The vibrant voices of five distinctive artists will be featured at the Mindy Ross Gallery, as its first art exhibition of the new year. Shouts & Whispers: Visual Voices is composed of the artworks of Lillian Alberti, Melissa Small Cooper, Ted Dixon, Stevenson Estime, and Madge Scott. The curator of the show is Karen E. Gersch. The exhibit will be on view through Thursday, February 12. Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The collection will highlight all forms of media, from Small Cooper’s sensitive oil paintings of flowers tenderly held in hands to the colorful geometrics and fields of Dixon’s intense abstract works on canvas. Estime explores Black history and culture in his mixed media on photo paper, its subjects both timely and riveting. Sculptor Alberti’s paper clay figures are intricately hand painted and bear elaborate clothing she hand-sews. And Scott’s spiritual look at personages – individuals from Black history and lore – range from folk art in feel to masterful portraits in acrylic and oil.
Karen E. Gersch is a well-respected visual artist. Her subject matter varies tremendously. She is equally talented in the role of curator. Besides curating shows around the Hudson Valley and Connecticut, in Newburgh, she co-curated Cause We Be Complicated: Dialogues of Black Artists for which a Community Grant Award from the New York State Legislature was awarded. Specific to the college, Gersch has curated three exhibits at SUNY Orange campuses: War in the Arts: Redeeming Spirits, Music ~ a Visual Perspective, and Spirit Songs: Visual Voices of LGBTIQA+ Artists.
Mindy Ross Gallery is located in Kaplan Hall, SUNY Orange. Free, secure parking is available in the college’s Kaplan Hall garage at GPS: 73 First Street, Newburgh.