“The Natural World,” on display at the Edgewood Gallery, features an array of artworks referencing nature. The show presents 34 of Alan Hart’s photo-realistic acrylic paintings, a selection of Satina Tseng’s ceramic pieces mimicking nature, and Sylvia Hayes McKean’s multi- media jewelry.
Hart has had varied experiences over the years. In the 1970s, he worked as a research assistant and scientific illustrator. Since 1987, he’s been a full-time wildlife artist. He’s shown his work at Edgewood and other galleries and has had it appear in publications such as “Nature” magazine and “Natural History” magazine. And he’s traveled abroad; he took a trip to the Serengeti Plains in Africa.
The Edgewood exhibit documents his ability to depict various creatures in fine detail, to create artworks that easily hold a viewer’s attention. Within the show, we see subjects ranging from a pileated woodpecker to a Hawaiian snail, from a zebra to a male African Goliath beetle. There’s a brook trout, portrayed in rich colors, and an owl, as seen in “Lord of the Pasture.” And the artist captures wildlife in various environments: the pileated woodpecker on an American elm tree, the owl in a field, the skull of a female black bear no longer roaming the earth.
In addition, he explores themes like the relationship between humans and other creatures. One work remembers the passenger pigeon which once existed in great numbers in the United States; it’s estimated that well over one billion of the pigeons lived in the USA in 1860. However, Martha, the last of her species, died in a Cincinnati zoo in 1914, and the passenger pigeon was declared extinct.
Beyond that, Hart creates works that are delightful to look at. Don’t miss his pieces depicting a cardinal and a red-tailed hawk.
Tseng, meanwhile, creates ceramic artworks embracing nature. For example, she made a large teapot evoking a tree. It combines the shape of a tree trunk, branches and other aspects of a
tree such as knots. This is just one of several vessels referring to trees. Her interest in nature emerges in other works. One piece portrays a duck; another depicts a starfish. The latter piece is pretty and nicely detailed.
The artist also created a memory box which holds ceramic versions of an egg, a shell, a leaf and other forms. It’s worth noting that her work is influenced by traditional Chinese ceramics.
Finally, Sylvia Hayes McKean is a metalsmith who works with sterling silver and with copper, brass and other stones. She creates necklaces, earrings and other jewelry. In the Edgewood exhibition, she has several pieces evoking nature. One necklace, for example, incorporates the shape of a spider web; a second necklace references a butterfly.
“The Natural World” is on display through August 8, 2025 at the Edgewood Gallery, 216 Tecumseh Rd. The gallery is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information, access edgewoodartandframe.com
Carl Mellor covered visual arts for the Syracuse New Times from 1994 through 2019. He continues to write about exhibitions and artists in the Syracuse area.