A Changing Landscape
Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Tracy Helgeson, John Kelly, James Kimak, Eileen Murphy, Regina Quinn, Judy Reynolds and Carl Grauer
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 27th 5-7pm
November 24, 2021 through January 16, 2022

Carrie Haddad Gallery is pleased to present “A Changing Landscape” featuring the work of Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Tracy Helgeson, John Kelly, James Kimak, Eileen Murphy, Regina Quinn, Judy Reynolds, and Carl Grauer. The exhibit is on view November 21st through January 16th with a reception for the artists on Saturday, November 27th from 5-7 pm.
What we have come to embrace in landscape painting in the 21st Century has come a long way from the aesthetics associated with the Hudson River School of the mid-19th Century. A movement that was marked by dramatic form and vigorous technique has evolved to adapt a softer, more intimate way of perceiving the landscape. The accomplished group of artists to be showcased in this year’s landscape exhibit encapsulate our favorite traits of the genre; loose brushstrokes, hard edge realism, and abstract form illustrate an emotive response to our natural environment, something highly evocative yet entirely intangible.
Jane Bloodgood-Abrams first exhibited with the gallery in 1993 after Carrie awarded her ‘Best in Show’ at the Young Artists of the Hudson Valley exhibit at Clermont Historic site. A resident of Kingston, NY, her iconic depictions of the Hudson River winding towards the Catskills are a backdrop for a sky illuminated by the setting sun; a daily experience most locals compare to as otherworldly. In her recent work, Bloodgood-Abrams enjoys a return to working in larger format where the viewer feels enveloped in the imagery. Whether a soft tonal moonscape or a dramatic aerial view at sunset, the artist aims to express the pervading light and atmosphere of the Hudson Valley.
Tracy Helgeson juxtaposes bold color and simple compositions in her color field paintings on wood panel. Her modern view of the landscape is energized by a red ground, which enlivens the paired down forms of trees and bushes that straddle the horizon line. Her first exhibit with the gallery was in 2005, making her a true and beloved veteran!
Eileen Murphy brings a level of skill and keen attention to detail with photo-realist landscapes on panel capturing the beauty of the surrounding Columbia County area. Rooted trees, down to the leaves, are meticulously painted with the finest brush you can imagine. Light and shadow, form and foliage is built up with layers of oil to create an illusion of realism that can only be described as enchanted.
For their inaugural exhibit with the gallery, Regina Quinn and James Kimak will exhibit charming landscape paintings made with encaustic and oil, respectively. Hailing from the Northern Catskills, Quinn reflects on her surroundings of rolling hills, lakes covered with morning fog, or fields of fresh snow with intimate compositions made of watercolor, oil, and encaustic. In the past year, she has received the Faber Birren National Color Award and the Cooperstown Art Association’s Essential Art Grand Prize. Kimak, who lives in Orangeburg, NY, has worked in creative design and illustration since 1976. He launched his career as an artist in 1993 with a successful solo show at the Edward Hopper Museum in Nyack. It’s no coincidence that Hopper’s dramatic use of light and shadow, saddling the boundaries of abstraction and realism, is a major influence on Kimak’s current work, which captures scenes of barns amidst bucolic farmland or quaint country homes sitting quietly against the stretches of vast forest. The artist has won the Gold Medal for Excellence in Painting from the Rockport MA Art Association & Museum and served on the board of the Edward Hopper Museum for many years.
John Kelly, Judy Reynolds, and Carl Grauer rely on painting from life. Settled into their chosen setting, they choose to paint outdoors where they feel the influence of transience, shifting light, passing winds, and changing seasons. The brushstrokes relay a refreshing quality of immediacy as they capture a view in real time.