The Kershner Gallery invites the public to a reception for “In Our Worlds”, the art of Rahul Mehra, Debra Schaffer and Tina Sommers on March 14 from 4:30 - 6:30 pm. The exhibitors will talk at 5:30 pm. The exhibit will run from March 7 to April 25 at the Fairfield Library, 1080 Old Post Rd., Fairfield. See www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org
Rahul Mehra lives and creates his art in White Plains, NY. He was born in New Delhi and educated in Zambia, India, the UK and the US. He holds degrees in Physics, Management and Information Sciences and has worked in several countries in the areas of finance and technology.
While studying at Delhi University, Rahul met several prominent New Dehli artists. He connected to their symbolic and figurative work, which inspired him to create his own style. His paintings are in private collections in the US and India.
Rahul says art has always been his passion and he is enamored by the vibrancy of colors and pigments that abound from the Indian subcontinent. The reds and vermilions juxtaposed between the ochre and the yellow with the blue, his works are deeply connected to themes found in Indian mythology and the social milieu of the subcontinent. His interest lies in contemporary Indian Modern Art with themes from Indian mythology, history and also the art of storytelling through classical dance forms of the subcontinent. He has experimented with various mediums along the way, and besides the color, background stories and events also play a dominant role in his work.
Debra Schaffer is from Ridgefield. She makes her art from hundreds of photographs of a scene, which she cuts up and reassembles into a dimensional multi layered collage. Her subjects are doors, windows, streetscapes, markets. She incorporates other elements – such as stones, wood, greenery, handmade clay items and miniatures – into the finished piece.
Schaffer’s work is in over 400 private and public collections. She has exhibited in over twenty galleries in the tri-state area and several museums, including the Hudson River Museum, the Hammond Museum, the Katonah Museum and the Monmouth Museum of Fine Arts. She has received awards from Chaim Gross; William Zimmer, art critic; from MoMA, the Whitney, the Katonah Museum, the Queens Museum, the Aldrich Museum, as well as in Silvermine Guild’s Annual Art of the Northeast USA Exhibition, a competition in which she has exhibited nine times.
After many years of carving stone, wood and other sculpting materials, Debra turned to making mixed media photo collages. She says, “The photographs are my paint. The finished work has a focus and composition that becomes the essence of the place or event without being an exact reproduction. I think like a sculptor. I never see flat. My art is three-dimensional because I bring thirty years of stone and wood carving to my collages. I always see perspective and want viewers to be pulled into my experiences and share the events and places I have seen.”
Tina Sommers is an award-winning American photographer based in Fairfield County. She specializes in photographing unique signature details of luxury resorts, boutique hotels and distinctive restaurants all over the world to create custom-designed marketing materials for targeted clientele.
She is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia with a BFA in Graphic Design. Her photography career began when learning to art direct fashion photo shoots in the studio and also on location in South Beach and Manhattan. While on summer vacations, she realized she had a talent for taking photos that captured the essence of a destination . She has traveled to five continents, always inspired by nature, architecture and its people.
In addition to photography, Tina is an art director and designer, always working on an intriguing art project, entering a creative challenge or in search of new opportunities. Her talents have been recognized by awards from Tablet Hotels, Marriott and Abercrombie & Kent. She has also exhibited her photographs in many area galleries.
Tina researches myriads of accommodations, eateries and points of interest while planning her travels. At times creating her own itineraries and walking a lot allows her time to explore destinations and really see the imagery come to life. She says she truly lives in the moment, leaving all electronics behind with minimal distractions. Her passion for photography combined with travel is her inspiration. She is enthusiastic to discover and share the beauty, splendor and diversity of the world. She believes there is nothing more satisfying than learning through travel and culture.