Lake George Arts Project

Oatman & Father, Signmakers: Gordon and Michael Oatman
2016-09-24 - 2016-10-28 | Courthouse Gallery, 1 Amherst St, Lake George, NY, 12845, United States
September 24 – October 28, 2016
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 24th, 4 – 6 pm
This event is FREE and open to the public.
Gallery Hours: Tues – Fri 12 – 5 pm, Sat 12 – 4 pm
“The Convenience Effect”historic book cuttings on map on boardwith custom frame by the artist’s father, Gordon Oatman
Michael Oatman calls his practice ‘the poetic interpretation of documents’. His collages and installations integrate thousands of found, modified and handmade components, including artifacts of material culture, painting, drawing, video, and food. With a focus on animals, this exhibition will feature Michael’s working drawings and other studies for his large scale collages, as well as the collages themselves, presented within frames created by his father, Gordon. Gordon Oatman will exhibit a selection of his frames (unfilled) and his studies and drawings for those frames. The frames are a geometric abstraction of animal forms (thunderbird, butterfly, bat, fish), with some up to 8 feet in length. Michael says “there is a connection between the two bodies of work – in my mind this relates to the early lessons I received from my Dad about nature via hunting, fishing and general fascination with the animals around us growing up in rural Vermont.”
Gordon Oatman was trained at Keene State Teachers’ College and taught Industrial Arts in the South Burlington, Vermont School System for over 30 years. His many subjects included woodworking, metal fabrication, photography and printing in three areas: offset, silkscreen and hand set type. He earned a Master’s Degree at RIT and the University of Vermont, finishing his career teaching architectural drafting and the newly invented CADD. A lifelong outdoorsman, he custom manufactured steam-bent fishing nets for the Orvis Corporation in the 1970s. He later produced hand carved dealership signs for the H. L. Leonard Rod Company, a rival fishing goods firm. For over 30 years Oatman and his wife, Shirley Oatman (a retired home economics teacher and cooking school owner) have produced material works for the many art projects of their son, Michael. At 79, this is his first art exhibition.
Michael Oatman earned his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, and his MFA from the University at Albany. He has exhibited extensively in galleries, museums and public spaces throughout the US and abroad. Recent projects include All Utopias Fell, a permanent commission for MASS MoCA, open until October 2020; the 52-artist extravaganza “An Armory Show” for the Opalka Gallery at Sage College, Albany; and “ABECEDARIUS” with Colin Boyd at the Arts Center of The Capital Region in Troy. He is represented by MillerYezerski in Boston, MA; Lenore Grey in Providence, RI; Mayson Gallery in NYC and Stremmel Gallery in Reno, NV. His accolades include the Nancy Graves Foundation Award for work in new media; the Brown Fellows Award from the School of Architecture at RPI; Purchase Awards from the University Art Museum at U-Albany and the Albany Institute of History and Art, as well as grants from the New York State Council on the Arts. In 2009 he was voted Best Artist of the past 30 Years in the Capital Region by editors of the Metroland newspaper. He has taught at Harvard, UVM, University of Albany, St. Michael’s College and Vermont College. He has been a visiting critic at RISD from 1986 to the present. Since 1999 he has been a faculty member in the School of Architecture at RPI. He is the juror for the 2016 Mohawk Hudson Regional and is currently working on a solo project for the Bell Gallery at Brown University.
Exhibition Review online: Albany Times Union

Corwin Levi and Barbara Price
2016-07-09 - 2016-08-12 | Courthouse Gallery, 1 Amherst St, Lake George, NY, 12845, United States
July 9 – August 12, 2016
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 9, 4 – 6- pm
This event is FREE and open to the public.
Gallery Hours: Tues – Fri 12 – 5 pm, Sat 12 – 4 pm
Barbara Price

Corwin Levi

Corwin Levi is project-based artist using a variety of media including painting, drawing, children’s books, sculpture, and video. He finds inspiration in the “ordinary” moments and exchanges of life, from waking up each day, to conversations with other people. He says: “Because my art is rooted in experiencing life, my interactions often find their way into what I create. Whether it’s collaborating with other artists, working a dinner conversation into a painting, drawing a Fukurokuju mask onto a character, or borrowing a thought from Camus, it all works its way into the making.”
Corwin Levi earned his BA from Rice University and MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. After art school he went on to law school at the University of Virginia. After practicing law for several years in 2009 he decided to return to creating art full time. He says “I think practicing law was a way for me to see another world, or another side of the world and it made me both appreciate and understand art making so much more.” Levi has shown across the country in solo shows at Blackfish Gallery in Portland, OR, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, and Hillyer Art Space and Fridge Gallery, both in Washington, DC. He has been awarded a number of residency fellowships at prestigious institutions such as Pyramid Atlantic, MD; the Millay Colony, NY; Willapa Bay, WA; Ucross Foundation, WY; and a yearlong residency at the Roswell Artist in Residence Program, NM. You can learn more about his work at www.radiosebastian.com, and view his video work on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/corwinlevi.
To explore notions of “seeing” and “not seeing” equally, Barbara Price has created a series of work resembling palimpsests, documents where the original writing is obscured, yet traces of the original show through. Instead of scrapping or rubbing, the characters from the original are covered through stitched thread or yarn. She says “Looking at something very closely is both a necessity and the result of my process that includes piercing, punching, threading, knotting and weaving through paper. Looking so closely that the thing itself disappears metaphorically and on a certain level, quite literally.”
Barbara Price has exhibited her visual art work in solo exhibitions at North Main Gallery in Salem, NY, and the Small Gallery in Cambridge, NY. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Spring Street Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY and The Chapel and Cultural Center at RPI, Troy, NY. In addition to making art she has worn many hats: she has served as a book editor, a curator, a hospitality manager for concert venues in New York City, a professional caterer, a baker, a waitress, a party planner, an artist manager, a booking agent, and a gardener. She is a founder of Battenkill Time Traders, a community based time bank, and writes articles on cooking, foraging, healthy eating and buying local. She lives and works in Greenwich, NY, and currently divides her time unevenly between being a visual artist and writer, a community activist, as well as a freelance book editor. You can see some images of her work at https://birdlit.wordpress.com/.
This exhibition is funded in part by The Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust, Lake George Kayak Company and the New York State Council on The Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The Courthouse Gallery hours during exhibitions are Tuesday through Friday 12 – 5 pm, Saturday 12 – 4 pm, and all other times by appointment. The Courthouse Gallery is located at the side entrance of the Old County Courthouse, corner of Canada and Lower Amherst Streets, Lake George, NY.

New Work from Antarctica - Vincent Woolley
2016-06-16 - 2016-06-18 | Courthouse Gallery, 1 Amherst St, Lake George, NY, 12845, United States
June 16 – 18, 2016
Artist’s Reception: Saturday, June 18, 4 – 6 PM
This event is FREE and open to the public.
Gallery Hours: June 16th and 17th: 12 – 5 PM, and Saturday, June 18th, during the artist’s reception: 4 – 6 PM

Landscape Photographer Vincent Woolley was the 2015 recipient of the Antarctica XXI Grant from the Luminous Endowment. The Endowment awards grants to assist photographers in pursuing special projects related to their photography. Through this grant Woolley was able to travel to Antarctica in the fall of 2015. He will exhibit a portfolio of recent work resulting from this trip.
Vincent Woolley says that photographing during the trip was challenging, since most of the time he was shooting from a moving ship or Zodiac craft. Using a tripod was impossible unless he was on shore. Although he spent months preparing and researching for his expedition to Antarctica, he says: “nothing really prepared me for the experience and landscapes I was about to see. The days were very long, which allowed for more pictures. The light was gorgeous and the colors in the ice were unlike anything I have ever seen. Words cannot describe the beauty and solitude of Antarctica. I hope in some way the pictures I brought back will. I know this place will live in my mind and in my memories forever.”
Over his forty years as a photographer Woolley’s work has become more abstract. His recent subjects include ice, water, reflections, and river foam. During much of his career he worked with a 4 x 5 view camera, but now shoots digitally. You can learn more about his photographs by visitinghttp://www.vincewoolleyphotography.com/ and the Luminous Landscapes Website. He lives in Hudson Falls with his wife, two dogs and cat.
The Courthouse Gallery hours during this special exhibition are June 16th – 17th from 12 – 5 PM and on Saturday, June 18th we are open during the artist’s reception from 4 – 6 PM, and also other times available by appointment (please call ahead: 518-668-2616). The Courthouse Gallery is located at the side entrance of the Old County Courthouse, corner of Canada and Lower Amherst Streets, Lake George, NY.

Laura Gurton
2016-05-07 - 2016-06-10 | Courthouse Gallery, 1 Amherst St, Lake George, NY, 12845, United States
May 7 – June 10, 2016
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 7, 4 – 6 pm
This event is FREE and open to the public.
Gallery Hours: Tues – Fri 12 – 5 pm, Sat 12 – 4 pm

Laura Gurton’s paintings evolve from a refined process that balances chance and control. The artist’s method, refined over many years, makes use of both oil paint and resin. Because the interactions of these two media are complex and sometimes difficult to predict, Gurton’s way of working requires a deft touch and an acute sense of timing. The resulting images are composed of multiple layers of translucent glazes, imparting levels of depth and revealing patterns analogous to microscopic cellular forms. With the addition of each layer, these forms begin to overlap, evoking a passage of time. Biomorphic shapes reminiscent of visual information gleaned from x-rays, CT scans, and electron microscopes float across the surface of the artist’s canvases. Gurton states that her work reflects her admiration for all scientific investigations.
Laura Gurton studied art at the Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA, the Brooklyn Museum School, Brooklyn, NY, and earned her Bachelor of of Fine Arts from The School of Visual Arts, NYC, NY, and her Masters in Supervision and Administration in the Arts from Bank Street College of Education at Parsons School of Design. Her paintings were recently featured in solo exhibitions at Theo Ganz Studio, Beacon, NY; Beacon Short Wave Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ; Bau Gallery, Beacon, NY; Van Brunt Projects, Hudson Beach Gallery,Beacon, NY; Woodstock Artists Association and Museum; and Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY. Her work was recently included in group exhibitions at the Kleinert James Center for the Arts, Byrcliffe, Woodstock, NY; Denise Bibro Fine Art, NYC; 13 Forest Gallery, Small Works, Arlington, MA; Fresh Paint Gallery, Culver City, CA; B.B.Contemporary Art – Project Art Space, NYC; Edward Hopper House, Nyack, NY; and the 55th VENICE BIENNALE: Personal Structures, Time Space Existence – Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy in 2013. She is currently lives and works in Woodstock, NY.
This exhibition is funded in part by Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation, the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust, Lake George Kayak Company and the New York State Council on The Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The Courthouse Gallery hours during exhibitions are Tuesday through Friday 12 – 5 pm, Saturday 12 – 4 pm, and all other times by appointment. The Courthouse Gallery is located at the side entrance of the Old County Courthouse, corner of Canada and Lower Amherst Streets, Lake George, NY.

Formation Proposal - A solo exhibition of work by Susan Meyer
2016-03-12 - 2016-04-15 | Courthouse Gallery, 1 Amherst St, Lake George, NY, 12845, United States
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 12, 4 – 6- pm
This event is FREE and open to the public.
Gallery Hours: Tues – Fri 12 – 5 pm, Sat 12 – 4 pm

Susan Meyer’s glowing and colorful futuristic sculptures and installations reference architecture, landscape and the figure. Utopian communities and Modernist architecture are amoung her influences. The works are composed of acrylic and wood shapes that make reference to futuristic architectural models, stalactites, crystal formations and Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes. She says: “My works are mash-ups of architecture and landscape. The sculptural elements combine to create fantastical, sci-fi environments. Suggesting architectural concoctions – part topogrophy, part commune, part disaster waiting to happen – the components create a dialogue between a glistening model environment and discordant details, suggesting a tension between the communal and the individual. The pieces explore landscape and architecture as embodiments of and catalysts for our desires and aspirations… I use several processes for making the work. For some pieces I stack and sculpt, responding to the form as I build it. For others, I find small rocks that are interesting, digitally scan them, and then alter the form using digital drawing. I cut layers on a laser and further alter the original form as I build the piece.”
Susan Meyer earned her Bachelor of Science from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, and her Master of Fine Arts, Boston Museum School/Tufts University, Boston, MA. Her recent solo exhibitions include Incident #69 at Incident Report Viewing Station, Hudson, NY; Plato’s Retreat at Plus Gallery in Denver, CO; and Together, a sculptural installation exhibited at Artspace in New Haven, CT. Recent group exhibitions include Odds and Ends, take one at Valley Variety in Hudson, NY, co-organized with Jeff Starr, with exhibition essay by Cydney M. Payton; Exquisite at LABspace, LABspace Gallery, Hillsdale, NY, a collaborative piece with Gina Occhiogrosso and Jeff Starr; Small Works 2015, Shirt Factory Gallery, Glens Falls, NY; Organic Chemistry, KMOCA, Kington, NY; 2014 Exhibition by Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region, Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, Juror: Stephen Westfall, catalogue, received A. Grindle Custom Framing Award; and Imaginary Worlds, The Art Center Gallery, Saratoga Arts, Saratoga Springs, NY. Her awards include a Fellowship from the Institute for the Digital Humanities, University of Denver, Video Production Workshop, and residencies at Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, SC; PlatteForum, Denver, CO; Pilchuck Glass School – Emerging Artist in Residence, Stanwood, WA; Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass, CO; Ucross Foundation, Sheridan, WY; and Sculpture Space Residency in Utica, NY. She is currently an Assistant Professor at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY.

This exhibition is funded in part by The Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust, Lake George Kayak Company and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. The Courthouse Gallery hours during exhibitions are Tuesday through Friday 12 – 5 pm, Saturday 12 – 4 pm, and all other times by appointment. The Courthouse Gallery is located at the side entrance of the Old County Courthouse, corner of Canada and Lower Amherst Streets, Lake George, NY.
Reviews online:
Times Union
Get Visual

Three Hundred Sixty Five: An Idea And The Reality
2016-01-23 - 2016-02-26 | Courthouse Gallery, 1 Amherst St, Lake George, NY, 12845, United States
January 23 – February 26, 2016
a solo exhibition / installation by Eric Nelson
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 23, 4 – 6 pm
This event is FREE and open to the public.
Gallery Hours: Tues – Fri 12 – 5 pm, Sat 12 – 4 pm

After several years of making large sculptures, Eric Nelson decided to revisit his early interest in small scale work. He began a new project with the aim of creating one small carved wood sculpture a day for a year, with each piece carved from a 2 x 2 x 4 inch mahogany block. In reality it took almost twelve years to complete the project, which he titled Three Hundred Sixty Five. The work is inspired and informed by memory, direct observation and drawings. He says: “Some of my earliest memories are playing with toys, figures and decorative objects. The materials, texture, color and method of manufacture of these objects interested me. Most of them held a sense of intimacy and imaginative power that was transformative. Also, the accessibility and tactility of these objects gave me great satisfaction and lasting pleasure. The sources for the sculptures are derived from invention, ancient, modern, and decorative art (including pottery, jewelry and amulets), plants, animals, geometric structures and ordinary objects. The first several pieces were feasible to make in one day. As the project progressed the sculptures became more complex and time consuming. This progression is evident as one views the whole project.”
Eric Nelson earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Chicago, IL, an M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. He recently had a solo exhibition at Jackson Gallery, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, VT, and his sculpture has been installed in public sculpture parks at James Madison University in Harrisonburg,VA; Navy Pier in Chicago, IL; and the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA. His work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including In Grain: Contemporary Wood Sculpture, Fleming Museum of Art, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT; Flowers, Trees, Birds, Bees: Nature Explored, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT; and A Cause for Art: Alonzo Davis Fellowship Exhibit, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA. His awards include Fellowship Residencies from Moulin à Nef, Auvillar, France; Virginia Center for the Arts, Sweet Briar, VA; and Sculpture Space Inc., Utica, NY. He received The Albert Jacobson Memorial Award from Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT and has twice received Fellowships from the Vermont Council on the Arts. He recently retired from Middlebury College where he taught sculpture and drawing for thirty-three years. To learn more about Eric Nelson visit www.ericnelsonfineart.com.
This exhibition is funded in part by Lake George Kayak Company and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. The Courthouse Gallery hours during exhibitions are Tuesday through Friday 12 – 5 pm, Saturday 12 – 4 pm, and all other times by appointment. The Courthouse Gallery is located at the side entrance of the Old County Courthouse, corner of Canada and Lower Amherst Streets, Lake George, NY.

Black Velvet Art Party
2014-11-22 | NY
Until further notice the BVAP is on hiatus.
The last BVAP party took place on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at the Georgian Resort in Lake George.
It was the 26th Black Velvet Art Party, and the theme was “GNARLY”
The event was known for its out-of-the ordinary presentation of black velvet art and over-the-top apparel, and featured a silent auction of original black velvet art, art and fashion awards.

2014 Awards:
Fashion Awards:
1. The Joan Reid Award (most inappropriate attire) – Mike Vittengl
.2. Tres Tacky – Mel Ostberg
3. Velviagra – Billijo Meader
4. Svelte – Ray Perry
5. Velvelicious – Cathy DeDe
6. King BVAP 26th – Brian Landenburger
7. Queen Velveteen – Denise Perry
Art Awards:
1. Best of Black Velvet – Gary McCoola, “Gimme Shelter”
2. Velveeta (the cheesiest) – Armon Art Brown, “Gnarly”
3. Velveluminous (the brightest) – Joy McCoola, “Grate Openings”
4. Velveluptuous (the sexiest) – Kat Griffin, “Gnarly Fairy Chair”
5. Velvet Underground – Betsy Brandt, “After Rousseau”
6. BV Amoeba Art Award (Best Amoeba Art) – Sam Bowser, “Amoebas on Parade”
