Throughout the month of March, the Riverdale Y’s Gallery 18 will present “An Eye Into the ‘I’,” an exhibit of mixed media/digital art by artist Smadar Taub. A virtual opening reception will be held on Sunday, March 14, via Zoom when Taub will be available to address comments and answer questions from participants. The Zoom link will be available on the Gallery 18 page at the Y’s website: www.riverdaley.org/gallery18.
Taub combines the actual and the virtual in her artwork. She uses traditional art techniques such as drawing, printmaking, painting and photography to produce images that she then manipulates digitally to create a visual landscape at once familiar and unexpected, evoking a range of feelings within the viewer.
While enrolled in an EdM in counseling psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, Taub focused on her own journey through self-inquiry. She then pursued an MS in art therapy from the College of New Rochelle. Taub combines the two disciplines by facilitating dream seminars and “conscious awareness” classes and individual sessions, which include the use of spontaneous image-making.
Taub explained that her goal is to encourage viewers who are gazing outwardly at her artwork to turn their gazes inward and with playfulness, spontaneity and without self-judgement, inquire of themselves what these images are prompting. A viewer might ask questions such as: “How do I feel in response to this image?,” “Where else in my life do I experience a similar feelling?” and “What is the title I would give to this image?”
When you look at a piece of art in the here and now, certain feelings become apparent. At another point in time, the same artwork may yield different feelings. Taub noted, “Images evoke feelings; they tap into our subconscious mind and reveal where our hearts are at the present moment.”
Gallery 18 showcases the work of local artists representing a variety of media, with all art for sale; 20% of proceeds help to enhance cultural arts programming at the Y. The Riverdale Y is located at 5625 Arlington Avenue, Bronx, New York. For additional information, please contact Maria Neuda, Curator, Gallery 18, [email protected] or call 718-687-8025. Smadar Taub can be contacted at [email protected].
By Yvette Finkelstein
