This month’s offerings include debut of month-long Fashion as Art village-wide exhibition
By Alison Rooney
Last month, the coalescing of activities in Cold Spring to form a First Friday collection gained traction with events and receptions held at the Putnam History Museum, Gallery 66 NY and the Marina Gallery. This idea of synchronizing rather than separating events, designed to attract a swathe of visitors who linger, shop, wine and dine as they sample all or part of them, has proven popular elsewhere, including Beacon, where Second Saturdays are now a major tourist draw.
Barbara Galazzo, who runs Gallery 66 NY and has been instrumental in the drive for First Friday, said that they have “progressively been getting more people” on the day each month. “They really are interested in going to more than one place — making a night of it,” she said.
This fall, World’s End Theater (WET), which has been presenting 20th-Century Classic play readings monthly at the Philpstown.info space at 69 Main, will join in on First Fridays, scheduling their performances accordingly.
For June, Gallery 66 NY is teaming up with fashion boutique Art to Wear Too to launch a month-long town-wide exhibit called Fashion as Art. Along with traditional gallery exhibitions related to the theme, they have knocked on doors at most local businesses seeking everyday objects that will be repurposed as fashion by the creative minds of local teenagers and Marilyn Heberling, doyenne of Art to Wear Too.
Think taking dust masks, sandpaper and wire from C&E Paints and Hardware and making bustiers out of them, for example; or colored incense from Archipelago morphing into collars; leashes from Reigning Dogs and Cats Too turned into belts. “We’ll see what we come up with when I start working with the kids,” said Heberling. Younger students are getting into the mix, working with Haldane elementary art teacher Jean Cendali to fashion dog hats.
Thus far 48 businesses have signed on, either donating goods or exhibiting the creations (20 windows’ worth), which will be displayed not only in storefronts, but inside, suspended from ceilings, on counters, walls, dowels and on the floors in local establishments. Businesses were offered the opportunity to create their own designs or have the Fashion as Art team come in and do it for them. Cards at each display will identify both donor and artist.
The idea for all of this began with one part of Gallery 66 NY’s June exhibit: a drawing by Robert Hermann, who was an illustrator for Lord & Taylor for years. “I thought it would be cool to have Marilyn do something too,” said Galazzo.
Heberling ran with the idea. “My theory is the more people you involve, the better; let’s expand and get more exposure.”
The balance of Gallery 66 NY’s exhibition will broadly tie in as well, with Mitsu Miyawaki’s handpainted kimonos and obis; shoe illustrations by Roger Derrick; fashion dolls from Italy; and photographs by Edward Yashen, an artist from Ukraine whose focus is architectural scenes contrasted with women dressed fashionably. In larger exhibits within the space, Rebecca Darlington’s Birthing Beauty will feature 20 busts made out of clear cast resin, depicting the balancing acts women face. In Frederick Wardy’s Color, Line and Motion, abstract, expressionist gouache on paper and acrylic on canvas works radiate strong color. Wardy’s sculpture, made from twigs and plaster, will also be on display.
The Marina Gallery, 153 Main St., will also open their doors on First Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. with a reception for Martee Levi’s exhibition, The Spirit of Color. Levi describes herself as an artist with a mission. She stated, “I see my work as celebrating life and its many varying possibilities.” Levi finds inspiration in the works of Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Paul Cezanne and Kurt Schwitters. Her work also draws from her Native American heritage, an earlier career as a jazz dancer and her love of all forms of music.
Fashion as Art will remain on display all over town throughout June. Two fashion shows will be part of the festivities. June 23, Living Sculpture, at Gallery 66 NY, will send just that down the runway, with one artist making creations out of burlap coffee sacks from Cup-o-ccino Café. There will be edible hats, an unusual wedding dress and an outfit made of glass. Skybaby Studio will host the second, Drawn to Fashion, June 29. Performance artist Jaanika Peerna will create a work by actually drawing on a live model amidst a showing of fashions from Indigo Chic, Hudson Valley Outfitters and Art to Wear Too.
Fashion as Art will open with a reception Friday, June 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Gallery 66 NY, 66 Main St. in Cold Spring. For more information, visit gallery66ny.com.
