Berkshire LGBTQ+ Art Exhibit
June 12-July 6
Rachel Kaufmann "Queer Halloween Dance", Oil Paint. I am an oil painter living and working in the Berkshires. I have been painting seriously since college, when I found that I could describe stories and scenes visually. I am inspired by scenes of people and the way that people interact in time and space. I often begin my creative process by taking a series of photographs, and then deciding what captures my eye. I then proceed to paint these photographs to come up with a painted world that not only depicts the photograph but accentuates it. My current body of work focuses on queer scenes from the Berkshires. As a lesbian artist this is important to me and personal. The Berkshires has a small but thriving queer scene and I think it is crucial that this be depicted and represented. Artists that inspire me include Nicole Eisenman and the German Expressionist
Jacob Laczkowski "Carlos", Oil Paint.
Suzanne Gammon "When the doctor says 'Calmarse'....", watercolor/collage. Suzanne Gammon lives in Pittsfield, MA. and is a watercolorist. Raised in a family of artists, she has spent all of her life as a creative spirit to include composing music. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston majoring in art history and much later from the Academy of Art University with a MFA. " I paint myself a lesbian conservative gay person.I grew up in the 1950s and it wasn't until the early 1970s people started to come out" " I was also a teacher and had to be very careful ". " I am still selective about who I let know but feel the story has to be told".
Joseph Stabilito "DEAD END", acrylic on canvas. I’ve been turning to art since my childhood as a way to express myself. In my early years, I was aligned with abstract expressionism. I followed the heroes of the day, anxious to learn the craft of painting. I flirted with differing styles and techniques of course. But my love of color and design were always eminent. Another constant in my work is the attention to surface typography. My newest paintings surge and pop with electricity. I begin by pouring paint onto my canvas. I’m influenced by everything I’m seeing in my world. Pattern, composition, and line are always considered. There’s a primal beauty I’m out to capture. Color is a trusted tool in my arsenal, and I’m not afraid to be seduced by it. I approach each piece intuitively, allowing myself to be pulled into its orbit. I give myself permission to experiment and push into uncharted territory. It’s the process of making that draws me into the work. Contextually, I’m playing with surrealism, but narratively I’m pulling rom anatomy, pop art, graffiti, and more. Swirls inhabit shapes that coalesce around networks, Doodles and drawings overlap the dimensional space. But in the end, what I’m offering the viewer is an invitation into my world. And I’m hoping that they will find a beauty and mystery in it.
Joseph Stabilito "LOOK INTO MY EYES", acrylic on canvas. I’ve been turning to art since my childhood as a way to express myself. In my early years, I was aligned with abstract expressionism. I followed the heroes of the day, anxious to learn the craft of painting. I flirted with differing styles and techniques of course. But my love of color and design were always eminent. Another constant in my work is the attention to surface typography. My newest paintings surge and pop with electricity. I begin by pouring paint onto my canvas. I’m influenced by everything I’m seeing in my world. Pattern, composition, and line are always considered. There’s a primal beauty I’m out to capture. Color is a trusted tool in my arsenal, and I’m not afraid to be seduced by it. I approach each piece intuitively, allowing myself to be pulled into its orbit. I give myself permission to experiment and push into uncharted territory. It’s the process of making that draws me into the work. Contextually, I’m playing with surrealism, but narratively I’m pulling rom anatomy, pop art, graffiti, and more. Swirls inhabit shapes that coalesce around networks, Doodles and drawings overlap the dimensional space. But in the end, what I’m offering the viewer is an invitation into my world. And I’m hoping that they will find a beauty and mystery in it.
Jeff Lowenstein "New Leaf ", Sculpture (wire and paper, with handmade ceramic pot). Jeff is a Pittsfield-based nonbinary and queer sculpture artist specializing in origami and wire bonsai. They have been an artist for 20 years. They draw inspiration from nature and their own life experience, and use their art to explore themes of growth and setbacks, disability, and queerness.
Jeff Lowenstein "Windswept", Sculpture (wire and paper, with handmade ceramic pot). Jeff is a Pittsfield-based nonbinary and queer sculpture artist specializing in origami and wire bonsai. They have been an artist for 20 years. They draw inspiration from nature and their own life experience, and use their art to explore themes of growth and setbacks, disability, and queerness.
Johanna Merfeld "Red Pony", Acrylic on canvas. As a mixed-media artist and art educator living and working in the Berkshires, I seek to surround myself with fellow queer creatives. Born and raised in Boston, I’ve been making art since I was old enough hold a pencil. These days I’m inspired by contemporary artists Mickalene Thomas and Christina Quarles, as well as the work of German Expressionist Egon Schiele. I can be found on Instagram @johanna.merfeld
Chris Bendixen "Untitled", Ceramic. I’m a ceramic artist based in Canaan NY and NYC. I’ve been working with clay for decades but have focused full-time on ceramics for the last 10 years. I identify as a gay man.
Chris Bendixen "Untitled", Ceramic. I’m a ceramic artist based in Canaan NY and NYC. I’ve been working with clay for decades but have focused full-time on ceramics for the last 10 years. I identify as a gay man.
Christopher Pierce "No League of Her Own", Oil.
Christopher Pierce "The Apprentice", Oil.
Lee Miller "This is us mirrors", wood, colors, clear finish. Well lets see... I moved to eastern Ny in 2000. I picked up in the building trades and living nearly right across the border to MA I have spent most of my time working in western MA. I have a shop in downtown Pittsfield now. I mostly build custom things from wood. Woodworking is my thing, so I guess I am a woodworking artist. I can now identify as a trans person since early last year.
Thom Cassotta "Berkshires in Bb", Cut paper( my own) & acrylics.
Mitchell Q Sellers "Peacock Loses a Tail Feather", Quilt. I'm a Quilt Artist. I'm originally from and grew up in Georgia. I learned basic quilt making skills from my grandmother. I earned my BFA at Georgia Southern University. I studied acting, improv, and dance and worked in Chicago for 5+ years. I toured with theatre companies for several years. I lived in Boston for 25 years. Moved to the Berkshires (Lee, MA) 3 years ago. I began quilt design as a hobby and it grew into a passion.
Daniel Bauman "Brown Sugar", photography.
Suzanne Gammon "Dying Gay Censored", watercolor. Suzanne Gammon lives in Pittsfield, MA. and is a watercolorist. Raised in a family of artists, she has spent all of her life as a creative spirit to include composing music. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston majoring in art history and much later from the Academy of Art University with a MFA. " I paint myself a lesbian conservative gay person.I grew up in the 1950s and it wasn't until the early 1970s people started to come out" " I was also a teacher and had to be very careful ". " I am still selective about who I let know but feel the story has to be told".
Michelle Daly "the ages of the ocean", mixed media collage: watercolor, photo, marker, morse code. Michelle Daly (she/they) is an artist, and creative producer living and working on the unceded lands of the Muh-he-con-ne-ok, The People of the Waters that Are Never Still–also known as the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, USA. Their multi-modal creative practices are rooted in a philosophy of holding space for the difficult and transcendent, a deep belief in the power of speculative realities, abstraction as a tool to open pathways of rhizomatic consciousness, and the holding of multiplicities of ideas. Their work always draws from interdisciplinary sources and from being in creative conversation with the world around them. Currently, they are thinking about restoration/destruction, refraction, accumulation & cycles of knowledge, porousness, somatic responses to water, climate science, nearshore ecologies, ocean justice, & queer temporality. They earned their MA in Performance Curation from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University and a BFA with a concentration in Painting from Marylhurst University. They have exhibited their work across the country, including solo or two-person exhibitions in Portland, OR, Los Angeles, CA, Brooklyn, NY, Manchester, VT, and North Adams, MA.