada and Lower Amherst Streets, Lake George, NY.
Please NOTE: Regular Gallery hours are temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 health emergency. Call 518-668-2616 or visit www.lakegeorgearts.org for updates.
This exhibition is funded in part by the Town and Village of Lake George; the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust; 518 Profiles; Mannix Marketing; Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation; and LGAP members. Please Join us today!