Keeping It Real

Artist league’s Beacon exhibit guaranteed authentic

The art world’s AI problem stretches beyond the frame because the abuse of Photoshop is difficult to determine and software that mimics the act of painting is becoming more sophisticated.

In November, The American Artists Professional League discovered that a piece in its 96th Grand National Exhibition in Manhattan consisted of too many pixels and not enough paint.

In response, the League deployed detection software to ensure that none of the 85 small works on display at its Realism on the Hudson exhibit at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon is tainted by algorithms. The show, which includes pieces by artists in 28 states, represents a master class in composition and technique.

The Howland partnership came about after Westchester County resident and League president Aki Kano displayed two watercolors at the Bannerman Island Gallery on Main Street in April 2023. She asked Laurie Clark of the gallery if the League could exhibit at the space. Clark, a Beacon mainstay, steered her to the larger cultural center. 

This is the League’s third show in Beacon and the plan is to make it an annual event. The subjects include nudes, portraits, landscapes, still lifes, water scenes, nature studies and plenty of flowers. Some of the detail is hyper-realistic, such as the squirrel in Karla Mann’s “Snack Time,” hair curls in “Blue Fragment” by Gabrielle Tito and lace in Eileen Nistler’s “Pretty Please.” 

“Still Life with Aged Cheese,” by Victor Mordasov, and Zhi Li’s stunning table study, “Daisy Flower w Lemon,” convey exquisite texture. In “Summer Lovers,” Karen Israel’s painting of two dogs frolicking in water, the fur looks wet.

“Angel’s Light” by Katherine Irish features excellent cloud work, as does the sunset in “Cuttyhunk’s Tranquility,” by Desiree Rose Zaslow. The standout drawing, “Which Way” by Jeff R. Edwards, depicts a meadow pathway leading to a forest. Other notable black-and-white images include Mike Denny’s “Secrets” and “Lure of the Sea,” by John Calabrese. 

In the vivid painting “Autumn Fire,” Keith Willis plays with the reflection of a colorful grove of trees in a river, one of several pieces that renders water with skill. Other notable depictions include Jess Bell’s shimmering “Luminate” and “Echoes of Rust and Tide,” by Barbara Leger, one of seven award winners in the show. Jodie Klein’s painting “. . . and the boat makes three” channels Winslow Homer.

The League, a New York City nonprofit founded in 1928, has 600 members and organizes six exhibits each year. Artists are vetted for quality and professionalism — and now, for digital assists.

The kerfuffle in November led the organization to adopt a policy regarding the role of computers in the creation of art. “We sent hundreds of emails back and forth exploring the issue,” Kano says. “This is not like using ChatGPT to help write a memo; a well-respected organization almost bought [the work].”

To maintain the integrity of its exhibitions, the League only “accepts art made from scratch,” says Kano. “We are sounding the alarm for galleries, museums and other institutions that this is going on. There’s a need to value creativity done the old-fashioned way.”

The Howland Cultural Center, at 477 Main St. in Beacon, is open Saturdays and most Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. The exhibit continues through April 13. On March 22, from 1 to 3 p.m., Brian McClear will paint a large still life in oils.