Art Gallery Showcases Local Talent

By Jennifer L. Warren
j_warren@hvress.net

(Beacon) - For Carl Van Brunt, there is something more bonding area artists together than simply physical proximity.

“There is something bigger that connects our artists; it’s being part of a special community who can learn and share from one another,” said Van Brunt, owner of Carl Van Brunt Gallery in Beacon. “There is also a community aspect, contributing to an area they are a part of and playing a key role in it.”
Van Brunt showcased that area talent recently with the opening of “New Hudson 3,” which will run through February 26. Several hundred visitors attended the opening, viewing both painting and photography pieces from 27 area artists. Now in its fifth year, the Gallery, located at 460 Main Street, was opened by Van Brunt in the summer of 2002.

“I have been an artist my whole life and have an advertising background, so I thought it would make a lot of sense to combine the two,” said Van Brunt, who tends to lean towards painting, digital photography and sculpture when it comes time to gallery selections. “I knew a lot of artists, and thought Beacon was a great area to show it.”

Van Brunt guessed right. Growing each year, the Gallery is a popular spot on the Main Street strip which several galleries call home.

The Carl Van Brunt Gallery is especially buzzing on the second Saturday of each month, a time when all Beacon galleries keep their doors open until 9 pm. On these days, art lovers can roam the well lit Main Street drag, frequenting galleries, grabbing a bite to eat, and just plain relaxing. As one passed Van Brunt’s Gallery Saturday, a landscape painting could be spied through the window. But, this wasn’t any ordinary nature scene; superimposed on the piece was a hanger with a tie. Titled “Back to Work,” the eye-catching “anti-landscape” painting was done by artist Win Zibeon of Blauvelt, New York. Combining a mixture of virtually every school of painting (Dada, Pop, Illusionism, Surrealism), the anti-landscape series constructed by Zibeon is technically very precise, using little brushes and demanding a sort of perfection. As for interpretation, Zibeon prefers as much gray area as possible to exist.

“I’m trying to create a fine line between what the viewer perceives as real and what is real,” explained Hunter, who earned a Masters Degree in painting from Hunter College. “Landscapes are everywhere, and in many ways can be boring; my paintings are a reaction to that safety and blandness, allowing the viewer to see ordinary things in a new way.” Zibeon added, “There is always a narrative going on; I never like to limit a piece to just one thing.”

Doing all of his work in a series format, Zibeon, has also completed paintings in still lifes, weapons, strams, Placcato oro: gold, entertainers and watery windows.