Galleries

Art Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 2024 / 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm @ 9 Vassar Street

The Right To Be Held by Lala Montoya

Lala Montoya is a mixed-media artist who was born and raised in Medellín Colombia – a land of strong mountains, ancient lakes and careful campesinos. It is this abundance of nature and the abundant nature within each of us, particularly the way that nature is expressed in the body and in the work of Life, that inspires her powerful earthen art of ceramics, wood carving, painting, and printing blocks. It is through these mediums that she seeks to illuminate the beauty of time and of age and to make transparent the small details often missed in the rush of progress and perfection. “At the core of all my work are three ethics – Care for the Earth, Care for the People and Fair Share that is practiced by making outdoor education accessible and eliminating economic and language barriers,” explains Ms. Montoya.  Her exhibition at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, “The Right to”, focuses on the harsh realities of conflict and human rights violations and aims to stimulate contemplation on how to collectively preserve these sacred rights, fostering empathy and awareness.  She is currently rooted at the foot of the Hudson Valley in Poughkeepsie, NY and, in addition to being an accomplished artist, works as youth coordinator of Poughkeepsie Farm Project.

Art Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 2024 / 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm @ 12 Vassar Street

The Proposal by John McGiff

John McGiff has been a painter for over forty years, receiving his BFA from SUNY Purchase and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania.  His recent series of paintings reinterprets Classic Greek mythological tales and address the challenges and the possibility of self-transformation.  Using the palette and design patterns of Indian Ragamala paintings, Indian block printing and gouache, Mr. McGiff employs vibrant colors that endeavors light to shine through the work. “I am naturally inclined towards making groups of images, exploring a central idea and evolving a language of gesture, color and design that best expresses this narrative interest,” he relays.  “For example, the theme is the house as a repository of personal and historical memory, as well as a metaphor for the self.”  Mr. McGiff recently relocated to the Hudson Valley area from Delaware where he was Chair of the Arts Department at an Independent Boarding school for 20+ years.  He currently teaches art history for Vassar’s Life Long Learning Institute and has exhibited his work in a myriad of venues across the mid-Atlantic region of the Unites States.

Art Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 2024 / 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm @ 12 Vassar Street

A Romantic Bouquet by Logan Lapointe

Logan Lapointe is a Hudson Valley artist who attended SUNY New Paltz studying Visual Arts. Since 2015, she has been honing her painting technique with exhibits at Greenpoint Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Universal Preservation Hall (Saratoga Springs, NY), Rogal Gallery (New Paltz, NY), People’s Cauldron (Stone Ridge, NY) and Peace Nation Cafe (Kingston, NY), to name a few. Inspired by the outdoor environment of her childhood, she “just can’t seem to leave the mountains and waterfalls,” she remarks. In addition to painting, Ms. LaPointe has been the Animal Care Manager at the Ulster County SPCA since 2013.  She resides in High Falls, NY with her dog, Bubba.

Friday, January 3, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm / Free Admission / Refreshments will be served

• Reception and Hancock Galleries @ 12 Vassar Street – Jessica Licciardello, Videographer 8 Minutes to Freedom 

Friday, January 10, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm / Free Admission / Refreshments will be served

• Victorian Gallery @ 9 Vassar Street – Melanie Gonzalez, Fine Art Photography

Friday, March 7, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm / Free Admission / Refreshments will be served

• Victorian Gallery @ 9 Vassar Street – Ulana Salewycz, Photography & Ukrainian National Artists
• Reception Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Kate Hoekstra, Realistic Painter
• Hancock Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Selva Ozelli, Oil Painting

Friday, May 9, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm / Free Admission / Refreshments will be served

• Victorian Gallery @ 9 Vassar Street – Jim Smith, Photography
• Reception Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Circle 24 Collective Group featuring Kate Masters, Syvia Mueller, Jacqueline Oster and Roni Wilder-Guidi
• Hancock Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Mari Keeler Cornwell, Acrylic Paintings  

Friday, July 11, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm / Free Admission / Refreshments will be served

• Victorian Gallery @ 9 Vassar Street – Jenny Sweeney, Painter
• Reception Gallery & Hancock Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Group Exhibition featuring Fatma Kadir, Ilhan Sayin and Semine Hazar  

Friday, September 5, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm / Free Admission / Refreshments will be served

• Victorian Gallery @ 9 Vassar Street – Valerie Berner, Acrylic Paintings
• Reception Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Inna Ivanovskaya, Photographer/Documentarian & Tatiana Rhinevault, Painter
• Hancock Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Lisa Weinblatt, Painter (School Lunch Series)  

Live Music @ 12 Vassar Street provided by Leonid & Sofia Poleeschuck

Friday, November 7, 2025 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm / Free Admission / Refreshments will be served

• Victorian Gallery @ 9 Vassar Street – Arianna Wack, Acrylic Paintings
• Reception Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Alfons Rodriguez, Photographer & Jim Richards, Photographer
• Hancock Gallery @ 12 Vassar Street – Elise Pittelman, Painter