“Seeds to the Future”

curated by Mary Z Scotti

Kate DoDD I Monika smerdel I Yvette lucas 

PURE ENERGY HAIR STUDIO

460 Bloomfield Ave.Montclair, NJ 07042
Corner of Bloomfield Ave. and South Fullerton

Special thanks to Montclair Center BID

Seeds to the future is a collaboration between Pure Energy Hair Studio, 73 See Gallery Design Studio and artists to enliven store fronts under “Fresh Air Montclair Exhibitions” a township wide initiative to promote and support art and artists in public spaces while enlivening empty store fronts for community enjoyment.

Jennifer Bobal, owner of Pure Energy Hair Studio believes her salon is a place of inspiration, creativity, and positive energy. A place that connects beauty, wellness and care for the environment. The gallery worked to pair artists whose work embodies, informs and enhances this core mission. We are delighted to offer these three windows to engage, enlighten and inspire your walk in our community for days to come.

THE ARTISTS:

Kate Dodd, “Privacy Series” (left): This window represents an ongoing series of collages evolving out of a collection of envelopes I saved because of their patterned interiors.  As I began to work with them, the window portion of the envelope became important as a portal and a separation, between inside and outside, known and unknown, personal and institutional. This divide resonated with other images of division in our contemporary moment, from barriers and fencing, to isolation and quarantine.

Monika Smerdal, “Garden of Wings” (middle): Origami, fish wire, spray paint. “It is believed butterflies are spiritually symbolic. They are seen as messengers from a realm outside the physical angles of lost loved ones. This piece is dedicated to all loved ones we all lost during this crazy time of Covid 19.”

Yvette Lucas, (right):  This window merges two bodies of work which combine the love of our connection with nature and the willful destruction of our environment. “Mother II” is from the series Tree Portraits; “Moth Mandala II” (from the series Moth to Flame) and the scarves are eco prints, made from steaming leaves against fabric or paper, releasing natural dyes to create a print. 

All Art work is for sale here:

KATE DODD: From top to bottom and left to right

1. “70’s Screen” 2020, collage, 18” x 30” $650

2. “Chain Link” 2019, collage, 22” x 12” $500

3. “Shattered Glass” 2019, collage, 22” x 12” NFS

4. “Razor Wire” 2019, collage, 22” x 12” $500

5. “On Track” 2019, collage, 22” x 12” $500

6. “Isolated” 2020, collage, 22” x 12” $500

7. “Blinds and Bricks” 2019, collage, 2019 22” x 14” $500

8. “Can’t See the Forest for the Trees”, collage, 2020 12” x 22” $500

MONIKA SMERDEL:

1. “Garden of Wings” 2020, Origami, fish wire, spray paint

YVETTE LUCAS:

1.  “Eco Scarf I” 2020, Eco Print, 18” x 72” $125

2. “Mother II” 2004, Archival Pigment Print, edition 1/3, 40” x 30” framed $1390

3. “Moth Mandala II” 2018, Eco Print, 20” x 20” framed $1500

4. “Eco Scarf I” 2020, Eco Print 18” x 72” $125

All art works are available for sale through 73 See Gallery Design Studio. Please contact the gallery via our contact page.

More About the Artists

Kate Dodd 

 Kate Dodd received her B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 1983, and her M.F.A. from Columbia University in 1990, and currently lives in New Jersey, with bicoastal stints in the Bay Area, where she is originally from.  She has exhibited her artwork nationally in museums, galleries, and colleges, and has been teaching art in public and private schools for 30 years.  Kate has been awarded residencies at MacDowell, Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Papermaking, the Connemara Conservancy, Cummington Community for the Arts, the Vermont Studio School and numerous schools in the tri-state area.  In addition to site-specific installations, Kate has large scale works commissioned by NJ Transit in Bayonne, Newark, South Amboy, and Hoboken.  Kate's installations provide a heightened sensory experience for the viewer\occupant, while reexamining institutional and conventional notions of architecture and its relationship to the environment.

Monika Smerdel

Smerdel is an artist as well as a interior architect by profession. Designing and creating is her passion for life. As a painter her canvases convey an exuberance of vitality and energy as well as a masterful use of color evoking wide ranging emotion and experience.

Monika is available for site specific commissioned work as well.

Yvette Lucas

TREE PORTRAITS: This series of tree photographs began in Western Massachusetts in the Southern Berkshire region, a place of retreat and renewal for my family. It is a collection of images that has grown to include the parks, woods, and gardens of other parts of the country especially New Jersey where I live. During walks, hikes and explorations, I found that particular trees stood out to make their presence known. They interact with the observer in their surroundings not just in their grandness, but with the stories they tell, sparking our imaginations to see and feel their individuality if we give them the time. 

As trees grow they are affected by the many elements they come in contact with. Just like us, their environment helps or hinders the growth and final form they take. The subsequent scars, diseases, and catastrophes that can befall each of them create a being that is different from any other tree. To the human viewer these blemishes could be considered beautiful and add to the character and “personality” of a tree as they do people. My photographs focus on the trees that tell stories, awe, or communicate with their environment in a visual and emotional way. Acknowledging the symbiotic relationship we have with them is to remember that we are part of the earth and its complicated system.