Featured Tour of Kitchens Backsplash artist, Beth Munro, takes a more vibrant approach to her still lifes through her application of color and stroke. She depicts a traditional aesthetic but interlaces it with her own vision of different ways in which mundane objects can appear. Most interesting is Munro’s lack of framing. Her paintings wrap around the stretcher, utilizing every inch of the canvas, almost taking on a life of their own and reaching out and onto a wall. The paintings contain enough realism to catch the eye of any one person who has an affection for the ordinary, yet…
Author: Laura Sargent
Backsplash artist, Dianne Baker’s sculptures, with the use of ‘found’ mediums speaks of forgotten pasts in forms that only nature’s hands could help mold. Baker’s medium utilizes gutter guards, recycled film from the downtown library, stereo wires, telephone chord and even paint ladders. Her Backsplash piece is composed of wooden broom handles that have emerged from the depths of Buffalo basements to be given new life. Baker is a spunky woman who seems to have limitless exuberance to pour into her artwork. When asked by Backsplash Coordinator, Laura Chestnut to join the project, Baker said, “You can come over and…
Hertel Avenue welcomes a new gallery/antique shop this fall as an addition to a triple storefront that is already home to Korona Jewelry and Thomas Mileham Antiques. Antiques & Art at 1590 opens its doors September 14th and co-owners Frank Scheuttle and Dr. Frank Herstek couldn’t be more ecstatic. “Hertel, at this point, is a destination for antiques. At least a dozen shops or galleries reside here,” Scheuttle said. “There are two places that people go to look for art and antiques–Elmwood and Hertel–but Hertel has taken over.” The gallery will focus on 20th Century regional artists such as Mildred…
As a spin-off of Zimmerman’s post from last week, I have compiled a short list of positive things one shouldn’t take for granted about city life in Buffalo, or any other city our readers may be dwelling in. Take a minute to chill out, read the list and enjoy some things you have not thought about. Walkability. Having attended Buffalo State College, I can attest to the fact that very few students owned a vehicle. It mattered not that they were walking from Parkside or Downtown in the dead of winter; they enjoyed the energy expenditure and the exercise that…
Fall is nearly upon Buffalo, and the last few days of outdoor festivities are approaching. Before summertime completely winds down, Backsplash As Art will make its debut. Up and down Elmwood Avenue, retailers will display artwork by local artists that was created as an “appetizer” for the Third Annual Tour of Kitchens; selected pieces will whet your appetite enough to inspire a revamp of any kitchen décor. Laura Chestnut, Backsplash Coordinator, developed this project after searching without success for a unique statement piece as a backsplash in her own kitchen. “I was still looking at tiles when I went to…
Doug Bauer, a regular diner at Betty’s, is now showcasing his artwork throughout the establishment. This is only a small sampling of what the architect-turned-artist has produced over the years, but he rarely publicly exhibits–this is an opportunity to stand in awe of his constructions. Doug Bauer’s background as an architect caused him to step away from the flat surface of a canvas and extend outward into manifested “structural collages” that may include materials such as Plexiglas, wood veneer, mirror, museum board, acrylics, spray enamel and various glues. “Kurt Schwitters and the Bauhaus movement, as well as many of the…
Do you remember when you were a tweener (12-14)? Did you painfully attend band or chorus, performing the songs that only grandma and grandpa would enjoy? Fortunately, that is not the case for nine select students from West Seneca West. History teacher, George Olmsted has formed the true school of rock with his band ROCK.ED. The band members/students play a variety of guitar based cover songs ranging from crowd friendly classic rock to alternative chart toppers from bands like No Doubt and The Cranberries. For the past three years, ROCK.ED has performed at the Elwood Avenue Festival of the Arts,…
The Richardson Center Corporation has selected Boston-based Goody Clancy, along with New York’s Simpson Gumpertz & Heger architectural firms to tackle the restoration project at the H.H. Richardson Complex and Olmsted grounds. This is the first of many steps being taken to ensure the reconditioning of cultural heritage sites. The Urban Land Institute panel made the recommendation, in May, that the Richardson Center Corporation take progressive steps in preserving local historical landmarks. In 2006, Governor Pataki formed a budget allocation of $100M to restore these sites (now decreased to $76M after the Darwin Martin House and The Burchfield Penney Museum).…
The Richardson Center Corporation has selected Boston-based Goody Clancy, along with New York’s Simpson Gumpertz & Heger architectural firms to tackle the restoration project at the H.H. Richardson Complex and Olmsted grounds. This is the first of many steps being taken to ensure the reconditioning of cultural heritage sites. The Urban Land Institute panel made the recommendation, in May, that the Richardson Center Corporation take progressive steps in preserving local historical landmarks. In 2006, Governor Pataki formed a budget allocation of $100M to restore these sites (now decreased to $76M after the Darwin Martin House and The Burchfield Penney Museum).…
Matt Duquette is anti-art, yet he creates visually barbaric images that are far more social and artistic than he claims to be. In his realm, art is created for one purpose, to capture an ultimate moment. Working on a textured surface, he has an identifiable, methodical brush or comb stroke that snags the paper or wood grain and creates splatters that add to the motion within the piece. Most of Duquette’s work has a distinct movement and masculinity. He feels that placing a female model in his work would make it too cliché, so he uses himself as a model…