ART ALLIANCE SHOW OPENS

Elena Samarsky: When Silence Becomes Color

Elena Samarsky will present her abstract paintings at the Art Alliance of Monmouth County from July 18th to August 5th. Samarsky’s paintings are full of motion and color. For Samarsky the essence of art is not the end product but the act of creating the artwork: the speed of the gestures, the tensions between brush and canvas, between hand and brush, between paint and tool. Samarsky’s creation of the painting makes use of broken color, uneven saturation, crude application of the paint, forceful removal of of base layers and scratching, scraping, and peeling of the surface.Of her work, Samarsky paraphraases the art critic, Harold Rosenberg, at some point the canvas becomes the boundried arena, depicting not a picture but events.
Coming of age in Ukraine Samarsky was exposed to Eastern European avant-garde art and iconography. However, it was not before she moved to Vienna when she first started painting. It was a few years later in Oxford, during her Ph.D., that she had her first exhibition. Samarsky lived in Vienna, Berlin, and London and submerged herself in European art and examined it through historical as well as intellectual lenses. And although she became fascinated with 19th Century and Impressionist art she was influenced by Abstract Expressionism. Finally, moving to New York City, and her exposure to the collections of abstract expressionism, solidified her love of Abstract Expressionism.
Samarsky has exhibited nationally and internationally, participated in numerous Artist in Residency Programs, and appeared in radio and podcasts. Her artwork has appeared in magazines and book covers.
Samarsky’s exhibit will be open from July 18th to August 5th, Wednesday to Sunday 12-7. The opening will be Saturday July 19th 5-7PM, Artist Talk at 6PM.
Exhibitions at the Art Alliance change monthly. Six exhibitions a year show work by members of the Art Alliance. Three exhibitions, including the Annual Juried Exhibition, are open to members and non-members. Every January, the Art Alliance hosts an invitational show, featuring work by notable area artists. During the summer months, the programming is open to artists selected by the Art Alliance’s curators who undertake their own shows.

For more information, visit the website at www.artallianceofmonmouth.org, or visit or call the gallery during operating hours, (732) 842-9403.
Founded in 1978, the Art Alliance of Monmouth County is dedicated to promoting the advancement of the visual arts and providing exhibition, studio, and classroom space to local artists. New members are always welcome.

Membership in the Art Alliance is open to visual artists at any skill level and to art lovers. Membership fee is $50 per year, $25 for students with id. Benefits of membership include reduced entry fee for all exhibits ($5 per piece for up to 3 pieces for members; $10 per piece for non-members); affordable studio space; diverse classes and workshops; networking opportunities; the possibility of mounting an independent exhibit during the summer. In addition, the Art Alliance maintains a website, a bi-monthly newsletter, and a Facebook page.

A non-profit organization, the programs of the Art Alliance of Monmouth County are made possible in part by the Monmouth County Arts Council through funding from the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment of the Arts.