“Natural Surroundings,” a group exhibit at the Edgewood Gallery, is built on artists’
interpretations of nature. Not every artwork references nature, but the heart of the show
is clearly pieces depicting trees and fields, marshes, hillsides and birds. The exhibition
displays oil paintings by Rob Glisson and Diane Menzies, Sallie Thompson’s ceramics
and Sam Graceffo’s metalsmith jewelry.
Glisson has long worked in a predominantly abstract vein, with his oils offering
impressions of Central New York landscapes and occasionally scenes from Cape Cod.
The paintings at Edgewood don’t have the explosive colors that appeared in his pieces
just a few years ago. However, that shift does nothing to diminish the quality of his oils.
He’s still a talented visual interpreter.
“Transitions,” for example, moves from a large expense of sky to a road, hillside and
farmhouse.
And “Play of Light,” the best of his paintings in the current show, is large and ambitious.
It integrates a detail like a orange color of a small barn roof into a sweeping landscape.
In addition, it offers viewers a journey across a valley, including hillsides that play a key
role. Glisson is able to depict hills in a visually intriguing manner.
That painting isn’t a template for the painter. Other works include “Reflections,” with
thick brush strokes generating green color; “Reveal,” with its pockets of color; and
“Cape View,” focusing on three sailboats just off shore. Each boat is rendered in the
context of one detail: the mast. It stands upright, seems to resemble a pen or pencil,
and documents Glisson’s ability to offer his own take on a subject.
He’s shown his paintings both at Central New York venues such as Fenimore Art
Museum in Cooperstown and Auburn’s Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, and at out-of-
town galleries. He’s taken part in shows at Exhibit A, located in Corning; the Novado
Gallery in Jersey City, N.J.; and the Alden Gallery in Provincetown, MA.
Menzies, meanwhile, has 20 paintings on display, providing full exposure for her work.
She creates small paintings like “Crow with Leaves” and large works like “After the
Storm Passed,” It captures a dark sky and also portrays hills and trees. The oil
communicates on an emotional level, conveying a sense of brooding, of challenging
times.
In a second painting, “Three Crows with Birch,” the artist doesn’t merely depict three
crows sitting on branches. There’s a contrast of colors involving black birds, birch trees
with white bark, and orange-colored leaves. Beyond that, the overall scene is nicely
portrayed.
Menzies also demonstrates a fine eye for detail in small paintings such as “Vernal Pond”
and “Stream Meander” in which she provides an interesting view of a marsh. Look for
the painting “Two Crows in Gold Field.”
She’s a veteran artist whose works have been hung at Syracuse=area galleries such as
ArtRage and the Gandee Gallery, and at the Rochester Memorial Art Museum and the
Karen Ruhlen Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
A third artist, Sallie Thompson, has a selection of ceramic pieces on display, documenting
her love for nature, and sense of imagination.
Indeed, her artworks range from stand-alone, tiny sculptures depicting birds to a
pumpkin-shaped vessel with a bird atop it, from works depicting fishes to vessels
inscribed with leaves.
Her pieces, all untitled, include vases, cups and stacks of small objects which hang
together and are decorated with stripes and other patterns. In one instance, seven
forms are joined together in a stack; in another, it’s a series of five objects. Each form
has its own color and design, making the stacks visually interesting.
Thompson clearly likes birds and portrays them in various formats.
This month, she has had two opportunities to display her works: at Edgewood; in a solo
exhibition at Clayscapes, 1003 W. Fayette St. The latter show opened on May 8.
Finally, Graceffo makes rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. He works with sterling
silver in many of his creations but has also utilized copper and recycled bits of gold.
“Natural Surroundings” is on display through June 20 at Edgewood, 216 Tecumseh Rd.
The gallery is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays
from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Admissions is free.
Fore more information, call 315-445-8111 or access edegewoodartandframe.com.
Carl Mellor covered visual arts for the Syracuse New Times from 1994 through 2019.
He continues to write about artists and exhibits in the Syracuse area.