January 2022 marks the 49th year of Art Show: Bedford, an eagerly awaited annual community event that unites the arts with charitable giving. The art show features a blend of contemporary and traditional artwork in all media and is a fundraiser for many local non-profits. The event will be held in the Fellowship Hall at St. Matthew’s Church in Bedford, at 382 Cantitoe Street, over the course of two weekends in late January.
The Exhibition and Sale will take place January 21-23, 11-5 pm, and January 28-30, from 11-5 pm. Daily admission to the Exhibition and Sale is free of charge. Masks are required, the exhibition hall is well ventilated, and the number of guests will be carefully monitored to assure adequate social distancing. Unfortunately, the Friday night Preview Party that traditionally kicks off the show is canceled this year due to the recent increase in Covid cases in our area.
Tara Deeks is the Chair of the event. “As has always been our practice, one hundred percent of the proceeds from our art show are donated to local charities,” stated Ms. Deeks. “This is the main factor that distinguishes our show from so many other art events. Our patrons have the satisfaction of enjoying great art, as well as the sense of fulfillment that derives from supporting needy causes in our area.” Another committee member, Jenny Convery, put it this way: “Not only do patrons receive a beautiful piece of art, but they also experience the joy that comes from making a purchase that results in a positive impact on the community.” Christopher Brescia of CB Gallery in Katonah, NY will serve as an artistic consultant to the show.
Organizations to be supported in 2022 include A-Home, Abbott House, the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester, Community Center of Northern Westchester, Endeavor Therapeutic Horsemanship, Hope’s Door, Hour Children, Midnight Run, Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, Neighbor’s Link, Part of the Solution “POTS”, Rehabilitation Through the Arts, Westchester Exceptional Children’s School, and VNA & Hospice Care Foundation of Hudson Valley.
Over thirty-five artists have been selected to participate in the juried show, exhibiting a collection of original and high-quality works, including photography, oil paintings, watercolors, sculpture, ceramics, glassware, wood carvings, and jewelry. Best-selling artists from previous years will be joined by an exciting group of new artists exhibiting at the event for the first time. Portfolios and bios of all the artists are available on our website.
Acclaimed photographer Carol Bouyoucos has created a stunning work entitled Renewal which will appear on all marketing materials connected with the event. Her floral photo-montage illustrates the theme “the earth is what we all have in common; we must cherish it and foster its renewal.” Her distinctive artistic approach involves a montage of photography, digital painting, and collage. She approaches her subjects with the curious eye of a photographer, adds the sensibility of a painter, and then uses digital tools to enhance perception and reimagine our relationship to nature’s powerful and surreal landscapes.
A member of Bedford Garden Club, she began her career by photographing floral arrangements for club events, with several of her photos being featured in the bulletin of the Garden Club of America. As her oeuvre developed, she began to edit and enhance her photographs using the software. She is inspired by the strong history of photography of botanicals, as exemplified in the work of Dr. Robert John Thornton (1768-1837), an English physician and botanical writer who “illustrated incredible floral arrangements and then inserted them into nature scenes.” She finds that botanicals “convey a feeling of history and carry a nostalgia for a previous time.”
Renewal is a digital photomontage, an image she purposefully designed to convey a sense of the spiritual renewal we are all seeking during these troubled times. To create Renewal, she started by photographing an antique Dutch botanical print that she owns and then combined it with a photograph of the still life arrangement she created using live plant matter. “I have always loved Dutch Still Life. I collect vintage botanical prints, photograph them, and then combine them with other nature photographs, or photographs of floral arrangements I have composed, to create a new work of art.”
Using apps available on her iPhone, she blends images into a composite that is not necessarily a straight superimposition of one image on top of another but rather a careful blending of elements from both images. She then puts the blended photograph into Photoshop where she further edits details and adjusts for color. In Renewal she emphasized a palette of fresh greens, believing that green is a “positive color associated with spring and rebirth”. Once the photomontage is finalized, she prints the work in limited editions of ten or fewer. She can print smaller-sized prints at home, but for larger-sized prints, she employs a professional fine arts printer.
For those who are interested in learning more about her method, Ms. Bouyoucos has graciously agreed to speak at a special event on Saturday, January 29th at 5 pm where she will share insights on “how to be artistically creative with an iPhone.” The event is free of charge and light refreshments will be served.
2022 Art Show judges include Cybele Maylone, Executive Director of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Kimberly Henrikson, Executive Director of the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, and Emily Handlin, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions and Programs at the Katonah Museum of Art. Art awards include Best in Show – sponsored by the Women of St Matthew’s, Best Photography – sponsored by – Katonah Art and Frame, Best Painting – sponsored by the Paint Box of Bedford Hills and Best 3 Dimensional work – sponsored by Ambassador April Foley
The Exhibition will also feature a Silent Auction. Foremost among the auction items is a painting by world-renowned painter Stephen Hannock entitled Luminous Lakes Below the Knife Edge: Mt. Katahadin, Maine.
In addition, the signature piece Renewal by Carol Bouyoucos will be up for auction, as well as numerous other unique products, services, memberships, and private tours.
Tara Deeks is assisted by a Committee including the following volunteers: Jenny Convery, Mary Farley, April Foley, Diana Knoblauch, Ursula LaMott, Terry Long, Robyn McCree, Betsy Meyer, Laurie Sturz, Marilen Tilt, and Caroline Walker.
For more information, visit www.artshowbedford.org.
