Great Neck Arts Center - classes and programs in visual arts (including painting and ceramics), drama, music, dance (including ballet, hip-hop, modern, ballroom), fencing and film.

Reflections focused on the paintings of five artists: Regina Gil, Judith Goldstein, Ann Shore, Frederic Terna, and Dorrit Title. Each has been affected by the Holocaust in a personal way, and each has added to our memory and understanding of the Holocaust by providing us with their personal reflections—their imagined constructions—of a time whose horrors often seem beyond imagination. In so doing they provide us with a legacy that addresses both the suffering of humanity and the extraordinary strength of people to survive. Their work not only helps us understand the past, but makes it possible to think hopefully about the future.
Dr. Jack Salzman

June 17 – August 20, 2008

“The Romantic & The Exotic" captures the romantic spirit of the living world and combines it with rare exotic and unusual decorative pieces from the mysterious east. Vintage Audubon prints are paired with original Persian Botanicals painted using ancient brushwork techniques. These images give us a view of a beautiful universe that bursts with life, minutiae of nature against areas of lush vegetation. The decorative pieces are breathtaking and range from a pair of rare Lapis Lazuli pedestal tables to a pair of inlaid chairs from India.

This stunning exhibition explores phenomena found in nature and a world that encompasses both the beauty and the wildness of nature. Viewers experience a sensual environment that will draw them into a place of mystery and beauty rarely considered.

September 8 – October 31, 2008

Wayne Ensrud’s paintings are serious, reserved, weighty and then witty, light, tranquil and then again, exuberant,
dynamic and energetic while continuing to “change” coloring, texture, forms and rhythms. They are unexpected and unlikely and always a surprise.

Gladys Roth’s sculptures are evocative of balance and harmony. She has taken the conventional genre and underlined it with a modernist sensibility. Her pieces explore
movement and formal composition juxtaposed with idealized beauty.

Suzy D. Soleimani’s hand-blown glass luminous creations are infused with vibrant colors and intricate patterns inspired by the artisans of Murano, Italy. Her abstract compositions give fresh life to refined glass.

Richard Vaux reveals a timeless, archetypal landscape. His powdered carbon compositions and paintings are visual poems about light and illumination… the visible and
the invisible.

November 23, 2008 – January 5, 2009

Fall Festival of the Arts

In addition to its “Spring Festival of the Arts” Student Art Exhibition and for the first time, GNAC Art Gallery will exhibit artworks by our Fall Semester School for the Arts students from early childhood to adults. Artworks will range from crafts, drawing, painting, fashion design, cartooning to beading and ceramics.

January 11 – March 16, 2009

Secret Jews

An Exhibition of Paintings from Rachel's Diary and other works by Lloyd Ebrani
With Text by Helaine Helmreich

Rachel's Diary, written by Helaine Helmreich and illustratrated by Lloyd Ebrani, is an historical novel about the Mashadi during the “Allahdadi” period, when they lived as “Secret Jews” for almost 100 years. In the face of hardship, they lived a life of great courage and sacrifice.

This exhibition focused on preserving Mashadi culture, heritage and traditions which are still cherished today.

March 22 – April 26, 2009

A funky and engaging exhibition consisting of a balanced mix of artworks by six diverse artists who share a common thread: conveying the power of nature and human nature through the nonfigurative form. This lively show is displayed in splendid groupings alongside large canvas and stunning sculptures.

Meet the Artist Party: Sunday, March 29, 3pm - 5pm

MAY 4 – JULY 31, 2009

LeRoy Neiman

“Mike Piazza”
COPYRIGHT© LEROY NEIMAN, INC. 2000

Show extended through
July 31
by popular demand!

An exhibition of dynamic paintings and Serigraphs from Whitey Ford, Roger Clemens to Muhammad Ali and more by America’s most popular sports and leisure Artist, LeRoy Neiman.

Courtesy of Hammer Galleries

“The Rocket-Roger Clemens”
COPYRIGHT© LEROY NEIMAN, INC. 2003

September 15 – November 30, 2009

Two Exceptional Photography Exhibitions:

“Peace Through My Eyes”:

A Photographic Story by Guatemala’s Children

Peace Through My Eyes includes photos of everyday life in Guatemala, taken by children during a unique summer arts program led by undergraduate Skidmore College students Verena Bunge and Elana Hazghia. For more information: http://photopeach.com/album/d4lsdg#spiral

“My Place in this World”

Photography from

Multiple Ethnic Cultures by:

Gerald Appel

Judith Feinman

Jay Furman

Roberta Small

In My Place in this World four artists, with individual life experiences, portray multiple ethnic cultures through the artistic expression of photography.

Both multicultural exhibitions focus on diverse and global societies which are ethnically, racially and culturally different, but with many similarities.

January 14 – March 7, 2010 “COME TO YOUR SENSES!” The gallery at the Great Neck Arts Center, a non profit visual and performing arts center presents "Come to Your Senses!” a group exhibition exploring how our five senses connect us to art. Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. These five senses encompass the human experience, enabling us to perceive the world around us and communicate with others. Artworks for this exhibition were selected for their power to stimulate perception through the senses. They are visually displayed to encourage the audience to discover pleasure not only through sight, but through distinct experiences of touch, smell, sound and taste.
	Ginger Balizer – Hendler creates work that returns her to a place where she allows herself complete freedom to play, cut, and paste. She combines sequins, glitter, exquisite trims and integrates them into her paintings and collages imbuing them with fanciful imagery, strokes of color and whimsy.
Totem

Fareen Butt is an abstract Nihonga Pointillist artist who has been painting and exhibiting for a decade. Nihonga has been employed for thousands of years by a variety of artisans from Japan to Persia, in which the medium consists of precious and semiprecious stones and metals. Butt's unique technique is a cross between South- and Far- East Asian, as well as European classical methods.
			Mirage 400 Triptych

Walter Casaravilla studied at the University of for Applied Arts in Uruguay, his native country. He relocated to New York and had his first exhibit at the Washington Square outdoor show. His latest works lean to the abstract, but his color, his knife work and composition are distinctively his own.
			Window Sill with Vase & Fruit

	Internationally known and acclaimed artist Wayne Ensrud, known foremost as a painter and printmaker who has had over 60 exhibitions in the U.S., Europe and Japan will be exhibiting eclectic mix of his painting. A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, he has studied with such renowned masters as Ben Shahn, Joseph Albers, Jacques Lipchitz and Oskar Kokoschka.

Carol Fischer – Rosenthal is fascinated by the idea of transforming "stuff" from what it used to be to what she wants it to be. For this show Carol has created Be-Jeweled, Be-Decked & Be-Dazzled Bride, an Assemblage of discarded jewelry, clothing, fabric, trim, Styrofoam, sequins, beads, Lucite, lampshade and lace.
			Be-Jeweled, Be-Decked & Be-Dazzled Bride

	Grant Haffner was raised in East Hampton, within walking distance from the homes of Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning, and the twisting roads and landscapes of the South Fork that dominate his paintings. His compositions are rendered with a bold color palette, which is cleverly balanced to depict the speed and rhythm of the rural roadways. The slightly exaggerated poles and power-lines are primary to these compositions as they are utilized to exaggerate the depth of field and perspective and the artist's absorption in the fleeting landscape of the East End of Long Island. His works Courtesy of Solar Contemporary Art & Design, East Hampton.
Napeague

Lisa Mee’s collage-paintings offer something new as they refresh and awaken our senses. Lisa Mee has an unerring sense of construction. She discovers the work ‘link by link, stitch by stitch’. The chain of discoveries provides the steps of the creative process. Her paintings have no beginning or end, no differentiation between time and space. We move within the painting, we are surrounded by it, we are inside it. She seems to just tie the brush and scissors to her fingers and let them create the picture – effortlessly.

		Herb Williams is one of the only individuals in the world with an account with Crayola. He creates original sculptures out of individual crayons that may require as many as hundreds of thousands. His work “Courtesy of the Artist and RARE Gallery, New York.”

March 18 – May 2, 2010

ALL THAT JAZZ: Romare Bearden & Friends

Romare Bearden (1911 – 1988), a painter, collagist and printmaker who had met Braque and Brancusi in Paris; and who was also a city social worker in Harlem for almost 30 years, relished the ingredients in his own life that defined his art. A number of impressive Bearden works will be exhibited along side Wayne Ensrud’s Jazz musician series, Jazz photography by William P. “Bill” Gottlieb (1917 – 2005) and woodcut collages by Julie Lapping Rivera through April’s “Jazz Month”.

Romare Bearden: Dreams of Exile

(The Green Snake) 1973

Julie Lapping Rivera: After Keyta

William Gottlieb: Sinatra 1947

Wayne Ensrud: Lena Horne

May 6 – May 28, 2010

Paul Sundick: Sports & the Arts

Paul Sundick is an artist with a wealth of experience as a photographer, illustrator and film & video editor. Sundick’s photographic art incorporates his unique combination of creative skills and quality to provide one-of-a-kind works of art. Viewing Sundick’s art brings to mind a sense of nostalgia, sportsmanship, love of the game and remembrances of what it felt like just to play!

Sundick states “Before digital photography came into its own, the darkroom was where good pictures became great. Now many of us have left the darkrooms, in favor of computer programs that enable us to create much of the same magic.” Visit the Arts Center’s Gallery to view the magic yourself.

Untitled

June 17 – August 31, 2010

Folk-Artist Harry Lieberman

“Visual Statements”
Paintings & Three-Dimensional Works

Untitled (The Story of Jonah), c.1980,

Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40, (Private Collection)

Harry Lieberman’s paintings have excited attention in the folk-art world almost from the moment he first picked up a paintbrush at the age of seventy-six. Lieberman was included among the vanguard of contemporary folk artists presented in Herbert Hemphill and Julia Weissman’s decisive work, Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists (1974). Lieberman continued painting until 1983, when he died shortly before the age of one hundred and three.

Lieberman’s paintings are represented in such prestigious museum collections as the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. and in numerous private collections throughout the world.

Harry Lieberman’s paintings are generally considered both ethnic and religious because they deal primarily with Jewish liturgy, religious literature and Jewish shtetl-life in Poland. They are visual statements based on Leiberman’s own memories, his own background, and his own education. Each of Lieberman's painting tells a story, usually taped on the back of the canvas, and they are frequently reflective.

This exhibit was made possible through the generosity of the Popkin family.

September 17 – November 29, 2010

HERB WILLIAMS

“PLUNDERLAND”

Crayon Sculpture Installation

Herb Williams is a fine-art sculptor. Instead of working with a chisel and mallet, he shapes, cuts, and models crayons using dog toe-nail clippers and cigar guillotines. Williams is one of the only individuals in the world with an account with Crayola. His original sculptures may require as many as hundreds of thousands of individual crayons. Williams used more than half a million Crayola crayons in creating his sculptures for this installation which opens September 17^th at the Great Neck Arts Center. A meet the artist party will be held on September 23^rd. Children and adults will be amazed and delighted in the images he creates.

Williams is interested in identifying iconic objects that society perceives to fit one role, and then reintroducing them in different subtexts. Williams explains, “There are several questions that arise when an object (such as a crayon) that is so often associated with childhood is used to address issues dealing with more adult matters, such as sexuality, religion, and social hierarchy. The sculptures are childlike in their curious approach to the object as icon, but intriguing and satisfying to me in the use of pure color as form.” The viewer must look carefully to appreciate its complexity. Williams' intent is to continue to seriously create art that looks at itself un-seriously. He also casts completed crayon sculptures in a silicone jacket mold with a two-part epoxy resin and then paints the resin sculpture to look like the original, occasionally producing a small edition. The cast sculptures have been placed in public arenas, such as children’s hospitals, corporate lobbies, and museum walls.

Williams’ studio in Nashville is lined with endless rows of Crayola crayons of every color and size. His studio has been described like “a day-care center because it smells like a kindergarten.” His larger room installations also add the element of playing to the olfactory sense, as the scent of the wax completely saturates the environment.

His new crayon exhibition, "Schooled", will open at the Children's Museum of Art in Manhattan in October, running simultaneously with the Great Neck Arts Center installation.

December 10, 2010 – January 3, 2011

2^ND ANNUAL TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

2010 RECYCLED ARTWORK CONTEST & EXHIBITION

Town of North Hempstead students showcase their creativity and artistic talents while promoting recycling in their school and in their community. The winners will be honored at an award ceremony on Thursday, December 9, from 5 PM until 7 PM. Each entry will be displayed at the Great Neck Arts Center Gallery December 10, 2010 through January 3, 2011.

2009 Town of North Hempstead Recycled Artwork

Great Neck Arts Center Gallery

January 16 – March 20, 2011 GREAT NECK ARTS CENTER GALLERY PRESENTS FAREEN BUTT MIRAGE MOUNTAINSCAPES: Gemstone Paintings The Gallery at the Great Neck Arts center is pleased to present Fareen Butt as she unveils her new works. The artist’s second feature at the Arts Center, Mirage Mountainscapes, will open on January 16, and run until March 20, 2011. Featured in her upcoming exhibition are pieces from her Mirage Mountainscape series, conceptually inspired by sacred landscapes and Vedic philosophies of light. The work is informed by various legends and religious belief systems, physically depicting places believed to be sacred by cultures around the world. “Expressed through the solid, exceptional medium of gemstones and precious metals, the works embody the opulent existence of permanence and omnipresence found to permeate from these landscapes. Like a mirage on the horizon, there is a more ethereal perspective upon these lands captured by the paintings.” The artist’s gemstone technique is a cross between South-Asian and Far East-Asian blended with European classical methods, including an application process similar to that of Pointillism, a style associated with the French artist, Seurat, and his style of brushwork. Influenced by the traditional Japanese Nihonga technique, Fareen creates works in which she mixes pigments with minerals. However, unlike Nihonga artists, Butt uses the unique medium of precious and semiprecious stones and metals combined with pigment and applies the mixture to canvas. More than seven years ago, Fareen began studying and experimenting with this technique, and has now started to use minerals more traditionally known to geologists and rock collectors for their physical characteristics and abilities. Her works can contain pure gold and silver, as well as sapphire, onyx, witherite, and minerals derived from meteors. Fareen has traveled all over the world, having resided in California, South Africa, Mexico, Cameroon, Canada, and Pakistan. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Dubai, Pakistan, New York, and Egypt, with upcoming shows in Canada, France, Germany, Monaco, Abu Dhabi, and India.


Fareen Butt: Recent show, Come to Your Senses		Mirage Himalaya 2 ♦ 5’ x 6’ ♦ precious metal, mineral, & gemstone pigments on canvas ♦ 2010


	Mirage Himalaya 5 ♦ 2010	Mirage Sinai ♦ 2010
Precious metal, minerals & gemstone pigments on canvas
Mirage Sierra ♦ 2010 ♦ Precious metal, minerals & gemstone pigments on canvas

3- D Phenomena: Where Art and Science Converge

Dov Lederberg & Yael Avi-Yonah

The Great Neck Arts Center is proud to showcase two innovative artists whose

2-D paintings create a remarkable virtual 3-D experience

On exhibit March 24 – May 1, 2011

Artists Reception: Thursday, March 24 @ 6:00-9:00 PM

Artists Talk & Video: Thursday, March 31 @ 7:00 PM

Dov Lederberg
Love in Outer space – Acrylic on canvas

Yael Avi-Yonah
Hologramic Energy #6 – Mixed Media on Canvas

Dov Lederberg is engaged in the converging vectors of art and science. He has received added inspiration from Kabbalah teachings and meditation as he creates visual works conducive to mystical experience and self-transformation. Since 1983, he has created many original acrylic paintings and video art compositions that invite the viewer's active interaction, discovery and interpretation, which are enhanced by the use of 3-D glasses to create astounding dimensional effects. Mr. Lederberg’s works exhibited at the Great Neck Art Center are from his extensive Kabbalah Mandalas and Dialogue / Anti-logue Series.

Yael Avi-Yonah, a graduate of Bezalel Academy of Art and the daughter of the distinguished Israeli archaeologist and art historian, Michael Avi-Yonah, was born in Jerusalem and has lived there all of her life. Throughout her 40+ year career, she has created numerous paintings, prints and serigraphs. In 1988, she developed a complex visual expression called Anaglyphic Art, meaning the art is simultaneously new and amazingly ancient. In her research Yael has found that many artists of the past, including Rembrandt, have unconsciously used these esoteric techniques. In each painting, Ms. Avi-Yoneh combines elements that stimulate both the left and right brain. Viewers are asked to use special 3-D glasses when viewing her work to startling effect – hidden images are often revealed and “hologram” effects are created.

Ms. Avi-Yoneh and Mr. Lederberg’s unusual art can be found in private collections, galleries and museums throughout England, Israel and the US and can be reviewed on their extensive web site: http:/www.art.net/TheGallery/Vision.

For more information about the artists, please visit:

DiALOGUES: http://www.art.net/TheGallery/Vision/dov2J.html

Anaglyphic Art: http://www.art.net/TheGallery/Vision/yael2f.html

Reflections of a Bygone Era
A Stunning Exhibit of Vintage Costumes and Photographs

Vintage Photographs: Collection of Orin Z. Finkle
Vintage Costumes: Collection of Monica Randall
Photographs of Gold Coast Mansions: Alexander Meshibovsky

On Exhibit May 5^th through June 5^th
Opening Reception: May 5, 2011 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Free Lectures:
May 11, 2011 7:00pm – Monica Randall: The Gold Coast in the Movies
May 12, 2011 12:00pm – Orin Z. Finkle: Reflections of a Bygone Era
May 18, 2011 7:30pm – Orin Z. Finkle: Reflections of a Bygone Era
May 19, 2011 7:30pm – Leona Schwab: Music of the Gilded Age: 1890 - 1920

The Gallery at the Great Neck Arts Center is pleased to present Reflections of a Bygone Era, an exhibition of photographs and vintage clothing offering a glimpse into life on Long Island’s historic Gold Coast during the early 1900s.

For more than thirty years author and historian Orin Z. Finkle has uncovered and collected data from magazines, books, post cards, catalogs and news clippings about Long Island’s wealthy and their grand country estates. Photos at this exhibit have been carefully selected from Mr. Finkle’s vast archives.

A display of vintage clothing from the collection of Monica Randall will transport the viewer to an era of elegance and luxury as they stroll through the Gallery.

Complimenting the exhibit’s historic elements will be contemporary photographs of estates taken by Mr. Finkle on his exploration of Long Island and photographer and violinist Alexander Meshibovsky.

Modern Art from the Collection at the Great Neck Arts Center

On Exhibit July 7^th through October 9^th
Mid-Summer Night Viewing Reception: August 4, 2011 6:00pm-8:00pm

The Gallery at the Great Neck Arts Center is pleased to present “Modern Art from the Collection at the Great Neck Arts Center”, an exhibition of selected works from its permanent collection.

These works offer a taste of a variety of art styles and movements within the Modern Art period including Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism. The exhibition will include an eclectic mix of 20^th century paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints and vintage posters.

The viewer can experience extraordinary works from modern masters like Picasso, Matisse and Giacometti. Romare Bearden, Richard Hunt and other contemporary artists will also be included. Together, these pieces provide insight on the influences, history and progression of art in the 20^th century.

For The Love of The Art
Secret Artists: Works by Distinguished New Yorkers

Now through December 4, 2011

featuring works by:

Dr. Robert A. Scott

President, Adelphi University

Mark D. Stumer A.I.A.

Mojo Stumer Associates

Dr. Paul Abramson

Dean, School of Arts & Sciences, Dowling College

Dr. Robert A. Scott

Dr. Paul Abramson

Mark D. Stumer

The Gallery at the Great Neck Arts Center is pleased to showcase these beautiful works by artists who passionately love their respective art forms, although they have other chosen professions.

The Third Annual Town of North Hempstead Recycled Artwork Contest

On display at the Great Neck Arts Center Gallery
from December 8, 2011 – January 9, 2012

Reception & Awards Ceremony: Monday, December 12 at 6:00 PM

The 2012 Town of North Hempstead Recycled Artwork Contest promotes recycling in our schools and in our community. The art contest's focus is to “spread the powerful message of recycle, reuse and rethink”.

Students in grades K-12 from the Town of North Hempstead School Recycling Partnership Program School Districts participate in the contest.

Entries are judged by the North Hempstead Arts Advisory Committee and winners are honored at a special ceremony on December 12 at 6:00pm