50+ Artist-Made Chairs on View at ArtsWestchester’s Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Diana Costello
Thompson & Bender
914-762-1900
diana@thompson-bender.com

50+ Artist-Made Chairs on View at ArtsWestchester’s Gallery in White Plains
October 1 – October 19, 2019

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (August 13, 2019) – ArtsWestchester announced today the list of 50+ contemporary artists who will be exhibiting artwork as part of a fall exhibition exploring the creativity, forms and art of seating. At center stage in ArtsWestchester’s latest exhibit entitled, The Chair Show is the chair, endlessly recast as luxurious or austere, regal or intimate, straightforward or ironic. Chairs give shape to the ways in which we rest and recreate ourselves in private, or inhabit ‘seats of power’ in public. As supporting players of day-to-day existence, focal points of ceremonies, or revered objects of spiritual and sacred spaces, chairs are invested with diverse meanings and purposes.

The familiarity and suggestive associations of chairs make them attractive subjects for many contemporary artists. Some artist create aesthetically compelling utilitarian objects, while others have all but gutted the old Bauhaus directive of ‘form follows function.’

What is it about chairs and seating that inspires so many different forms and materials? Janet T. Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester explains, “Chairs are dependable, familiar, everyday objects, but many artists in our show are looking at chairs as if for the first time. Our open call was met with overwhelming response from regional artists and designers working in different media. You’ll see three-dimensional works made from carved, bent or painted wood; metals, fabrics, and various recycled materials; paintings, photographs, and video and multi-media installations.” She continues, “Some artists play with size, scale and unexpected proportions and shapes; some use the chair as a canvas on which to paint and conjure a whole world, either familiar or imaginary.”

The Chair Show, on view in ArtsWestchester’s Gallery through October 19, 2019, includes sculptural, conceptual, functional and dysfunctional forms of seating, as well as paintings and installations inspired by chairs. The works, chosen by an open call and curatorial invitation, represent more than 50 artists from the regional artistic community. (See list below.)

Group Tours: Curator and docent tours of The Chair Show are available for groups of six or more. For more information, or to book your group tour, please contact Gallery Curator Amy Kurlander at akurlander@ArtsWestchester.org. Suggested donation: $10/person

Special Public Events:

Exhibition Opening Reception: Saturday, September 28, 2019, 3-5pm
Preview The Chair Show, meet exhibiting artists and enjoy light bites and beverages.
Donations welcome. RSVP* encouraged to Lhanley@artswestchester.org

Gallery Nite Out: Happy Hour & Gallery Tour
Thursday, October 10, 2019, 5:30-7:30pm
Take a look at The Chair Show after hours during a curator’s tour and artist talk. This event is part of Gallery Nite Out, a series of artistic and engaging networking events in ArtsWestchester’s downtown White Plains gallery.
Purchase tickets at artsw.org/galleryniteout

The Chair Show Exhibiting Artists Include:

Orpheus Acosta • Michael Amato • Marta Baumiller • Ada Blecher • Amanda Browder • April Chong • B.A. D’Alessandro • Dale Douglas • Joseph M. Dunn • James Fawcett • Jude Ferencz • Christopher Flick • Betsy Gorman • Rose Jennifer Griffin • Carmella Gullo • Leah Harper • Susan Rowe Harrison • Sarah Haviland • Asher Israelow • Jeff Johnson • Amanda Kelly • Simone Kestelman • Ann Ladd • Terence Main • Rebecca Major • Kim Markel • Wendy Naidich • Manny Ofori • Ernie Palmieri • Mary Tooley Parker • Anton Pollard • Carl Rattner • Marilyn Richeda • RockPaperRobot • Dyan Rosenberg • Alexander Rutsch • Reinaldo Sanguino • Scott Seaboldt • Joel Sherry • Selene Smerling • Carol Perron Sommerfield • Cassie Hyde Strasser • Peter Strasser • Lee Christine Tyler • Rochelle Udell • Les Von Losberg • Hanna Washburn • Kristen Wentrcek & Andrew Zebulon • Anna West • Thomas Wetzel • Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong • Win Zibeon

*list in formation

About ArtsWestchester

For over 50 years ArtsWestchester has been the community’s connection to the arts. Founded in 1965 it is the largest private not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to provide leadership vision and support to ensure the availability accessibility and diversity of the arts. ArtsWestchester provides programs and services that enrich the lives of everyone in Westchester County. ArtsWestchester helps fund concerts exhibitions and plays through grants; brings artists into schools and community centers; advocates for the arts; and builds audiences through diverse marketing initiatives. In 1998 ArtsWestchester purchased the nine-story neo-classical bank building at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue which has since been transformed into a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations and the community. A two-story gallery is located on the first floor of ArtsWestchester’s historic building on Mamaroneck Avenue.

About ArtsWestchester

For more than 50 years, ArtsWestchester has been the community’s connection to the arts. Founded in 1965, it is the largest, private, not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to provide leadership, vision, and support, to ensure the availability, accessibility, and diversity of the arts. ArtsWestchester provides programs and services that enrich the lives of everyone in Westchester County. ArtsWestchester helps fund concerts, exhibitions and plays through grants; brings artists into schools and community centers; advocates for the arts; and builds audiences through diverse marketing initiatives. In 1998, ArtsWestchester purchased the nine-story neo-classical bank building at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue which has since been transformed into a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations, and the community. A two-story gallery is located on the first floor of ArtsWestchester’s historic building on Mamaroneck Avenue.