ARTIST UPDATE

Helene will not not be at her studio Friday, July 28. Please contact her directly to see if she will be at her studio Saturday and Sunday, or to set up an appointment for a private showing.

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"Although the paintings and monotypes are arranged according to the  conventional canon, this work uses color to create and define space - using loosely brushed paint marks. Pushing the work towards gestural abstraction, giving the viewer a sense of place and inviting them in."

Helene Manzo is a working artist living in New York City for over thirty years. In the summer of 2008 she was awarded an artists residency at Platte Clove, a nature preserve located in upstate New York. Found on 208 acres of wild, old growth forest and an ancient gorge with staggering multi-tiered waterfalls, it was an ideal setting for Manzo to explore further her deep fascination with water, a recurring theme in her artwork over the years. Manzo sees water as a powerful life force that is ever changing yet constant. She captures its movement, reflections of light, and colors as a counterpoint to the still forest around it.

Her paintings, mixed media and monotypes in this show move freely between the figurative and the abstract, and are a dialogue between what was seen, remembered and felt from her time spent at Platte Clove.

Manzo is a founding member of Longyear Gallery. She is also a member of The Monotype Guild of New England and of Maryland Printmakers. Her work has been accepted in many juried shows, including recently: Endless Possibilities: the Unique Print, juried by Kurt Wisneske, and Unlimited Vision: One-of-a-Kind Prints, both run by MGNE; and a recent show by The New York Society of Etchers and the Monotype Society of New York, juried by associate curator of the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Samantha Rippner. This winter she was invited to participate in an international show at the Pyramida Center for Contemporary Art of Haifa, Israel. She has had an extensive teaching career in fine arts and is proud to be one of the highlighted artists in 100 New York Painters by Cynthia Dantzic. Manzo has shown with Blue Mountain Gallery since 1980.