Works by Naccarato, Sarrantonio on display at Unison Arts Center
Paintings and works on paper by Diana Naccarato and Thomas Sarrantonio are currently on display at Unison Arts Center, 68 Mountain Rest Road, New Paltz.
Naccarato is exhibiting works on paper from 2014 to 2016 that were created at the Gowanus Studio Space in Brooklyn and the artist’s home in the Rockaways. In these works, she seeks to understand notions of emergence, growth and becoming, with subtle references to plant life and the movement found in natural forms or forces.
In some of these works, repetitious mark-making forges areas of concentrated forms that disperse into vacancy. Other works are the result of a hurried, fluid gesture based on intuition and activity. These works on paper invite the viewer to consider a space where indecision may mingle with clarity, movement with inaction. They straddle the line between spirited celebration and solemn reflection.
Sarrantonio will be showing works created in the foothills of the Shawangunks area near the Old Gatehouse Road in New Paltz, close to Unison. The fields here were recently acquired by the Mohonk Preserve and, by
special arrangement, the artist will donate a percentage of sales to the preserve to be used for education programs and to increase access to preserve lands.
Sarrantonio’s paintings seek to mediate between realms of external perception and internal reflection. They present themselves as meditations on nature and self.
Choosing humble, often overlooked subject matter, such as the overgrown grasses at the edge of a field, he attempts to translate the dynamic processes of nature into the stasis of physical matter on a painted surface. Small works are produced directly from nature, while large paintings are studio productions that utilize memory, experience, imagination and conceptual ideas to negotiate the terrain of contemporary painting.
The paintings are offered to the viewer as templates to provoke active participation in the process of seeing and quiet contemplation of the mysteries of consciousness. His work can be viewed at thomassarrantonio.com/
The works will be on display through Oct. 30. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and weekends by appointment only.
Call (845) 255-1559 or visit unisonarts.org for more information.