“Azure”

Visit show: September 20 – October 16

Chroma Fine Art Gallery features the work of three artists who unite color, form and rhythm – Brucelli, Rita Maas and Bernard Mindich. The exhibition, titled Azure, pays homage to a hue favored by these three – the sumptuously evocative blue of a cloudless sky.

The idea for the exhibition was born several months ago at Catherine H. boutique in downtown Katonah. There, curator Rita Baunok was struck by a painting of a woman’s hands caressing long, dense cascades of cream and blue fabric that part to reveal tan sneakers. When Baunok learned that the painter of Walking the Edge was Brucelli (a friend of the boutique owner), introductions were made and a collaboration began. Baunok crafted the exhibition around this painting’s special qualities: its rhythmic forms, nuanced color, simplicity, and the exquisitely-rendered weight of the fabric’s folds. Its blend of alchemy and allure are reflected in the works by the two other invited artists Rita Mass and Bernard Mindich.

Rita Maas is a Hudson Valley-based artist who works in photography, drawing and printmaking. Her prints on view at Chroma ripple with a rhythmic visual vocabulary, something akin to a painterly morse code. Her practice investigates how the human eye and brain receive, filter and retain information. And since she has a special interest in the areas of slippage and illegibility, the negative space in her prints is as ripe and meaningful as the marks themselves.

Bernard Mindich spent the majority of his career as a street photography. When Covid isolated him indoors, he began to create small sculptures of everyday items including crumpled paper, torn strips of aluminum, and orange peels. He was fascinated by, “the endless variety and complexity of the shapes” he could create. The sculptures were also scalable, so he started working with large sheets of aluminum roof flashing. The wrinkles, dimples and crinkles that comprise his work contain a softness and delicacy that belies their hard metal surface.

Delah Brucelli is a British-born, classically-trained painter whose works are characterized by her dynamic internal energy, intuition and passion for color. She’s been active across a range of creative media, and past pursuits include photography, fashion, beauty, style and travel. For the Azure exhibition, Brucelli created a new body of work in response to Chroma’s unique space, clientele and positive energy. “It’s a thrill; I love Rita Baunok’s aesthetic! She is a talented photographer and an astute curator – we clicked immediately!”