Three visions of art and nature are on display in the Roz Steiner Art Gallery at Genesee Community College through the end of January, featuring WNY artists David Burke, Julie A. Lambert, and Steve Piper.
The exhibit, which is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed the day after Christmas), is called "Handicraft Habitat."
Burke, a Bergen resident, said his work for this show is a mixture of realism and abstraction, mostly in acrylic.
"They're all inspired by nature," he said.
A father who homeschooled his children, he earned an art degree from SUNY Brockport and, in 2015, decided that art was his true passion and the vocation he wanted to pursue for the rest of his life. He's involved in the Batavia Society of Artists and GO ART! and has won numerous awards locally for his work.
His work for the show is described as inspired not just by nature but "his connection to the life of the earth and the mystery of the world. (He) uses light, shadow, color, and composition to evoke memories and emotions."
Over the past few years, he's explored "intuitive painting," a process whereby the artist "goes with the flow," laying down lines and colors as his whim or emotions or imagination dictates.
"I've been experimenting a lot more with abstraction and intuitive painting, not knowing what I'm going to do, just starting off and painting," Burke said. "Whatever comes out of me comes out, which turns out pretty nice most of the time. I never know what's gonna happen. It's really interesting."
Burke made it into the show by applying for an exhibit several months ago.
"I just applied and then forgot about it," Burke said. "Then a few weeks ago, (the director) called me and said, 'You want to have a show?' The other two people in the show are friends of mine, which I had no idea about, so it turned out really nice. It's great because I went to school here originally back in 1975. It's kind of nice to have and show and be back at GCC."
The other artists on display are Lambert and Piper.
Lambert is a master papermaker. She has a bachelor's of fine arts from SUNY Oswego. According to the program, her work explores the natural and human-created impacts on landscape. To the surprise of the viewer, Lambert’s works are often first mistaken for paintings. As viewers are drawn in, they realize that the works of art are individual pieces of handmade paper -- dyed, textured, cut, torn, and layered by the artist to express how she sees the world.
Piper is originally from Kansas and moved to Rochester in 1978 to pursue a photography degree at RIT. His artistic vision, according to the program, is inspired by his rural life growing up in the mid-west. Through color, texture, and composition, he is able to take a recognizable image and create something representational.
Photos by Howard Owens.
