During the month of January, Studio Hart will be featuring the works of three devoted Buffalo artists, who continue to shine a light on this city in their own unique ways.
“It is as “Buffalocentric” as an exhibit can get!” says artist Sara Zak.
It’s true. If you are familiar with the works of Sara M. Zak, Chris Hawley and Carol Case Siracuse, then you are aware that their collective passion for Buffalo transcends their respective works. By combining these Buffalo zealots together for one show, Studio Hart has done its best to create what it is calling “Buffalo – A Work in Progress”.
On Friday, January 9, 2015, from 6-9pm, Studio Hart will host an opening reception that is free and open to the public.
Studio Hart – See Facebook event
65 Allen Street
Buffalo, NY 14226
(716) 536-8337
Following are the artist’s statements and bios:
Sara M. Zak – Visual Artist
Artist’s statement:
Buffalo is brimming with visual gems. I can’t walk or drive through the city without wanting to capture a thousand different moments in paint. I am drawn to man-made structures in our city and am interested in the physical appearance of our past, present, and future; the visuals tell a story that has substance and materiality. When I paint, I am interested also in the physicality of my materials and how they can be used to not only portray a picture, but also to convey a thought about a moment or place.
Bio:
Sara M. Zak is a Western New York visual artist specializing in oil painting. Her work is directly influenced by her surroundings, especially man-made structures; she is drawn to locations that reveal the passage of time. In 2011, she founded the grassroots artists’ initiative Painting for Preservation with the goals of forming a community of artists vested in Buffalo’s neglected urban landscape and creating dialogue across socio-economic and racial boundaries – this initiative was featured on OutdoorPainter.com – the website of Plein Air Magazine. Time and place are the engines that drive Sara’s artistic practice; her perception of the all too quick passage of time and the intangibility of memory amplified by motherhood manifests itself in paint. Sara exhibits regionally and nationally; she is in private collections across the country and her work was recently acquired by the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Sara was named a fall 2014 finalist for the Sustainable Arts Foundation Award in San Francisco. She teaches workshops at Buffalo Arts Studio and Muse Jar in East Aurora, serves on the board of the Buffalo Society of Artists, is a NYFA Mark alumnus, and holds degrees in Painting, Art History and Education from SUNY Buffalo.
Chris Hawley – Urbanist
Artist’s Statement:
I hesitate to call myself an “artist.” I was pleasantly surprised to be asked to show my photography—which I have viewed as purely documentary—as an example of work that has aesthetic or artistic value. I’ll let the viewer be the judge of that value. What I will say is that Buffalo has an amazing story to tell, and I have used photography as a way of telling it. Everywhere I turn, the city speaks. Whether it’s a tavern, tenement, or tannery, a human story is revealed in dramatic tones no matter where one stands in this great American city. How neat it has been to watch—and capture—a new Buffalo grow from the old.
Chris Hawley studied urban design at New York University. He has worked for U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and developer Howard Zemsky, and today is employed as a city planner at the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, where he is part of the team that is rewriting Buffalo’s zoning ordinance. As an urbanist and history nerd, Hawley has snapped thousands of photographs—many on Instagram—of a changing Buffalo. This Studio Hart show—highlighting his interest in Buffalo’s industrial landscapes—is his first. Hawley is a board member of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center and the Campaign for Greater Buffalo, and was the recipient of the American Institute of Architects, Buffalo/Western New York Chapter’s Joseph A. Siracuse Award; Buffalo History Museum’s Owen B. Augspurger Award; OUT Magazine’s OUT 100; Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network’s Pathfinder Award; and Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Award. In 2005, as a “spotter” at Spot Coffee, he was voted by fellow Buffalonians as the “Best Barista” in Artvoice’s Best of Buffalo Awards.
Carol Case Siracuse – Watermedia Artist
Artist’s Statement:
I have read that art is a reflection of ourselves and how we “see” life. This means so much more to me today than it would have a few years ago. Since retiring from the practice of architecture, I feel I’ve been reborn as an artist…what a thrill!…. as I express my creative side in pen, pencil and watercolor, giving form to my visions and my passions, the landscape of our home environment and travels. These creative urges will keep me occupied forever. What a privilege. My reward is simply contentment.
Bio:
Carol Siracuse studied printmaking and drawing with Leonard Baskin at Smith College before undertaking her architectural training at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Princeton University. She practiced architecture in Boston, and Ithaca and opened her own firm in Chautauqua County in 1980. In 2001 she moved to Buffalo to become the educational planner, and vice president at Cannon Design, retiring in 2010 after 38 years of practice. At Cannon she concentrated her nine year effort on the Strategic Plan for the Reconstruction of the Buffalo Public Schools, a project which fueled her passion for the architectural heritage of Buffalo, NY. It is her belief that Buffalo offers such a diverse and rich architectural palette that there is something amazing for every eye and taste.
A signature member of Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society, she is currently its president. She is also an Exhibiting Member of the Buffalo Society of Artists and Western New York Artists Group. Her images of Buffalo and her travels have been shown most recently in the group show, The Travellers Muse, Journaling Around the World at Dana Tillou Fine Arts in Buffalo, and at Artsphere Gallery, in solo shows at the Stuyvesant Gallery, at My Sister’s Gallery at the Episcopal Church Home in Rochester, NY and at Diva Studio. She is also represented by Tesori in Williamsville, and the Art Loft in Mayville, NY. Her work is also in the collection of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the Castellani Art Center at Niagara University. Her travel sketchbooks have informed and delighted art lovers and travel buffs around the world.