Fairfield, CT - The public is invited to a reception at the Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in the Fairfield Public Library on Thursday, April 14 at 5:30 to 7:30pm for “Kaleidoscope”, the art of Katya Lebrija, Jill Nichols, and Patrick Burhenne. The show runs from April 9 to June 4. The Fairfield Library is at 1080 Old Post Road.
Katya Lebrija was born in Mexico City, where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design. After graduating, she worked as a freelance Graphic Designer until 1999, when she moved to the United States with her husband and two daughters. Her artwork has been in groups shows and solo shows in the area and in Mexico City. She also enjoys painting with a group of local artists in Westport and Norwalk CT.
“My journey as an artist consists of endless exploration and experimentation. My Mexican heritage and roots inspire most of my subjects...The richness of the Mexican culture frees my work, and I reinterpret reality by introducing abstract elements to my compositions... I work in mixed media using acrylics, gesso, ink, collage, oil pastels, and charcoal on surfaces like canvas, wood, or paper.
I approach the canvas with an idea in mind and allow the journey to unfold and evolve. It makes for an exciting experience and a freshness in my work. The Markets Collection is a body of work inspired by my Mexican heritage. It represents the folklore and traditions I grew up with. Mexico is a feast for the senses, rich in color and texture. These markets are very familiar to me, and my hope is that the viewer can get a sense of what they’re like through my work.”
Patrick Burhenne is a self-taught Fairfield artist. He has had his work in many local shows, including Southport Gallery and the Giles Clement Gallery in Greenwich. He states, “My path to creating art has been unconventional. For many years, I have bought and sold paintings and prints. In doing so, I began to believe I could execute better results than items which I saw bring significant money at auction. My initial efforts were humbling but the pursuit has been one of the most satisfying of my life.
As I learn the craft of painting, my efforts have become more pointed to big canvases that possess a narrative. Recently I have begun doing wood sculptures. These pieces allow me to explore the limits of the material's plasticity and the whimsy possible though that.”
Jill Harrington Nichols is an adjunct professor of art at the University of New Haven, an instructor at Silvermine Arts Center, and she conducts painting workshops locally and abroad. She was a commercial artist for more than 30 years.
Jill has an MFA in painting from Western Connecticut State University. She has received awards for her work from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service and Connecticut Office of the Arts. Her commissioned painting of Washington D.C. appeared as a backdrop for James Comey’s interview on “Face the Nation” while another made its appearance on Showtime’s “The Comey Rule” mini-series. Her artwork “Phi,” celebrating the divine feminine was a part of the “Nasty Woman” art social movement in New Haven, then went on to be installed in the Vatican Observatory Museum.
Jill has served as vice-president for the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society and Valley Arts Council, and she has exhibited at the Lyme Art Association, Carriage Barn, Greenwich Art Society and Lyman Allen Museum.
Jill states, “When I am painting, I am in the moment, thoroughly present and enraptured. I experience a sense of peace, as well as an urgency to capture and share the moment. It is a privilege to paint and express my reverence for nature. Enveloping the invisible birdsong, whispering winds, fragrance of rain, and fleeting luminous clouds, often gone before the brush touches paint. Inadvertently documenting the vanishing in a slip knot along the infinite while skirting the shadows through the melancholy of impermanence. All the while sensing glimpses of truth only revealed to the soul in echoes reverberating from the surface of the canvas like a sonar in search of its return signal.”
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Submitted by Fairfield, CT
