Artist and gallery owner Ellen Chisdes Neuberg has championed others at her Shadyside landmark GalleriE CHIZ for 21 years. She represents close to 200 regional, national and international artists who work in media ranging from painting and sculpture to jewelry.
Now she’s found a way to slip in some time for artmaking of her own. For six weeks she will paint in the gallery between 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. A closing reception will be held at 5:30-8 p.m. Feb. 24.
“It gives me a chance to paint, which I don’t get otherwise,” she said. “I want to try some experimental work. I’m going to paint beauty.”
She allowed that hasn’t been a popular subject in recent years, having been disparaged as decorative. But Ms. Neuberg said she wants to try to say something to counter the anger that has been collecting within people of late.
This is the second year Ms. Neuberg has moved her studio into the gallery. On “Studio Saturdays,” other artists will demonstrate and discuss their artistic processes followed by refreshments. Those sessions became so popular last year that audiences were standing room only; people may reserve seats at 412-441-6005. All events are free and public.
“Studio Saturdays” artist presentations begin at 2 p.m. except Feb. 11, which starts at 1 p.m.:
Jan. 14: Barbara Broff Goldman — handmade books/boxes. She will share printmaking secrets and explore the artist's book as structure, a container for words and images.
Jan. 21: Ron Nigro — sculpture. Futuristic forms from retired mechanical hardware and technological parts.
Jan. 28: Memphis George — jewelry. Wearable art made by combining precious and nontraditional materials with lost wax silver, gold and bronze castings.
Feb. 4: Joyce Werwie Perry — knife painting. Richly tactile canvases resulting from her signature style.
Feb. 11: Mitzi Frye Hall — glass mosaic. Violins, shoes and mannequins transformed into mosaic sculpture.
Feb. 18: Manuela Holban — painting/drawing. Mysterious worlds inspired by the artist’s Romanian homeland.
The gallery is at 5831 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside. Information: www.galleriechiz.com.
Jurors converse
The first step to getting the most out of an art exhibition is to look at the work displayed. The second is to think about it. Art with a capital A has never been just a pretty picture. Social and political commentary has been layered between the embellishments of portraiture and within the wheat fields of genre scenes for centuries and, if anything, has accelerated in current decades.
From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, a “Conversation with the Jurors, Critiquing Art and Observing Places” at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts will delve into “the importance of critique, observation and reflection.” It’s held in conjunction with the exhibition “The New Collective 2016,” which comprises work made by members of center-affiliated guilds.
The jurors are Rick Landesberg, a graphic designer, painter and principal/founder of Landesberg Design who has lectured internationally on design, and Alexandra Oliver, a critic who holds a doctorate in art history from the University of Pittsburgh, writes about Pittsburgh art and culture and was co-organizer of the recent Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon. Center director Laura Domencic will moderate.
The center is at 6300 Fifth Ave., near Shady Avenue in Shadyside. Information: 412-361-0873 or https://center.pfpca.org.
M. Thomas: mthomas@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1925.
First Published: January 11, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
