KIMONO by Kazuko

VOTNE FOR ALLEN by Beens

UNTITLED by Hasegawa

The WAH Center is pleased to present LOCAL PAPERS, an exhibition featuring the paper based works of forty diverse and accomplished artists. As the title suggests, some of these artists live and work in the surrounding area, but in a more significant sense, the title refers to the immediacy of paper and its viability as an important medium.

The remarkable range and quality of works includes handmade papers, sculpted paper, painted, printed and collaged paper, papers with transferred images, as well as installations done with papers and mixed media. Featured artists include: Olivia Beens, Sarah Berney, Richard Brachman, Ursula Clark, Joan Criswell, Susan Fateh, Joel Fisher, Stesuko Hasegawa, Helene Hui, Gerald Jackson, Kazuko, Mara Kearney, Gloria Klein, Terue Kondo, Donna Koretsky, Fran Kornfeld, Laurie Lea, Al Loving, Antoinette Maclachlan, Russell Maltz, Vernita N'Cognita, Sylvia Netzer, Stuart Nicholson, Bill Nogosek, Kurt Novak, Toki Ozaki, Kiyomitsu Saito, Sumayyah Samaha, Libby Seaberg, Barbara Schwartz, John Shelby Schmidt, Robbin Ami Silverberg, Zelda Tanenbaum, Rumiko Tsuda and Daniel Georges, Lynn Umlaut, Angela Valeria, Robert van Erve, Joy Walker, and Eileen Weitzman.

LOCAL PAPERS was organized and curated by Fran Kornfeld, an artist who lives and works in Brooklyn. An Evening of Artists Performances was organized by Stuart Nicholson.

In the first floor small gallery are the watercolors of Virginia Hoge. Virginia says about her own work:

"I like paintings to offer the viewer a piece of reflection. These paintings are landscapes, not taken from any specific place, not even a specific time of day, but imagined. I would like for these paintings to summon up the same kind of mental day-dreamedness that happens on long drives, where one is looking at the road but not thinking about the road. The road might imply a journey, but often a 'journey' in less literal terms, perhaps a mulling over, perhaps something deeper."

"My painting technique involves using wet paint on very wet paper. I like what happens when the flow of the water helps to create the painting. I work hard to keep the freshness of the medium intact, the colors clear and unmuddled. And then I strive for a certain kind of rainy atmosphere, a phosphorous light, which is accomplished by the use of water itself."

The WAH Center was founded by artist Yuko Nii in a landmark structure dating back to 1867 and located at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Broadway in Brooklyn. It serves the general public as well as the ever expanding community of artists in North Brooklyn and beyond by presenting art exhibitions, performances and cultural events of special interest.

Thanks to Stuart Nicholson, Bill Nogosek, Kiyomitsu Saito and Lynn Umlaut for their help and support and special thanks to Yuko Nii and the WAH center for generously providing space for this exhibition.