American Folklore
"Gallery exhibits work from three American Capital Region
Artists "
Albany Center Gallery's annual 23rd Annual Mohawk Hudson Regional Invitational
featuring select artists Brian Cirmo, Matt Lafleur, and Lori Lupe Pelish
opens May 4 and runs through June 5, 2010. The opening reception will be
held on Friday, May 7 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. with music by The Musicians of
Ma'alywk and "Food As Art" by The Chic Chef. The "Brown Bag
Lunch Discussion Series" will be held on Friday, May 21 from Noon -
1 p.m. The closing reception will be held on Friday, June 4 from 6 p.m.
- 8 p.m. Albany Center Gallery is located at 39 Columbia Street between
N. Pearl and Broadway in Downtown Albany, NY.
Brian Cirmo draws inspiration from American painters, writers and musicians
past and present often embedding his pictoral self within the American landscape.
His figurative landscapes are filled with adventure and are seasoned with
folklore and American history. Cirmo states, "Inspired by Jack Kerouac
and Woody Guthrie, my modern day Hobo is truly free and freely mad."
Cirmo recently exhibited at the Esther Massry Gallery at The College of
Saint Rose, Saratoga County Arts Council, and the Chapel and Cultural Center
at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is part of the slide registry
at The Drawing Center and Artist Space both located in New York, NY and
he received his Master of Fine Arts from The University at Albany. Cirmo
is an Adjunct Professor at The University at Albany, Albany, New York and
The College of Saint Rose located in Albany NY.
Matt Lafleur is a resident of Taborton, NY (a rural community) and earns
his living as a chimney sweep, a trade that hasn't changed since the eighteenth
century. Lafleur's works are harmoniously timeless and free of clutter.
Lafleur manages to create scenes that are methodically jammed packed with
tranquility, balance and warmth. Lafleur received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree from Hartford Art School and has exhibited his works at Joseloff
Gallery in Hartford, CT, Visual Research Gallery in Hartford, CT, Wootini
Gallery in Carboro, NC, The Digital Artists Space in Troy, NY, and The Art
in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction in Philadelphia, PA. His works have
also been featured in The Tiny Showcase, an online portal where each week
Jon Buonaccorsi and Shea'la Finch pick a tiny artwork and turn the work
into a limited-run print production.
Lori Lupe Pelish builds art quilts and blends pattern and color utilizing
figurative forms within an environment. Pelish addresses issues associated
with contemporary family life, freeze frame dramas concerning age, gender,
motherhood and the varied circumstances that shape and mold our lives. Pelish
is part of the Oakroom Artists and has exhibited her art quilts throughout
America such as the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, MA, Oceanside
Museum of Art in Oceanside, CA, Contemporary Fiberart Biennial in Pittsburgh,
PA, and the Quilt National in Athens, OH. Pelish states, "I enjoy the
blending of the physical and the metaphysical".
