Works by Cold Spring’s Hillsley and Draper featured at bau
By Christine Simek
Award-winning Nuyorican poet Edwin Torres will present The Poem Is Alive at Beacon Yoga Center, 464 Main St., during this month’s Second Saturday celebration in Beacon. “Nuyorican” is a term that refers to a person of Puerto Rican birth or descent who is raised and/or lives in New York City.
Torres, who currently lives with his family in Beacon, is looking forward to the performance. He said, “Poetry is a living breath in each of us. I’m hoping to present to the audience the range of that breath in my life — to see how language in performance can connect us, how the living poem is a journey we can all relate to.”
Torres uses sound, media and improvisation to create multi-experiential performances that elevate poetry beyond language. He has collaborated with artists in a variety of media and was featured on the Spoken Word edition of the series MTV Unplugged.
As a member of Real Live Poetry (formerly Nuyorican Poets Café Live), Torres has led workshops and performed in the United States and abroad. He also created a performance group called Poets Neurotica. His work has appeared in many anthologies and he has published 6 books of poetry, including Yes Thing No Thing (Roof Books) and One Night: Poems for the Sleepy (Red Glass Books). Saturday’s performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Call 347-489-8406 for reservations.
bau gallery, 506 Main St., will feature the Cold Spring husband-and-wife artist team Marnie Hillsley and Simon Draper and their current work: Collage, Collaboration and Co-Habitation: A Decade of Art-Making in the Hudson Valley.
Over 10 years ago Hillsley and Draper moved to the Hudson Valley from New York City and quickly found themselves immersed in a creative community that served to support them, both personally and in their art. “Community is important,” said Draper. “The artist does not work in isolation, but outwardly mirrors and inwardly reflects upon the issues and the context in which he or she lives.”
Hillsley and Draper’s community involvement has ranged from teaching in their son’s art class at school to arranging extensive interactive public installations. “It was all about examining the role of the artist in a community, not just having a studio and maybe showing work locally,” said Hillsley.
Trained as object-based artists, Hillsley and Draper’s work has evolved into a personal and social practice with the growth of their Habitat for Artists Project (HFA). Their current work incorporates an assorted mix of drawings, prints and sculpture from the past decade. The exhibit will shown in bau’s Beacon Room gallery. The opening reception will be held from 6 – 9 p.m. Admission is free.
bau gallery will also feature the work of Jesse M. Kahn. Transformations is Kahn’s meditation on gender, beauty and drag. Paying homage to Boy George, Annie Lennox, Leigh Bowery and the New Wave movment of the ’80s, Kahn presents himself in a suite of life-sized portraits. Opening reception 6 – 9 p.m., free.
Gallery openings
Hudson Beach Glass, 162 Main St., and Van Brunt Projects present Laura Gurton’s Recent Paintings. Opening reception 6 – 9 p.m., free.
Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries Gallery, 199 Main St., presents the work of Robin Dana. Her photography exhibit, Watershed: How Industry Has Changed the Water of the World, is a collection of images from the Hudson River, the Potomac River and other watersheds around the world. Opening reception 5 – 7 p.m., free.
RiverWinds Gallery, 172 Main St., presents Evening Light, oil paintings by Linda Puiatti. Artist reception 5 – 8 p.m., free.
Kunsthalle Beacon (KuBe) at the Jerome A. Cohen and Joan Lebold Cohen Art Center, 211 Fishlike Ave., presents Home Coming, a group art exhibit featuring Isaac Aden, Joseph Ayers, Sean Breault, Joan Lebold Cohen, Steven Dickens, Corie Durkin, Tess Elliot, Ronnie Farley, Alison Fishburn, Ricardo Fuentes, Elia Gurna, Shaqe Kalaj, Steve Lambert, Adrianna Mateo, Karlos Carcamo, Aya Uekawa and Susan Walsh. Opening reception 5:30 – 8 p.m.; free. Violinist Adrianna Mateo will perform at 7 p.m.
Theo Ganz Studio, 149 Main St., presents a group exhibit titled Elegy, featuring artists Joseph Ayers, Kurtis Brand, Lisa Breznak, Cathy Cook, John Ebbert, Tatana Kellner, Jaanika Peerna, David Provan and Jackie Skrzynski. Artworks address the human condition and its relationship and connection to the natural world. Screenings of the documentary Immortal Cupboard, Cathy Cook’s consideration of the poet Lorine Niedecker, will be held on weekends for the duration of the exhibit. Opening reception 6 – 8 p.m., free. Film screenings 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, free. Closing-day readings, songs of remembrance, eulogy, elegy will take place at 2 p.m. on April 7.
Matteawan Gallery, 453 Main St., presents its inaugural show Timelines, featuring the work of Matt Frieburghaus, Richard Kroehling, Jaanika Peerna and Susan Walsh. Opening reception 6 – 9 p.m., free.
X on Main, 159 Main St., presents The P Word (Painting, Photography, Paste), with Rick Rogers and Catello Somma. Also featuring new work by Domenico Belli. 6 p.m.; free.
Dia:Beacon, 3 Beekman St., offers a public tour at 1 p.m. and a gallery talk featuring Randall Edwards on Michael Heizer at 2 p.m. Both events are free with museum admission.
Music and dance
Bank Square Coffeehouse, 129 Main St., will host Octomen, a three-piece surf rock band from Beacon. Band members Mark Pisanelli (drums), Josh Stark (bass) and Rattlesnake Ralph (guitar) draw inspiration from punk, metal and early rock ’n‘ roll. 7 – 9 p.m.; no cover charge but tips appreciated.
Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main St., is hosting a square dance featuring music by Devil’s Box and caller Liz Slade. Squares, big circle dances and contra dances from the southern mountains will be featured. No partners needed; beginners welcome. 8 – 10:30 p.m., tickets $10.
Food and drink
Artisan Wine Shop, 180 Main St., will hold a wine tasting. 3 – 6 p.m.
The Hop Beacon, 458 Main St., will hold a Harpoon Brewery Tap Takeover. Saturday hours noon – 11 p.m.
Ongoing exhibits
Mad Dooley Gallery, 197 Main St., presents Family, a group exhibit featuring the art of Theresa Gooby, Patricia Reller, Sharon Watts and Catherine Welshman.
