The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) announced today that two new art exhibitions are opening at the state's airports. The Block Island Airport Gallery will present works by Barbara L. Green from January 17 through April 1, 2014 while GREEN SPACE at T.F. Green Airport will present Material Landscape from January 17 through April 27, 2014. Both gallery locations present the work of contemporary Rhode Island artists.
Barbara L. Green's works on paper are executed in series, and are both abstract and figurative works inspired by natural elements such as flowing water, feathers and trees. Linear elements, pattern and rhythm feature prominently in her works. Born in Germany, Ms. Green received her Masters of Arts from The Ohio State University. She is a member of the group 19 on Paper, and has exhibited widely in a career spanning 40 years. Her work is held in numerous corporate and institutional collections. Ms. Green is a resident of Barrington, Rhode Island.
Exhibitors for the Block Island Airport Gallery were selected by a panel of artists and community members. Panelists were Marilyn Bogdanfy, Jon Campbell, Peruko Ccopacatty and Christine Grele.
At GREEN SPACE, Material Landscape presents large and small-scale works by Michelle Benoit, Kevin Calisto and Masha Ryskin. Each of the three artists employs distinct techniques and vocabularies to evoke elements of landscape. None, however, present traditional landscape views. Instead, horizon lines, geological layering and imagined environments reference the breadth of landscape in subtle and sophisticated ways.
Michelle Benoit utilizes recycled and reclaimed materials to construct her sculptural works. Collected, cut and painted, stacked, mortared and coalesced, they reveal process and structure as image. The results are evocative of contemporary geologic core samples, personal yet collective landscapes.
Kevin Calisto explores the calmness and tranquility of the horizontal line and its relationship to vast open spaces. For Calisto the pairing represents a balance in nature as well as a balance within one's mind. He aims to create deserted, quiet and contemplative spaces that lend themselves to solitary reflection.
Masha Ryskin is interested in the human interaction with nature as evidenced by the traces of our presence left in the landscape. Her work is concerned with landscape and its elements as a metaphor for memory, history, and passage of time.
These artists were selected for exhibition by an accomplished panel: Sam Duket, artist and former GREEN SPACE exhibitor; Ellen McBreen, art historian and professor at Wheaton College and Victoria Lichtendorf, Director of Education at Storm King Art Center.
The Airport Galleries, a partnership between the Rhode Island Council on the Arts and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, promote outstanding work by artists living and working in Rhode Island. The gallery will present art to an ever-changing audience of local, national and international travelers.
About the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders.
About the Rhode Island Airport Corporation
The Rhode Island Airport Corporation operates T.F. Green Airport and the five general aviation airports in Rhode Island. A long-time supporter of public art in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation has worked with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts on a number of public art commissions for T. F. Green Airport.
