Rock, Wood, Paper, Scissors

The current exhibit at Lockwood Gallery is a play on the old childhood game of choice – Rock, Paper, Scissors. The exhibit was conceived by Alan Goolman, curator of The Lockwood Gallery who stated, “Rock, Paper, Scissors, seemed an interesting enough concept for a show, but it needed something: with the addition of wood, ‘Rock, Wood, Paper, Scissors,’ offered a world of creative possibilities.”

“At The Lockwood Gallery, the narrative is everything.” Goolman further explained, “Ultimately, our job is to identify exceptional artists that create equally exceptional works of art, but just as important is working together to identify the connections others might not see, exploring every possible transition…piece-by-piece, wall-by-wall, and room-by-room.” This exhibit features 18 artists with over 90 artworks playing off the theme of Rock, Wood, Paper, Scissors, and there are plenty of prompts to encourage the fun exploration. 

Greg Slick exhibits paintings of rocks and a rock dwelling, which all appear to be mystical harbingers of the past. Exploring further, the next gallery is a stunning exhibit of greys and blacks featuring Elisa Pritzker’s “Magic Stones,” painted stones with hieroglyph-type figures. Stephen Niccolls’ mixed media paintings are exhibited in this space providing the beauty of free-form sketches in tight compositions. These works face a wall filled with Victoria Palermo’s hard-edge acrylic resin paintings on wood, reminiscent of Mondrian’s abstract paintings.

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The center gallery holds a grouping of artworks that seem to be in conversation with each other. At each end of the gallery are Susan Spencer Crowe’s folded/cut artworks that have shattered the one-dimensional approach to painting. Crowe’s “It’s in the Air” at the far end of the gallery faces “Pyramid” and “Pushing Forward While Marking Time;” a most fitting title for a recent artwork from 2020. Crowe’s works demand meditative time to appreciate the intricacy of painting, shadows, and three-dimensional paper.

The lively conversation in the center gallery continues around the room with Conny Goelz Schmitt’s artworks created from vintage books and collage, that lead into Ellen Weider’s paintings of simplified shapes and patterns that seem to be responding to Susan Spencer Crowe’s art. In this gallery you won’t be able to miss Laura Moriarty’s three encaustic monoprints that appear to be a cutaway view of earthen rock strata featuring alluring colors in each layer. 

Mimi Graminski exhibits a masterful piece conceived for the exhibit featuring 9 panels in an exuberant organic design of pins holding paper flags. This piece is subtle and exciting to see how the shadows change the design as you walk through the gallery. 

Finally, don’t miss the back gallery featuring “Lockwood Sweets®,” an installation dedicated to sweet treats. These sweets include an entire wall of life-sized doughnuts flanked by bigger-than-life, handmade doughnuts, all created by Jon Reichert from laminated, carved wood and embellished with painted frosting and sprinkles. Included in the installation are fun, vintage-inspired paintings and objects native to your favorite ice-cream parlor.  

Artists exhibited: Peter Allen, Susan Spencer Crowe, Ellen Jouret-Epstein, Joan Ffolliott, Deborah Freedman, Judy Glasser, Mimi Graminski, Erica Hauser, Laura Moriarty, Stephen Niccolls, Victoria Palermo, Vincent Pidone, Elisa Pritzker, Jon Reichert, Susanna Ronner, Conny Goelz Schmitt, Greg Slick, Ellen Weider 

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This is an edited version of the article published in the Poughkeepsie Journal December 27, 2020.