CURRENT EXHIBITION:

James McNamara / Barbara Woike: Split Images, Drawings / Photographs

opens March 15. The artists will hold an opening reception that

afternoon/evening from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Before settling in Stockbridge in 2019, Woike was a news photo editor for

the Associated Press and McNamara (her husband) was a digital media

executive and educator. It seems that with retirement both have

experienced renewed creative energy! We are so fortunate to have this

artistic wealth in our area. Without our artists, what would we do at Knox

Gallery?

Most of Woike’s exhibited photos were shot from 1975-1979, primarily in

Italy, where she has spent much time – In Pietrasanta, the historically

significant Tuscan town of marble and art, in Rome where she lived for a

college semester, and in Sicily where her maternal grandparents were

born. The remainder were shot in and around her hometown of Middletown,

Ct.

After being exhibited briefly, most of these photos have spent decades in

storage. So, Woike reports that “I’m happy for the opportunity to liberate

these portraits from their boxes for public viewing once more.”

McNamara creates art using “Loose Realism”, a painting genre that, as

described by the artist, “suggests a freedom of line or brushwork made

purposely visible to the viewer’s eye.” He continues: “Loose Realism

encourages the observer to find interest or meaning in the details.”

Portraits, landscapes, and laborers at work are his preferred subjects, and

all are created using vintage or personal photographs.

The artist works in a variety of mediums. He draws mainly in graphite and

charcoal but also uses oils, acrylics and watercolors “to round out certain

works.” In addition to his 2-dimensional work, McNamara creates

sculptures from found objects, such as scrap metal and wood.

Please join us for the opening reception on the 15 th , or view the show

during library hours anytime through April 27, 2024.

PAST EXHIBITION:

Porras and her family relocated from Caracas, Venezuela, to Houston, Texas where she earned a BFA in painting and printmaking at Rice University. In her twenties, she relocated to Boston (via SanFrancisco!). In Boston she met her now-husband, whose family is from Pittsfield, and once he introduced her to the Berkshires she was hooked. As she puts it “the silver lining to all this moving is that my family and I settled in Stockbridge in 2021.” She adds “And similarly to many other folks, we realized during the Covid lock-down, that our family was happier in our small cottage in Stockbridge than we were in Boston.”

Before studying and pursuing, visual arts Porras had studied classical music on flute and piano. She wanted to pursue both, and found a way to combine the two art forms. She considers herself to be “a visual music artist, a creative translator” who translates music into abstract painting. The artist emphasizes that she goes beyond exploration by “diving into the music mindfully.” She studies scores, isolates key phrases, runs, and themes. She begins with sketches and as she paints the chords become unique colors, textures, styles, and patterns.

The artist is excited to participate in our Monterey art community with her exhibit at the Knox Gallery! Join us to see how her process is realized. Following Shany Porras’ exhibit, James McNamara and Barbara Wolke: S/he, Split Images, Drawings and Photographs opens March

15.