For Immediate Release:
May 29th, 2015
John Schmidtberger
Schmidtberger Fine Art Gallery
10 Bridge Street, Suite 7, Frenchtown, NJ 08825
908.268.1700
“UNPACKING THE WILD BEAST” OPENS IN FRENCHTOWN, NJ.
Schmidtberger Fine Art Gallery in Frenchtown, NJ is pleased to announce the debut exhibit of local artist Val Sivilli “Unpacking The Wild Beast”. This show runs from June 1st through July 11th with an opening reception for the artist on Saturday, June 20th from 5-8pm. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public. The gallery is located in a first-floor suite in the historic Gem building, at 10 Bridge Street.
Unpacking the Wild Beast is a show celebrating the inner beast and the art created when that creature is set free.
Unpacking the Wild Beast Features paintings and a graphic novel created during Sivilli’s residency at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico. A unique opportunity for this artist—the residency provided Sivilli the chance to fully devote herself to her art, without distractions, in an entirely new and supportive setting. After a few fits and starts, Sivilli began to produce a series of canvases based loosely on her graphic novel “The Wild Boar (bore)”. Using acrylic, oil stick, and oil/acrylic on canvas Sivilli created vibrant, abstract works, rich in pattern and layered color. They clearly show the delight the artist experienced while making them.
When Sivilli left for her three-month residency her initial intention was to create a graphic novel. The paintings were an unexpected growth of the novel project that took on a life of their own. Sivilli says, “Before I left for Taos, I had a goal to create pages of this story with paintings that incorporated text. That didn’t work out. But what did work out, was that the paintings became their own entity. The drawings and text or the books became their own entity. They informed each other.”
Val Sivilli earned her undergraduate degree from SUNY/Purchase, and aB.F.A. degree in printmaking, ceramics, and painting from Alfred University. She went on to receive an M.F.A. in printmaking and painting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Sivilli also works in the graphic design field, both locally and nationally. She founded “Civilian Art” an enterprise in which her graphic designs arescreen-printed on clothing and textiles. Sivilli was a co-founder of The Steamroller Gallery, a fine art cooperative in Frenchtown, NJ. Sivilli has exhibited widely, in shows such as Johnson and Johnson’s New Jersey Artist Series, SINGING HEAD at the Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, NJ. and many others.
Val Sivilli 