Sunday, June 19, 2011

Jeffrey Henson Scales: That Year of Living
Light Work Gallery

Price: Free
Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

That Year of Living features stunning black-and-white photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales. Diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Scales was forced to, in his words, weigh the possibilities of his own demise, and whether he had achieved what he felt he was put here to do. It was this diagnosis and contemplation, along with the urging of his wife, Meg Henson Scales, which led him to return to making photographs on a daily basis.

The images in That Year of Living were made in the year following his cancer diagnosis and surgery. Scales photographed mainly in and around Times Square, depicting the part of New York City that he visited every day going to and from work at The New York Times. The images capture the certain hardness mixed with joy, sadness, determination and bewilderment that is found in the faces of young and old alike in New York City. Created in the months following his own experience with mortality, the photographs explore the journey of life and death found in the faces on the streets of New York.

Immersed In Color
Szozda Gallery

Price: Free
Szozda Gallery
Delavan Center, 501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

A series of works primarily influenced by color rather than by subject matter, featuring the color-strong layering works of three women: Lydia Benscher's encaustics, Joyce Day Homan's watercolors and Carmel Nicoletti's kiln-formed glass.

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

In the Garden
Gandee Gallery

Gandee Gallery
7846 Main St., Fabius

In the Garden presents an eclectic mix of styles and art media, which all celebrate the joys of the garden. The paintings and photography in the show depict floral motifs and backyard vistas. Ceramic planters and sculptural forms complement and enhance any outdoor space. The jewelry and wearable pieces reflect the colors, patterns, and styles inspired by the gorgeous flowers that make us THINK SPRING!

Participating artists include: Jenny Pope, Lucie Wellner, Nancy Kramer, Rodger DeMuth, Zach Dunn, Melissa Montgomery, Kathy Barry, Jen Gandee. Sarah Panzarella, Lynn Yenkey, Lorna Meaden, Ron DeRutte, Lori Hawk, Amy Francher, and Errol Willett.?

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The 2011 exhibition program will continue to highlight the talented artists of New York State through a series of focused exhibitions. The season opens with Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds, an exhibition featuring more than 100 original works of art that are seriously hilarious. The small-scale drawings depicting the comedic daily lives of humans and animals alike are all rendered by hand in a variety of media, an approach that is becoming increasing rare in a world of computer-generated images.

Dan Reynolds began drawing cartoons in 1989, when he was 30. As a youth center instructor, Reynolds was surrounded by youthful energy and creative minds. He was an avid follower of popular cartoons of the time, such as Gary Larson's Far Side and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. A native of Brewerton, NY, Reynolds was inspired by his Central New York surroundings, a place where snow is abundant and cows can be found just minutes from anywhere. From the beginning, Reynolds has used farm animals as messengers of humor, particularly cows, pigs and chickens, a series that was immediately accepted by Reader's Digest in 1989. A new cartoon has appeared in every issue since then. Reynolds' cartoons have also appeared in thematic Reynolds Unwrapped book compilations featuring everything from sports to holiday special editions. American Greetings and Recycled Greeting Cards also feature Reynolds cartoons on greeting cards for every occasion.

In 2008, Reynolds was diagnosed with testicular cancer and subsequently received months of chemotherapy. While he was in treatment, he began drawing cartoons about cancer and his personal experience which he found was shared by his fellow patients. He shared the cartoons with the staff and patients at the facility and discovered the power of art to bring humor to an otherwise humorless situation.

Read a review!

Now and Then: Open Figure Drawing Group Exhibition 2011
XL Projects

Price: Free
XL Projects
307-313 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

New and past works created by artists from Open Figure Drawing, Syracuse's community-based drawing group for people of all abilities, are the subject of this exhibition. The Open Figure Drawing group offers an inexpensive drawing experience to members of the Syracuse community. Participants draw from unclothed models and can attend on a drop-in basis. They become part of a supportive artistic community that networks about exhibitions, workshops, grants and other related events.

For more information, visit www.openfiguredrawing.com or contact XL Projects at 315-442-2542 during gallery hours.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Arsenic and Old Lace
Appleseed Productions
Daniel Rowlands, director

Price: $18 regular; $15 students/seniors
Atonement Lutheran Church
116 W. Glen Ave., Syracuse

Welcome to the Brewster house, an old Victorian in Brooklyn, NY, home to the darling sisters, Abby and Martha -- two lovable and charitable spinsters. But this cheery home hides a dark and terrible secret. Is it their nephew who labors under the delusion that he is Theodore Roosevelt? Is it their other nephew, who bears a horrifying resemblance to Boris Karloff? Or is it the sisters themselves, and the fact that they have 12 "gentlemen" buried in their cellar? One thing is for certain, thrills and laughs a plenty are abundant in this delightful dark comedy. Written by Joseph Kesselring.

Read a review!

Shakespeare by the Lake: Romeo and Juliet
Redhouse
Stephen Svoboda, director

Price: Free
Clift Park
Genesee St., Skaneateles

Rain location: Lodge at Welch Allyn

Shakespeare by the Lake's inaugural season will feature a family-friendly, one-hour version of the Bard's classic Romeo and Juliet. Six professional actors, armed with only their costume rack and a trunk of props, perform all the roles in this most famous play of all time, complete with epic romance, a tragic ending and daring sword fights.

Leading Men Don't Dance
Salt City Center for the Performing Arts

Price: $22 regular, $20 seniors
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

Featuring Bob Brown, Gary Troy, Frank Fiumano, Richard Koons, and Bill Ali.

Tickets available by calling 315-479-7469.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Your Words Today /Tus palabras de hoy
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Point of Contact Gallery presents the first exhibition by El Punto, a new contemporary arts program for young artists, created by Point of Contact and facilitated to local youths in collaboration with the Spanish Action League (La Liga) and La Casita Cultural Center.

When West Meets East: Works by Patricia Elliott Seitz
Westcott Community Art Gallery

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The exhibit "When West Meets East" is an impressionistic painting journey. Patricia Seitz will show a series of paintings depicting the beauty and physical differences between California and Upstate NY. Traveling from the coastal areas of California to Upstate New York's dynamic seasons and lush woods, the artist was able to share her memories through a painting journal.

Patricia Elliott Seitz was born in San Diego and spent most of her young adulthood living in Southern California. Patricia enjoys exploring subjects on an intimate level, getting to know her subject, striving to gather as much information as possible prior to beginning a painting. She gravitates to subjects which are in rich color, light is of primary focus, and the subject matter presents a degree of difficulty.

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

Jeffrey Henson Scales: That Year of Living
Light Work Gallery

Price: Free
Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

That Year of Living features stunning black-and-white photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales. Diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Scales was forced to, in his words, weigh the possibilities of his own demise, and whether he had achieved what he felt he was put here to do. It was this diagnosis and contemplation, along with the urging of his wife, Meg Henson Scales, which led him to return to making photographs on a daily basis.

The images in That Year of Living were made in the year following his cancer diagnosis and surgery. Scales photographed mainly in and around Times Square, depicting the part of New York City that he visited every day going to and from work at The New York Times. The images capture the certain hardness mixed with joy, sadness, determination and bewilderment that is found in the faces of young and old alike in New York City. Created in the months following his own experience with mortality, the photographs explore the journey of life and death found in the faces on the streets of New York.

Happy Accidents: Works by Sonya Parrish and Erin Davies
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

Happy Accidents will feature works created with a technique that Parrish calls "Latex Resist." One of the largest pieces in the show will be interactive as guests peel the latex off to reveal the painting during the opening. One piece was created with the help of a local Girl Scout troupe and proceeds from the sale of that piece will go directly to the troupe.

The Gallery is open by appointment. To make an appointment, phone 315-425-0405 or email press@theredhouse.org.

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

When West Meets East: Works by Patricia Elliott Seitz
Westcott Community Art Gallery

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The exhibit "When West Meets East" is an impressionistic painting journey. Patricia Seitz will show a series of paintings depicting the beauty and physical differences between California and Upstate NY. Traveling from the coastal areas of California to Upstate New York's dynamic seasons and lush woods, the artist was able to share her memories through a painting journal.

Patricia Elliott Seitz was born in San Diego and spent most of her young adulthood living in Southern California. Patricia enjoys exploring subjects on an intimate level, getting to know her subject, striving to gather as much information as possible prior to beginning a painting. She gravitates to subjects which are in rich color, light is of primary focus, and the subject matter presents a degree of difficulty.

Three Form Expression
Edgewood Gallery

Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Linda Bigness- Abstract oil paintings from her urbanscape and musical notes series
Tom Huff- Soapstone and alabaster sculpture
Jerome Durr- Freestanding glass sculpture

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

Jeffrey Henson Scales: That Year of Living
Light Work Gallery

Price: Free
Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

That Year of Living features stunning black-and-white photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales. Diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Scales was forced to, in his words, weigh the possibilities of his own demise, and whether he had achieved what he felt he was put here to do. It was this diagnosis and contemplation, along with the urging of his wife, Meg Henson Scales, which led him to return to making photographs on a daily basis.

The images in That Year of Living were made in the year following his cancer diagnosis and surgery. Scales photographed mainly in and around Times Square, depicting the part of New York City that he visited every day going to and from work at The New York Times. The images capture the certain hardness mixed with joy, sadness, determination and bewilderment that is found in the faces of young and old alike in New York City. Created in the months following his own experience with mortality, the photographs explore the journey of life and death found in the faces on the streets of New York.

The Human Condition: Works by Michael Sickler and Sean Turrell
Limestone Art and Framing Gallery

Limestone Art and Framing Gallery
105 Brooklea Dr., Fayetteville

Michael Sickler's new series of mixed media paintings are his interpretation of Franz Kafka's expressionistic novella, "Metamorphosis". The story, set in Russia, is about a young man who wakes up one morning transformed into a large insect. The story as Sickler has interpreted it deals with the main character's longing for human companionship in spite of his hideous malady. On a larger level, it speaks of how society banishes from sight the afflicted and the unknown, and serves as a metaphor or parable for the Human Condition.

Sean Turrell's wood sculptures have their origins in internal and external influences. Anatomy, emotional energy, gender, sex, and religious idioms form the basis of the work. The works in this show are from Turrell's "The Place Beyond the Pale" series. In leaving behind what may be considered acceptable societal constructs, the sculptures are Turrell's response to leaving his comfort zone. In his artist statement, Turrell describes the motivation in the works as, "Exploring feelings and emotions normally tucked away from the society and even the self." With Turrell's work, the viewer is presented with one artist's journey into the complexities of the Human Condition.

Happy Accidents: Works by Sonya Parrish and Erin Davies
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

Happy Accidents will feature works created with a technique that Parrish calls "Latex Resist." One of the largest pieces in the show will be interactive as guests peel the latex off to reveal the painting during the opening. One piece was created with the help of a local Girl Scout troupe and proceeds from the sale of that piece will go directly to the troupe.

The Gallery is open by appointment. To make an appointment, phone 315-425-0405 or email press@theredhouse.org.

Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The 2011 exhibition program will continue to highlight the talented artists of New York State through a series of focused exhibitions. The season opens with Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds, an exhibition featuring more than 100 original works of art that are seriously hilarious. The small-scale drawings depicting the comedic daily lives of humans and animals alike are all rendered by hand in a variety of media, an approach that is becoming increasing rare in a world of computer-generated images.

Dan Reynolds began drawing cartoons in 1989, when he was 30. As a youth center instructor, Reynolds was surrounded by youthful energy and creative minds. He was an avid follower of popular cartoons of the time, such as Gary Larson's Far Side and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. A native of Brewerton, NY, Reynolds was inspired by his Central New York surroundings, a place where snow is abundant and cows can be found just minutes from anywhere. From the beginning, Reynolds has used farm animals as messengers of humor, particularly cows, pigs and chickens, a series that was immediately accepted by Reader's Digest in 1989. A new cartoon has appeared in every issue since then. Reynolds' cartoons have also appeared in thematic Reynolds Unwrapped book compilations featuring everything from sports to holiday special editions. American Greetings and Recycled Greeting Cards also feature Reynolds cartoons on greeting cards for every occasion.

In 2008, Reynolds was diagnosed with testicular cancer and subsequently received months of chemotherapy. While he was in treatment, he began drawing cartoons about cancer and his personal experience which he found was shared by his fellow patients. He shared the cartoons with the staff and patients at the facility and discovered the power of art to bring humor to an otherwise humorless situation.

Read a review!

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Your Words Today /Tus palabras de hoy
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Point of Contact Gallery presents the first exhibition by El Punto, a new contemporary arts program for young artists, created by Point of Contact and facilitated to local youths in collaboration with the Spanish Action League (La Liga) and La Casita Cultural Center.

When West Meets East: Works by Patricia Elliott Seitz
Westcott Community Art Gallery

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The exhibit "When West Meets East" is an impressionistic painting journey. Patricia Seitz will show a series of paintings depicting the beauty and physical differences between California and Upstate NY. Traveling from the coastal areas of California to Upstate New York's dynamic seasons and lush woods, the artist was able to share her memories through a painting journal.

Patricia Elliott Seitz was born in San Diego and spent most of her young adulthood living in Southern California. Patricia enjoys exploring subjects on an intimate level, getting to know her subject, striving to gather as much information as possible prior to beginning a painting. She gravitates to subjects which are in rich color, light is of primary focus, and the subject matter presents a degree of difficulty.

Three Form Expression
Edgewood Gallery

Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Linda Bigness- Abstract oil paintings from her urbanscape and musical notes series
Tom Huff- Soapstone and alabaster sculpture
Jerome Durr- Freestanding glass sculpture

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

Jeffrey Henson Scales: That Year of Living
Light Work Gallery

Price: Free
Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

That Year of Living features stunning black-and-white photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales. Diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Scales was forced to, in his words, weigh the possibilities of his own demise, and whether he had achieved what he felt he was put here to do. It was this diagnosis and contemplation, along with the urging of his wife, Meg Henson Scales, which led him to return to making photographs on a daily basis.

The images in That Year of Living were made in the year following his cancer diagnosis and surgery. Scales photographed mainly in and around Times Square, depicting the part of New York City that he visited every day going to and from work at The New York Times. The images capture the certain hardness mixed with joy, sadness, determination and bewilderment that is found in the faces of young and old alike in New York City. Created in the months following his own experience with mortality, the photographs explore the journey of life and death found in the faces on the streets of New York.

The Human Condition: Works by Michael Sickler and Sean Turrell
Limestone Art and Framing Gallery

Limestone Art and Framing Gallery
105 Brooklea Dr., Fayetteville

Michael Sickler's new series of mixed media paintings are his interpretation of Franz Kafka's expressionistic novella, "Metamorphosis". The story, set in Russia, is about a young man who wakes up one morning transformed into a large insect. The story as Sickler has interpreted it deals with the main character's longing for human companionship in spite of his hideous malady. On a larger level, it speaks of how society banishes from sight the afflicted and the unknown, and serves as a metaphor or parable for the Human Condition.

Sean Turrell's wood sculptures have their origins in internal and external influences. Anatomy, emotional energy, gender, sex, and religious idioms form the basis of the work. The works in this show are from Turrell's "The Place Beyond the Pale" series. In leaving behind what may be considered acceptable societal constructs, the sculptures are Turrell's response to leaving his comfort zone. In his artist statement, Turrell describes the motivation in the works as, "Exploring feelings and emotions normally tucked away from the society and even the self." With Turrell's work, the viewer is presented with one artist's journey into the complexities of the Human Condition.

Happy Accidents: Works by Sonya Parrish and Erin Davies
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

Happy Accidents will feature works created with a technique that Parrish calls "Latex Resist." One of the largest pieces in the show will be interactive as guests peel the latex off to reveal the painting during the opening. One piece was created with the help of a local Girl Scout troupe and proceeds from the sale of that piece will go directly to the troupe.

The Gallery is open by appointment. To make an appointment, phone 315-425-0405 or email press@theredhouse.org.

Immersed In Color
Szozda Gallery

Price: Free
Szozda Gallery
Delavan Center, 501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

A series of works primarily influenced by color rather than by subject matter, featuring the color-strong layering works of three women: Lydia Benscher's encaustics, Joyce Day Homan's watercolors and Carmel Nicoletti's kiln-formed glass.

Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The 2011 exhibition program will continue to highlight the talented artists of New York State through a series of focused exhibitions. The season opens with Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds, an exhibition featuring more than 100 original works of art that are seriously hilarious. The small-scale drawings depicting the comedic daily lives of humans and animals alike are all rendered by hand in a variety of media, an approach that is becoming increasing rare in a world of computer-generated images.

Dan Reynolds began drawing cartoons in 1989, when he was 30. As a youth center instructor, Reynolds was surrounded by youthful energy and creative minds. He was an avid follower of popular cartoons of the time, such as Gary Larson's Far Side and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. A native of Brewerton, NY, Reynolds was inspired by his Central New York surroundings, a place where snow is abundant and cows can be found just minutes from anywhere. From the beginning, Reynolds has used farm animals as messengers of humor, particularly cows, pigs and chickens, a series that was immediately accepted by Reader's Digest in 1989. A new cartoon has appeared in every issue since then. Reynolds' cartoons have also appeared in thematic Reynolds Unwrapped book compilations featuring everything from sports to holiday special editions. American Greetings and Recycled Greeting Cards also feature Reynolds cartoons on greeting cards for every occasion.

In 2008, Reynolds was diagnosed with testicular cancer and subsequently received months of chemotherapy. While he was in treatment, he began drawing cartoons about cancer and his personal experience which he found was shared by his fellow patients. He shared the cartoons with the staff and patients at the facility and discovered the power of art to bring humor to an otherwise humorless situation.

Read a review!

Sarah Averill: North Side Residents
ArtRage Gallery

Price: Free
ArtRage Gallery
505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse

More than 70 of Sarah Averill's sepia-toned photographs of North Side residents will be on display.

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

The Trews, with Autumn Fire, Tommy Connors, Dirty Frank
Westcott Theater

Westcott Theater
524 Westcott St., Syracuse

Thursday, June 23, 2011

When West Meets East: Works by Patricia Elliott Seitz
Westcott Community Art Gallery

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The exhibit "When West Meets East" is an impressionistic painting journey. Patricia Seitz will show a series of paintings depicting the beauty and physical differences between California and Upstate NY. Traveling from the coastal areas of California to Upstate New York's dynamic seasons and lush woods, the artist was able to share her memories through a painting journal.

Patricia Elliott Seitz was born in San Diego and spent most of her young adulthood living in Southern California. Patricia enjoys exploring subjects on an intimate level, getting to know her subject, striving to gather as much information as possible prior to beginning a painting. She gravitates to subjects which are in rich color, light is of primary focus, and the subject matter presents a degree of difficulty.

Three Form Expression
Edgewood Gallery

Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Linda Bigness- Abstract oil paintings from her urbanscape and musical notes series
Tom Huff- Soapstone and alabaster sculpture
Jerome Durr- Freestanding glass sculpture

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

Jeffrey Henson Scales: That Year of Living
Light Work Gallery

Price: Free
Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

That Year of Living features stunning black-and-white photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales. Diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Scales was forced to, in his words, weigh the possibilities of his own demise, and whether he had achieved what he felt he was put here to do. It was this diagnosis and contemplation, along with the urging of his wife, Meg Henson Scales, which led him to return to making photographs on a daily basis.

The images in That Year of Living were made in the year following his cancer diagnosis and surgery. Scales photographed mainly in and around Times Square, depicting the part of New York City that he visited every day going to and from work at The New York Times. The images capture the certain hardness mixed with joy, sadness, determination and bewilderment that is found in the faces of young and old alike in New York City. Created in the months following his own experience with mortality, the photographs explore the journey of life and death found in the faces on the streets of New York.

The Human Condition: Works by Michael Sickler and Sean Turrell
Limestone Art and Framing Gallery

Limestone Art and Framing Gallery
105 Brooklea Dr., Fayetteville

There will be an artist reception this evening 6:00-8:00 pm.

Michael Sickler's new series of mixed media paintings are his interpretation of Franz Kafka's expressionistic novella, "Metamorphosis". The story, set in Russia, is about a young man who wakes up one morning transformed into a large insect. The story as Sickler has interpreted it deals with the main character's longing for human companionship in spite of his hideous malady. On a larger level, it speaks of how society banishes from sight the afflicted and the unknown, and serves as a metaphor or parable for the Human Condition.

Sean Turrell's wood sculptures have their origins in internal and external influences. Anatomy, emotional energy, gender, sex, and religious idioms form the basis of the work. The works in this show are from Turrell's "The Place Beyond the Pale" series. In leaving behind what may be considered acceptable societal constructs, the sculptures are Turrell's response to leaving his comfort zone. In his artist statement, Turrell describes the motivation in the works as, "Exploring feelings and emotions normally tucked away from the society and even the self." With Turrell's work, the viewer is presented with one artist's journey into the complexities of the Human Condition.

Happy Accidents: Works by Sonya Parrish and Erin Davies
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

Happy Accidents will feature works created with a technique that Parrish calls "Latex Resist." One of the largest pieces in the show will be interactive as guests peel the latex off to reveal the painting during the opening. One piece was created with the help of a local Girl Scout troupe and proceeds from the sale of that piece will go directly to the troupe.

The Gallery is open by appointment. To make an appointment, phone 315-425-0405 or email press@theredhouse.org.

Immersed In Color
Szozda Gallery

Price: Free
Szozda Gallery
Delavan Center, 501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

A series of works primarily influenced by color rather than by subject matter, featuring the color-strong layering works of three women: Lydia Benscher's encaustics, Joyce Day Homan's watercolors and Carmel Nicoletti's kiln-formed glass.

Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The 2011 exhibition program will continue to highlight the talented artists of New York State through a series of focused exhibitions. The season opens with Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds, an exhibition featuring more than 100 original works of art that are seriously hilarious. The small-scale drawings depicting the comedic daily lives of humans and animals alike are all rendered by hand in a variety of media, an approach that is becoming increasing rare in a world of computer-generated images.

Dan Reynolds began drawing cartoons in 1989, when he was 30. As a youth center instructor, Reynolds was surrounded by youthful energy and creative minds. He was an avid follower of popular cartoons of the time, such as Gary Larson's Far Side and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. A native of Brewerton, NY, Reynolds was inspired by his Central New York surroundings, a place where snow is abundant and cows can be found just minutes from anywhere. From the beginning, Reynolds has used farm animals as messengers of humor, particularly cows, pigs and chickens, a series that was immediately accepted by Reader's Digest in 1989. A new cartoon has appeared in every issue since then. Reynolds' cartoons have also appeared in thematic Reynolds Unwrapped book compilations featuring everything from sports to holiday special editions. American Greetings and Recycled Greeting Cards also feature Reynolds cartoons on greeting cards for every occasion.

In 2008, Reynolds was diagnosed with testicular cancer and subsequently received months of chemotherapy. While he was in treatment, he began drawing cartoons about cancer and his personal experience which he found was shared by his fellow patients. He shared the cartoons with the staff and patients at the facility and discovered the power of art to bring humor to an otherwise humorless situation.

Read a review!

Now and Then: Open Figure Drawing Group Exhibition 2011
XL Projects

Price: Free
XL Projects
307-313 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

New and past works created by artists from Open Figure Drawing, Syracuse's community-based drawing group for people of all abilities, are the subject of this exhibition. The Open Figure Drawing group offers an inexpensive drawing experience to members of the Syracuse community. Participants draw from unclothed models and can attend on a drop-in basis. They become part of a supportive artistic community that networks about exhibitions, workshops, grants and other related events.

For more information, visit www.openfiguredrawing.com or contact XL Projects at 315-442-2542 during gallery hours.

Sarah Averill: North Side Residents
ArtRage Gallery

Price: Free
ArtRage Gallery
505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse

More than 70 of Sarah Averill's sepia-toned photographs of North Side residents will be on display.

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

Die Another Death
Acme Mystery Company

Price: $32.50 plus tax and gratuities (includes meal and show)
Spaghetti Warehouse
689 N. Clinton St., Syracuse

Agent Double Y of Her Majesty's Secret Service is on another high-stakes mission. A legendary artifact called "The Alchemists' Cauldron" is set to be on display during a ceremony at the Sylvanian Consulate. Rumored to possess a supernatural power, the cauldron is sought by every bad guy around the globe. Who will get to it first? Who will die trying? The European Crime Boss? The Texas-sized American politician? The back-stabbing news reporter? Or will Double Y come to the rescue again, and keep the cauldron from falling into the wrong hands?

Conference of the Birds
Redhouse
Stephen Svoboda, director

Price: $10
St. Lucy's
432 Gifford St., Syracuse

Legendary stage director Peter Brook's provoking and exciting work, comes to life. A nation of birds is in crisis and, urged on by one of their flock, the Hoopee, they chart a path to find their king. Above all, the Hoopee is trying to help them conquer their fear of life as the stage becomes an astonishing aviary. Through masks, dance, and song this beautiful adaptation of the 12th-century poem comes to life in a magical evening of theatre.

In an inspiring act of innovation, Brook first toured Conference of the Birds throughout rural Africa before presenting two extremely successful productions to western audiences, one in New York City at La MaMa, E.T.C. and one in Paris. This production features a cast of seven professional actors as well as an all-star design team.

Friday, June 24, 2011

When West Meets East: Works by Patricia Elliott Seitz
Westcott Community Art Gallery

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The exhibit "When West Meets East" is an impressionistic painting journey. Patricia Seitz will show a series of paintings depicting the beauty and physical differences between California and Upstate NY. Traveling from the coastal areas of California to Upstate New York's dynamic seasons and lush woods, the artist was able to share her memories through a painting journal.

Patricia Elliott Seitz was born in San Diego and spent most of her young adulthood living in Southern California. Patricia enjoys exploring subjects on an intimate level, getting to know her subject, striving to gather as much information as possible prior to beginning a painting. She gravitates to subjects which are in rich color, light is of primary focus, and the subject matter presents a degree of difficulty.

Three Form Expression
Edgewood Gallery

Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Linda Bigness- Abstract oil paintings from her urbanscape and musical notes series
Tom Huff- Soapstone and alabaster sculpture
Jerome Durr- Freestanding glass sculpture

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

Jeffrey Henson Scales: That Year of Living
Light Work Gallery

Price: Free
Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

That Year of Living features stunning black-and-white photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales. Diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Scales was forced to, in his words, weigh the possibilities of his own demise, and whether he had achieved what he felt he was put here to do. It was this diagnosis and contemplation, along with the urging of his wife, Meg Henson Scales, which led him to return to making photographs on a daily basis.

The images in That Year of Living were made in the year following his cancer diagnosis and surgery. Scales photographed mainly in and around Times Square, depicting the part of New York City that he visited every day going to and from work at The New York Times. The images capture the certain hardness mixed with joy, sadness, determination and bewilderment that is found in the faces of young and old alike in New York City. Created in the months following his own experience with mortality, the photographs explore the journey of life and death found in the faces on the streets of New York.

The Human Condition: Works by Michael Sickler and Sean Turrell
Limestone Art and Framing Gallery

Limestone Art and Framing Gallery
105 Brooklea Dr., Fayetteville

Michael Sickler's new series of mixed media paintings are his interpretation of Franz Kafka's expressionistic novella, "Metamorphosis". The story, set in Russia, is about a young man who wakes up one morning transformed into a large insect. The story as Sickler has interpreted it deals with the main character's longing for human companionship in spite of his hideous malady. On a larger level, it speaks of how society banishes from sight the afflicted and the unknown, and serves as a metaphor or parable for the Human Condition.

Sean Turrell's wood sculptures have their origins in internal and external influences. Anatomy, emotional energy, gender, sex, and religious idioms form the basis of the work. The works in this show are from Turrell's "The Place Beyond the Pale" series. In leaving behind what may be considered acceptable societal constructs, the sculptures are Turrell's response to leaving his comfort zone. In his artist statement, Turrell describes the motivation in the works as, "Exploring feelings and emotions normally tucked away from the society and even the self." With Turrell's work, the viewer is presented with one artist's journey into the complexities of the Human Condition.

Happy Accidents: Works by Sonya Parrish and Erin Davies
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

Happy Accidents will feature works created with a technique that Parrish calls "Latex Resist." One of the largest pieces in the show will be interactive as guests peel the latex off to reveal the painting during the opening. One piece was created with the help of a local Girl Scout troupe and proceeds from the sale of that piece will go directly to the troupe.

The Gallery is open by appointment. To make an appointment, phone 315-425-0405 or email press@theredhouse.org.

Immersed In Color
Szozda Gallery

Price: Free
Szozda Gallery
Delavan Center, 501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

There will be an artist reception this evening 5:00-8:00 pm.

A series of works primarily influenced by color rather than by subject matter, featuring the color-strong layering works of three women: Lydia Benscher's encaustics, Joyce Day Homan's watercolors and Carmel Nicoletti's kiln-formed glass.

Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The 2011 exhibition program will continue to highlight the talented artists of New York State through a series of focused exhibitions. The season opens with Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds, an exhibition featuring more than 100 original works of art that are seriously hilarious. The small-scale drawings depicting the comedic daily lives of humans and animals alike are all rendered by hand in a variety of media, an approach that is becoming increasing rare in a world of computer-generated images.

Dan Reynolds began drawing cartoons in 1989, when he was 30. As a youth center instructor, Reynolds was surrounded by youthful energy and creative minds. He was an avid follower of popular cartoons of the time, such as Gary Larson's Far Side and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. A native of Brewerton, NY, Reynolds was inspired by his Central New York surroundings, a place where snow is abundant and cows can be found just minutes from anywhere. From the beginning, Reynolds has used farm animals as messengers of humor, particularly cows, pigs and chickens, a series that was immediately accepted by Reader's Digest in 1989. A new cartoon has appeared in every issue since then. Reynolds' cartoons have also appeared in thematic Reynolds Unwrapped book compilations featuring everything from sports to holiday special editions. American Greetings and Recycled Greeting Cards also feature Reynolds cartoons on greeting cards for every occasion.

In 2008, Reynolds was diagnosed with testicular cancer and subsequently received months of chemotherapy. While he was in treatment, he began drawing cartoons about cancer and his personal experience which he found was shared by his fellow patients. He shared the cartoons with the staff and patients at the facility and discovered the power of art to bring humor to an otherwise humorless situation.

Read a review!

Now and Then: Open Figure Drawing Group Exhibition 2011
XL Projects

Price: Free
XL Projects
307-313 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

New and past works created by artists from Open Figure Drawing, Syracuse's community-based drawing group for people of all abilities, are the subject of this exhibition. The Open Figure Drawing group offers an inexpensive drawing experience to members of the Syracuse community. Participants draw from unclothed models and can attend on a drop-in basis. They become part of a supportive artistic community that networks about exhibitions, workshops, grants and other related events.

For more information, visit www.openfiguredrawing.com or contact XL Projects at 315-442-2542 during gallery hours.

Sarah Averill: North Side Residents
ArtRage Gallery

Price: Free
ArtRage Gallery
505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse

More than 70 of Sarah Averill's sepia-toned photographs of North Side residents will be on display.

Opening Night Reception: The Power of Pattern: New Work by David MacDonald
Everson Museum of Art

Price: Members free, non-members $10
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

Celebrate the arrival of The Power of Pattern: New Work by David MacDonald. Enjoy entertainment, light hors d'oeuvers and a cash bar before previewing the exhibition.

David MacDonald's long awaited solo exhibition will open with an innovative body of work. The highlight of the exhibition will be a monumental work commissioned by the Everson in 2008 with funds donated by the Social Arts Club. Also on view will be several new figurative vessels, monumental in scale, and plates from the Divination Series. Recently retired from Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts where he taught ceramics for more than 37 years, MacDonald is now able to concentrate on a new body of work.

Early in his career, ceramic artist David MacDonald turned to his African heritage for inspiration in his work. The many examples of surface pattern and decoration found in textiles, utilitarian objects, body ornament and architecture present among the diverse ethnic groups of sub-Sahara Africa continue to inform MacDonald's work on many levels. In his artist's statement, he proclaims "The principle concern of my art is the articulation of the magnificence and nobility of the human spirit; a celebration of my African heritage." For more than three decades, MacDonald has used clay to express these words through a significant body of work focusing on highly decorated utilitarian objects that have come to symbolize tremendous integrity and endurance.

MacDonald is recognized nationally not only for his master craftsmanship in ceramics but for his dedication as a mentor and teacher to a countless number of aspiring artists and students. Locally, he is a founding member of the Community Folk Art Center, an organization affiliated with Syracuse University's Department of African American Studies that aims to provide a space to engage artists from underrrepresented ethnic groups in Central New York. In addition, MacDonald is involved in many community activities including serving on the Everson's Collection Committee.

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

Anchor's Away
Satan's Closet + Oregon Fail

Price: $10 adults; $8 students
Jazz Central
441 E. Washington St., Syracuse

Summer is here, you better believe it. What better way to celebrate the season than to see two awesome improv teams come together and rock n' roll some sweet improv waves your way?

Syracuse Parks & Rec All Star Band
Syracuse Jazz Fest

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

The City of Syracuse Department of Parks & Recreation Stan Colella All Star Band performs under the direction of Joe Carello.

All-County High School All Star Jazz Band
Syracuse Jazz Fest

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

The All-County High School All Star Jazz Band performs under the direction of Steve Frank.

Felix Cavaliere's Rascals
Syracuse Jazz Fest

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

The Rascals ruled the airwaves during the late 60s with hits like "Good Lovin'," "Groovin'," "A Girl Like You," "A Beautiful Morning," and "People Got to Be Free," as they evolved from blue-eyed soul (a term coined to describe them) to pop psychedelia and jazz fusion.

Average White Band
Syracuse Jazz Fest

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

The Average White Band (AWB) is widely regarded as one of the best soul and funk bands in the history of music. Though perhaps best known for their timeless instrumental mega-hit "Pick Up the Pieces," the band's strength actually lay in their consistently accomplished song-writing, stretching across several gold selling albums and multi-Grammy nominations for the legendary Atlantic Records.

Robert Cray Band
Syracuse Jazz Fest

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

Five-time Grammy-winner Cray started playing guitar in his early teens. At Denbigh High School in Newport News, VA, his love of blues and soul music flourished as he started collecting records. Originally, he wanted to become an architect, but around the same time he began to study architectural design, he formed a local band "Steakface", described as "the best band from Lakewood you never heard of."

Conference of the Birds
Redhouse
Stephen Svoboda, director

Price: $30, includes champagne reception
Mandana Barn
1274 State Route 359 (Lacy Road), Skaneateles

Legendary stage director Peter Brook's provoking and exciting work, comes to life. A nation of birds is in crisis and, urged on by one of their flock, the Hoopee, they chart a path to find their king. Above all, the Hoopee is trying to help them conquer their fear of life as the stage becomes an astonishing aviary. Through masks, dance, and song this beautiful adaptation of the 12th-century poem comes to life in a magical evening of theatre.

In an inspiring act of innovation, Brook first toured Conference of the Birds throughout rural Africa before presenting two extremely successful productions to western audiences, one in New York City at La MaMa, E.T.C. and one in Paris. This production features a cast of seven professional actors as well as an all-star design team.

Arsenic and Old Lace
Appleseed Productions
Daniel Rowlands, director

Price: $18 regular; $15 students/seniors
Atonement Lutheran Church
116 W. Glen Ave., Syracuse

Welcome to the Brewster house, an old Victorian in Brooklyn, NY, home to the darling sisters, Abby and Martha -- two lovable and charitable spinsters. But this cheery home hides a dark and terrible secret. Is it their nephew who labors under the delusion that he is Theodore Roosevelt? Is it their other nephew, who bears a horrifying resemblance to Boris Karloff? Or is it the sisters themselves, and the fact that they have 12 "gentlemen" buried in their cellar? One thing is for certain, thrills and laughs a plenty are abundant in this delightful dark comedy. Written by Joseph Kesselring.

Read a review!

Leading Men Don't Dance
Salt City Center for the Performing Arts

Price: $22 regular, $20 seniors
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

Featuring Bob Brown, Gary Troy, Frank Fiumano, Richard Koons, and Bill Ali.

Tickets available by calling 315-479-7469.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The 2011 exhibition program will continue to highlight the talented artists of New York State through a series of focused exhibitions. The season opens with Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds, an exhibition featuring more than 100 original works of art that are seriously hilarious. The small-scale drawings depicting the comedic daily lives of humans and animals alike are all rendered by hand in a variety of media, an approach that is becoming increasing rare in a world of computer-generated images.

Dan Reynolds began drawing cartoons in 1989, when he was 30. As a youth center instructor, Reynolds was surrounded by youthful energy and creative minds. He was an avid follower of popular cartoons of the time, such as Gary Larson's Far Side and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. A native of Brewerton, NY, Reynolds was inspired by his Central New York surroundings, a place where snow is abundant and cows can be found just minutes from anywhere. From the beginning, Reynolds has used farm animals as messengers of humor, particularly cows, pigs and chickens, a series that was immediately accepted by Reader's Digest in 1989. A new cartoon has appeared in every issue since then. Reynolds' cartoons have also appeared in thematic Reynolds Unwrapped book compilations featuring everything from sports to holiday special editions. American Greetings and Recycled Greeting Cards also feature Reynolds cartoons on greeting cards for every occasion.

In 2008, Reynolds was diagnosed with testicular cancer and subsequently received months of chemotherapy. While he was in treatment, he began drawing cartoons about cancer and his personal experience which he found was shared by his fellow patients. He shared the cartoons with the staff and patients at the facility and discovered the power of art to bring humor to an otherwise humorless situation.

Read a review!

Still Life: Revisited
Everson Museum of Art

Price: Suggested donation $5 adults
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The current exhibition examines the influence of painting on photography within the still life genre. 19th- and 20th-century American paintings from the permanent collection will be on display with the work of contemporary photographers such as Sharon Core, Laura Letinsky, Paulette Tavormina, and D.W. Mellor, and Irving Penn. Daniel K. Tennant, a local still life painter and photographer will also be included.

Read a review!

The Power of Pattern: New Work by David MacDonald
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

David MacDonald's long awaited solo exhibition will open with an innovative body of work. The highlight of the exhibition will be a monumental work commissioned by the Everson in 2008 with funds donated by the Social Arts Club. Also on view will be several new figurative vessels, monumental in scale, and plates from the Divination Series. Recently retired from Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts where he taught ceramics for more than 37 years, MacDonald is now able to concentrate on a new body of work.

Early in his career, ceramic artist David MacDonald turned to his African heritage for inspiration in his work. The many examples of surface pattern and decoration found in textiles, utilitarian objects, body ornament and architecture present among the diverse ethnic groups of sub-Sahara Africa continue to inform MacDonald's work on many levels. In his artist's statement, he proclaims "The principle concern of my art is the articulation of the magnificence and nobility of the human spirit; a celebration of my African heritage." For more than three decades, MacDonald has used clay to express these words through a significant body of work focusing on highly decorated utilitarian objects that have come to symbolize tremendous integrity and endurance.

MacDonald is recognized nationally not only for his master craftsmanship in ceramics but for his dedication as a mentor and teacher to a countless number of aspiring artists and students. Locally, he is a founding member of the Community Folk Art Center, an organization affiliated with Syracuse University's Department of African American Studies that aims to provide a space to engage artists from underrrepresented ethnic groups in Central New York. In addition, MacDonald is involved in many community activities including serving on the Everson's Collection Committee.

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

The Human Condition: Works by Michael Sickler and Sean Turrell
Limestone Art and Framing Gallery

Limestone Art and Framing Gallery
105 Brooklea Dr., Fayetteville

Michael Sickler's new series of mixed media paintings are his interpretation of Franz Kafka's expressionistic novella, "Metamorphosis". The story, set in Russia, is about a young man who wakes up one morning transformed into a large insect. The story as Sickler has interpreted it deals with the main character's longing for human companionship in spite of his hideous malady. On a larger level, it speaks of how society banishes from sight the afflicted and the unknown, and serves as a metaphor or parable for the Human Condition.

Sean Turrell's wood sculptures have their origins in internal and external influences. Anatomy, emotional energy, gender, sex, and religious idioms form the basis of the work. The works in this show are from Turrell's "The Place Beyond the Pale" series. In leaving behind what may be considered acceptable societal constructs, the sculptures are Turrell's response to leaving his comfort zone. In his artist statement, Turrell describes the motivation in the works as, "Exploring feelings and emotions normally tucked away from the society and even the self." With Turrell's work, the viewer is presented with one artist's journey into the complexities of the Human Condition.

Immersed In Color
Szozda Gallery

Price: Free
Szozda Gallery
Delavan Center, 501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

A series of works primarily influenced by color rather than by subject matter, featuring the color-strong layering works of three women: Lydia Benscher's encaustics, Joyce Day Homan's watercolors and Carmel Nicoletti's kiln-formed glass.

Opening: Creation and Construction: Works of Janet Waters & Sharif Bey
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

There will be an opening reception today at noon.

CFAC is proud to be featuring the works of fiber artist Janet Waters and ceramist Sharif Bey for its summer exhibition.

Opening: The Art of Aging: Works by the Artists of SAGE Upstate
ArtRage Gallery

Price: Free
ArtRage Gallery
505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse

There will be an opening reception this afternoon 4:00-6:00 pm.

This exhibit features the work of aging lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) artists with pieces reflecting feelings about aging. The artists are participants in the Art of Aging, a program of SAGE Upstate, a non-profit serving aging LGBT people in Central New York. Participants in the program learned or honed skills in three creative arts: photography, creative writing, and pastels.

Participants learned about photography from Harry Freeman Jones, local artist and veteran LGBT activist. Playwright Kyle Bass, resident dramaturg at Syracuse Stage and two-time New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fellow led the course in creative writing. The course in pastels was taught by Wendy Harris, an award-winning artist whose work has been shown throughout Central New York.

Sarah Averill: North Side Residents
ArtRage Gallery

Price: Free
ArtRage Gallery
505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse

More than 70 of Sarah Averill's sepia-toned photographs of North Side residents will be on display.

Now and Then: Open Figure Drawing Group Exhibition 2011
XL Projects

Price: Free
XL Projects
307-313 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

New and past works created by artists from Open Figure Drawing, Syracuse's community-based drawing group for people of all abilities, are the subject of this exhibition. The Open Figure Drawing group offers an inexpensive drawing experience to members of the Syracuse community. Participants draw from unclothed models and can attend on a drop-in basis. They become part of a supportive artistic community that networks about exhibitions, workshops, grants and other related events.

For more information, visit www.openfiguredrawing.com or contact XL Projects at 315-442-2542 during gallery hours.

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

Dream Big Comedy Show

Price: $15
Jazz Central
441 E. Washington St., Syracuse

Comedian Anna Phillips is celebrating her anniversary in stand-up comedy. To honor her journey from an open mike performer to a performer at bars, colleges, and NYC comedy clubs, Anna will host a special night of comedy for her fans.

7:00 pm show features Anna Philips, with Freddie Sheffield, Brandon Dyer, and AJ Foster.
9:00 pm show stars Freddie Sheffield, with Seth Michel, T.Blunt, Machael Terry, and Jaxn

NOTE: Anna will be collecting canned goods at the door to support local food banks.

For more information, reservations, and tickets, contact 315-345-9669, e-mail annadreambig@gmail.com, or visit brownpapertickets.com

Dream Big Comedy Show

Price: $15
Jazz Central
441 E. Washington St., Syracuse

Comedian Anna Phillips is celebrating her anniversary in stand-up comedy. To honor her journey from an open mike performer to a performer at bars, colleges, and NYC comedy clubs, Anna will host a special night of comedy for her fans.

7:00 pm show features Anna Philips, with Freddie Sheffield, Brandon Dyer, and AJ Foster.
9:00 pm show stars Freddie Sheffield, with Seth Michel, T.Blunt, Machael Terry, and Jaxn

NOTE: Anna will be collecting canned goods at the door to support local food banks.

For more information, reservations, and tickets, contact 315-345-9669, e-mail annadreambig@gmail.com, or visit brownpapertickets.com

The OCC Jazz Band Meets The Steelheads
Syracuse Jazz Fest

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

The bands perform under the co-direction of Steve Frank and Jim Coviak.

Jazz Guitars Meet Hendrix
Syracuse Jazz Fest
Featuring Sheryl Bailey and Vic Juris

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

Sheryl's band mates in her Jazz Guitars Meet Hendrix project include legendary fellow NYC-based session guitarist Vic Juris, Brian Charette on Hammond B3 organ, Anthony Pinciotti on drums, and veteran jazz great Lincoln Goines on bass, comprising a true tribute to the Master from players that all love Jimi!

Al Chez and The Brothers of Funk Big Band
Syracuse Jazz Fest

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

Alan Chez joined the CBS Orchestra on Feb. 3, 1997, after years of sitting in on trumpet and flugelhorn, with Paul Shaffer on "Late Night with David Letterman" and the Late Show. Chez started his extensive music career at the age of 9 when he joined his father's local drum corps, the Saints.

Rod MacDonald, with Larry Hoyt
Westcott Community Center

Price: $12
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

Rod MacDonald, one of contemporary folk music's most respected and prolific singer/songwriters, returns to Central New York from his home in Florida. Opening the show will be veteran Syracuse-based folk musician Larry Hoyt.

MacDonald's most recent CD, "Songs of Freedom," produced by MacDonald and his long-time bassist, Mark Dann, contains 16 original songs that cover lyrical territory from the very personal ("When You Were Two") to the socially aware ("Google Me Baby") to the politically observant ("Springtime in America" and "Moron Radio").

This CD continues MacDonald's high-quality mix of intelligent, often humorous, lyrics with memorable ear-pleasing melodies. His best-known songs include "American Jerusalem," "Sailor's Prayer," and "White Buffalo," with several of his songs having been recorded by other prominent folk performers, such as Dave Van Ronk, Christine Lavin, and Garnet Rogers.

A major player in the Greenwich Village folk renaissance of the 1980s, MacDonald released his first album, "No Commercial Traffic" in 1983, followed by such critically-acclaimed records as "Highway to Nowhere" (1992) and "Into the Blue" (1999).

MacDonald has performed many times in Central New York over the past three decades and has built up a solid base of fans and friends who appreciate his honest, insightful, clever songwriting and clear musical style.

Opening the show in a rare solo performance is singer/songwriter Larry Hoyt, known to many Central New York folk fans for performances with his group, The Good Acoustics, and for hosting the folk radio show, Common Threads, on WAER-FM.

Return To Forever IV
Syracuse Jazz Fest
Featuring Chick Corea, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke

Price: Free
Jazz Fest Main Stage (Jamesville Beach)
Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville

Originally, the tours planned to feature the electric music from RTF's classic Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. But as the guys got together, rehearsed and threw ideas around, a new game plan emerged: include songs from the entire RTF songbook, add highlights from each of the players' careers, and include new material specifically written for this version of the band.

Snow White
Magic Circle Children's Theatre

Price: $5
Spaghetti Warehouse
689 N. Clinton St., Syracuse

Interactive retelling of the classic children's story.

Arsenic and Old Lace
Appleseed Productions
Daniel Rowlands, director

Price: $18 regular; $15 students/seniors
Atonement Lutheran Church
116 W. Glen Ave., Syracuse

Welcome to the Brewster house, an old Victorian in Brooklyn, NY, home to the darling sisters, Abby and Martha -- two lovable and charitable spinsters. But this cheery home hides a dark and terrible secret. Is it their nephew who labors under the delusion that he is Theodore Roosevelt? Is it their other nephew, who bears a horrifying resemblance to Boris Karloff? Or is it the sisters themselves, and the fact that they have 12 "gentlemen" buried in their cellar? One thing is for certain, thrills and laughs a plenty are abundant in this delightful dark comedy. Written by Joseph Kesselring.

Read a review!

Leading Men Don't Dance
Salt City Center for the Performing Arts

Price: $22 regular, $20 seniors
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

Featuring Bob Brown, Gary Troy, Frank Fiumano, Richard Koons, and Bill Ali.

Tickets available by calling 315-479-7469.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Jeffrey Henson Scales: That Year of Living
Light Work Gallery

Price: Free
Light Work Gallery
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

That Year of Living features stunning black-and-white photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales. Diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Scales was forced to, in his words, weigh the possibilities of his own demise, and whether he had achieved what he felt he was put here to do. It was this diagnosis and contemplation, along with the urging of his wife, Meg Henson Scales, which led him to return to making photographs on a daily basis.

The images in That Year of Living were made in the year following his cancer diagnosis and surgery. Scales photographed mainly in and around Times Square, depicting the part of New York City that he visited every day going to and from work at The New York Times. The images capture the certain hardness mixed with joy, sadness, determination and bewilderment that is found in the faces of young and old alike in New York City. Created in the months following his own experience with mortality, the photographs explore the journey of life and death found in the faces on the streets of New York.

Immersed In Color
Szozda Gallery

Price: Free
Szozda Gallery
Delavan Center, 501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

A series of works primarily influenced by color rather than by subject matter, featuring the color-strong layering works of three women: Lydia Benscher's encaustics, Joyce Day Homan's watercolors and Carmel Nicoletti's kiln-formed glass.

The Dragonfly Garden
Gallery 54

Price: Free
Gallery 54
54 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Featuring dragonfly-themed pieces for your garden and beyond by members of Gallery 54.

Georg Schwartz Exhibition
Imagine

Price: Free
Imagine
38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles

Paintings by Georg Schwartz, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark now living in Johnson City, will be featured. Schwartz has had one show in New York City and several in the Southern Tier; this is his first in Onondaga County.

Schwartz began sketching for fun in 1971, exhibited in a few shows, and then took a not-so-brief hiatus, returning to painting more than 30 years later. In 2004 he was one of nine artists featured in the "Scandinavian Dreams" exhibit at the Avenue Art Gallery in Endicott -- one of the largest-ever gatherings of Scandinavian artists in the Northeast. It served as the springboard for his career. Schwartz calls his paintings "abstract" and "classic abstract," which he describes as "work with a feel of the 1920s and 1930s." He creates not only his own genre, but also his own mediums and colors.

The Power of Pattern: New Work by David MacDonald
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

David MacDonald's long awaited solo exhibition will open with an innovative body of work. The highlight of the exhibition will be a monumental work commissioned by the Everson in 2008 with funds donated by the Social Arts Club. Also on view will be several new figurative vessels, monumental in scale, and plates from the Divination Series. Recently retired from Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts where he taught ceramics for more than 37 years, MacDonald is now able to concentrate on a new body of work.

Early in his career, ceramic artist David MacDonald turned to his African heritage for inspiration in his work. The many examples of surface pattern and decoration found in textiles, utilitarian objects, body ornament and architecture present among the diverse ethnic groups of sub-Sahara Africa continue to inform MacDonald's work on many levels. In his artist's statement, he proclaims "The principle concern of my art is the articulation of the magnificence and nobility of the human spirit; a celebration of my African heritage." For more than three decades, MacDonald has used clay to express these words through a significant body of work focusing on highly decorated utilitarian objects that have come to symbolize tremendous integrity and endurance.

MacDonald is recognized nationally not only for his master craftsmanship in ceramics but for his dedication as a mentor and teacher to a countless number of aspiring artists and students. Locally, he is a founding member of the Community Folk Art Center, an organization affiliated with Syracuse University's Department of African American Studies that aims to provide a space to engage artists from underrrepresented ethnic groups in Central New York. In addition, MacDonald is involved in many community activities including serving on the Everson's Collection Committee.

Still Life: Revisited
Everson Museum of Art

Price: Suggested donation $5 adults
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The current exhibition examines the influence of painting on photography within the still life genre. 19th- and 20th-century American paintings from the permanent collection will be on display with the work of contemporary photographers such as Sharon Core, Laura Letinsky, Paulette Tavormina, and D.W. Mellor, and Irving Penn. Daniel K. Tennant, a local still life painter and photographer will also be included.

Read a review!

Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds
Everson Museum of Art

Price: $5 suggested donation
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The 2011 exhibition program will continue to highlight the talented artists of New York State through a series of focused exhibitions. The season opens with Reynolds Unwrapped: The Cartoon Art of Dan Reynolds, an exhibition featuring more than 100 original works of art that are seriously hilarious. The small-scale drawings depicting the comedic daily lives of humans and animals alike are all rendered by hand in a variety of media, an approach that is becoming increasing rare in a world of computer-generated images.

Dan Reynolds began drawing cartoons in 1989, when he was 30. As a youth center instructor, Reynolds was surrounded by youthful energy and creative minds. He was an avid follower of popular cartoons of the time, such as Gary Larson's Far Side and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. A native of Brewerton, NY, Reynolds was inspired by his Central New York surroundings, a place where snow is abundant and cows can be found just minutes from anywhere. From the beginning, Reynolds has used farm animals as messengers of humor, particularly cows, pigs and chickens, a series that was immediately accepted by Reader's Digest in 1989. A new cartoon has appeared in every issue since then. Reynolds' cartoons have also appeared in thematic Reynolds Unwrapped book compilations featuring everything from sports to holiday special editions. American Greetings and Recycled Greeting Cards also feature Reynolds cartoons on greeting cards for every occasion.

In 2008, Reynolds was diagnosed with testicular cancer and subsequently received months of chemotherapy. While he was in treatment, he began drawing cartoons about cancer and his personal experience which he found was shared by his fellow patients. He shared the cartoons with the staff and patients at the facility and discovered the power of art to bring humor to an otherwise humorless situation.

Read a review!

Now and Then: Open Figure Drawing Group Exhibition 2011
XL Projects

Price: Free
XL Projects
307-313 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

New and past works created by artists from Open Figure Drawing, Syracuse's community-based drawing group for people of all abilities, are the subject of this exhibition. The Open Figure Drawing group offers an inexpensive drawing experience to members of the Syracuse community. Participants draw from unclothed models and can attend on a drop-in basis. They become part of a supportive artistic community that networks about exhibitions, workshops, grants and other related events.

For more information, visit www.openfiguredrawing.com or contact XL Projects at 315-442-2542 during gallery hours.

Jaume Ferrete: four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages
Urban Video Project

Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

UVP Annual Summer Review. In "four strategies, an idea, a text and two messages" (2 min loop), Jaume Ferrete revised an existing "four strategies" text work specifically with UVP and the Syracuse Stage location in mind. While the prior version was written for ink on paper, in this version Ferrete writes for LED panel on architectural facade, investigating the technical and political structures surrounding the UVP platform. The new work continues his use of minimal and open-ended texts that imply a discursive relationship with the audience, yet remain aloof and non-prescriptive.

UVP Annual Summer Review: Althea Thauberger
Urban Video Project

Everson Museum of Art Plaza
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

The Bear, 2007 (7 min loop)
not afraid to die, 2008 (15 min loop)

For the second two weekends of June, Light Work and Urban Video Project will present two works by the artist Althea Thauberger.

"The Bear," set in Thauberger's native British Columbia, is an illustration of the way banality intrudes into our fantasies about nature. We see the knotted roots of a tree in the Canadian Rainforest, and a black bear wandering in and out of the scene. An alert viewer will begin to suspect that something is amiss: see if you can figure out the secret of Thauberger's "The Bear."

"not afraid to die," shot on location in the Northwest Rainforest Diorama of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria (a reconstruction of the kind of forest which surrounds the city of Victoria), depicts a Gore-Tex clad girl alternatively waiting and snacking. Like The Bear, "not afraid to die" calls into question our relationship to nature and its inherent pleasures and dangers.

Curious About Cuba Film Festival
ArtRage Gallery

Price: Sliding scale $2-$25
ArtRage Gallery
505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse

6:00 pm: Organic Farming in Cuba
7:10 pm: Discussion and food
7:30 pm: ¡Salud! (edited 30-minute version) Cuba's unique public health system.
8:00 pm: Discussion with Maddie Greacen: Cuban Doctors Worldwide
8:30 pm: Curious about Cuba: The Museums of Havana (Great Museums)
9:30 pm: Conclusion

For film descriptions please visit www.artragegallery.org/cuban-films.
Admission includes food (including vegetarian).

Theater Organist Donnie Rankin
Syracuse Wurlitzer

Price: $15 adults, $2 children
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

Donnie Rankin first took an interest in the theatre organ at the tender age of three when he first heard the sounds of the Mighty Wurlitzer at the Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio. Following that initial introduction to the king of Instruments, he frequently played on his great-grandfather's home organ. In 2000 Donnie acquired an instrument and began taking formal lessons. Classical piano training followed in 2005, and his budding talent quickly blossomed into first rate musicianship. Since then, Donnie has won several organ competitions and awards, including being named the overall winner of the American Theatre Organ Society's Young Theatre Organist Competition in 2007. Donnie began studying with noted organist Jelani Eddington in September 2007. Since that time, Donnie has performed for theatre organ audiences from coast to coast. He resides in Ravenna, Ohio, and is a staff organist at the Civic Theatre in nearby Akron -- playing the very same organ he first heard when he was three years old.

Arsenic and Old Lace
Appleseed Productions
Daniel Rowlands, director

Price: $18 regular; $15 students/seniors
Atonement Lutheran Church
116 W. Glen Ave., Syracuse

Welcome to the Brewster house, an old Victorian in Brooklyn, NY, home to the darling sisters, Abby and Martha -- two lovable and charitable spinsters. But this cheery home hides a dark and terrible secret. Is it their nephew who labors under the delusion that he is Theodore Roosevelt? Is it their other nephew, who bears a horrifying resemblance to Boris Karloff? Or is it the sisters themselves, and the fact that they have 12 "gentlemen" buried in their cellar? One thing is for certain, thrills and laughs a plenty are abundant in this delightful dark comedy. Written by Joseph Kesselring.

Read a review!