Moorestown’s Perkins Center for the Arts is holding its annual members/faculty show, a 108-piece exhibition without judges.
Each artist submitted one work for the show, and Strathmere resident and Perkins member Greg Bennett explained how he chose the painting he entered, “Wrack Line Discoveries,” an 8-x-10-inch oil on linen.
“The wrack line is what occurs on the beach as the waves come in and it basically or literally wracks up the crustaceans that drift with the seaweed along the edge of the last wave that came in,” he noted. “So it’s processed, and I live on the beach, so I’m often walking and observing the things that wash ashore.”
Bennett describes himself as an American impressionist and realist with a representational eye influenced by painters from the 19th and 20th centuries. He notes on his website that his work showcases ordinary subject matter with an attention to brush work. Some elements of his are loosely painted so a painting looks fresh every time it’s viewed.
“I basically categorize myself as a regional landscape painter, with other things thrown in,” he said. “I like doing figurative pieces a great deal, as well as the occasional still life.”
Bennett’s paintings stem from what he’s familiar with or what he focuses on at any given moment.
“I’m often inspired by subjects that I encounter while traveling,” he offered. “Recently this year, I was in Antarctica and I … at some point will do paintings from that trip and also Ireland, another recent destination.”
Bennett said he values participating in a group show.
“The beauty about group exhibits is that having many different artists brings in many different, sort of, pockets of viewers and collectors,” he added. “It gives you a broader exposure.”
Perkins faculty member and Collingswood resident Dolores Poacelli, who has been teaching at the gallery for more than 11 years, entered her piece, “The GREYS Series/Floating,” an acrylic and collage work that is a part of a collection of hers.
“I’m so in love with the new series of gray paints put out by Golden (painting brand),” she enthused. “I had a bunch of old works here at home and I didn’t like (them) … so I reworked this whole group and I used this new, wonderful gray.”
“They ended up looking like alien shapes to me and (that) was not my intent,” Poacelli added, “but then I named them “The GREYS,” as in UFOs and aliens and that kind of thing.”
Poacelli described how she uses different ideas to create mediums.
“I’m starting something new … and I decided just to take a piece of paper and make marks on it and then kind of see what it suggests,” she noted, “because I didn’t know how to start something new.”
“It’s a process of finding shapes and colors, using abstraction that can say something without being literal.”
Like Bennett, Poacelli is excited about the group show.
“I always like to see what people are making, no matter what the style,” she said. “After not seeing people that I taught for a long time, they’ve gotten in touch with me and said, ‘We’re hoping to see you at the opening.’
“So now, this time, I’m looking forward to seeing people … students and other artists that I’ve known for a long time.”
To see more of Poacelli’s works, visit poacellifineart.com. For Bennett’s work, visit artistgregbennett.com. For info on the Perkins’ show, visit perkinsarts.org. The exhibit ends June 24.
