August 7 - September 2, 2025

Abstracting the Personal
Beth Barry, Carol Beron, Reidunn Fraas, and Harriet Livathinos

Friends and Family III
Karin Bruckner, Stephen Cimini, Sandi Daniel, Kate Missett, Vera Sapozhnikova, Stewart Siskind, Christopher Skura, Marlena Vaccaro, John Wittenberg, and Young Ja Yoon

On The Wall: Observatory Redux
Ann Kronenberg

Opening Reception: Thursday, August 7, 6 - 8pm

Abstracting the Personal

Abstracting the Personal presents the work of four artists, Beth Berry, Carol Beron, Reidunn Fraas, and Harriet Livathinos, that all share bright, organic shapes and forms. Their works draw from the emotion and inspiration they find in nature, each creating unique expressions full of texture. Exploration and experimentation are a part of every step of their processes as they use different techniques of line, color, and form to produce raw, dynamic compositions. Nature, discovery, and authenticity connect these artists’ processes and work resulting in a show that displays the direct, honest results of experimentation and discovery in art.  

Beth Berry’s paintings are responses to the extraordinary reverence one experiences in the presence of nature. Movement, light, and scale combined with her perceptual experience have transformed her work from traditional landscapes to more abstract ones that capture the feelings and sublime of nature. Her paintings start with a strong gestural line evolving into organic shapes. The quick drying nature of acrylic paint allows her to layer shapes adding depth, and complexity to her compositions. Additionally, to further the emotional impact her paintings have she chooses buoyant colors.  

Carol Beron’s inspiration comes from nature – natural patterns, formations, and light. After observing nature, she takes the mental images she has and uses clay to create different forms. Drawn and textured carvings are then added and adorn the piece, adding dimension and depth. Her works come from a place of spontaneity and are rarely planned. She feels a sense of satisfaction when she is able to transform her observations into the direct, clear, honest expression of her works.

Reidunn Fraas’ inspiration often comes from the natural world. She utilizes the abstract, allowing her paintings, the forms, shapes, textures, and colors, to be interpreted in limitless ways. While creating her pieces she experiments, as to her, painting is a happening, creating an experience. She often surprises herself with unexpected variables and results in her paintings, involving herself with the revelations that occur as she explores. These paintings are acrylic on canvas and have been completed in the past three years, all with their own unique journey and challenges.

Harriet Livathinos’ work focuses on line, color, and form, and their influence on the space around them. She uses these elements to explore air, density, and depth to create a piece that expresses both the tangible and intangible, as well as raw emotion.  She uses a variety of mediums from pencil to pastels, and an array of surfaces such as paper and different preparations of canvas. By using varying techniques, mediums, foundations, and expressions of line, color, and form, Livathinos creates expressive compositions.

Friends and Family III

Friends Family III features the self-curated work of ten artists including Karin Bruckner, Stephen Cimini, Sandi Daniel, Kate Missett, Vera Sapozhnikova, Stewart Siskind, Christopher Skura, Marlena Vaccaro, John Wittenberg, and Young Ja Yoon. These artists have come together to create this exhibition in support of the Carter Burden Gallery’s mission. Represented is an array of mediums including painting, photography, sculpture, collage, mixed media, and works on paper.

In Friends and Family III Sandi Daniel explores themes of connection, impermanence, and regeneration by weaving together photographs of trees, creating intricate tapestries that merge time, texture, and perspective. She states, “Nature tells stories in layers—roots entwining beneath the soil, branches stretching toward the sky, histories etched into the bark.” Photography itself captures a single moment but by interlacing them, that stillness is disrupted, fractured, and reassembled into something new, just as a memory distorts and reconfigures our past.

Young Ja Yoon, born in Seoul, Korea in 1941, grew up on a farm in the countryside. Inspired by her childhood experiences during the Korean War, her series of Earth toned color field paintings embody the importance and necessity of food, shelter, and love. Yoon describes two grueling years fighting extreme cold, heat, and hunger until her family was able to return to their small farming village. She describes, “Finally, the war was over, and my family was together again… We could never forget the importance of soil in our life.”

John Wittenberg's work is deeply rooted in his observation of the physical world. His eye is drawn to the interaction of light and shadow and the natural cycle of growth, decay, and renewal. He is inspired by the transformations of objects in varying light and at the meeting points of different surfaces, a theme that has influenced his entire career. He prefers working with materials such as steel, stone, wood, and paper, allowing his ideas to evolve organically through the creative process.

Observatory Redux

Observatory Redux by Ann Kronenberg encompasses many interpretations relating to using art, science, and religion to create order, unity, and comfort with the disorderly and vast reality of space, and internal psyche. This eighteen foot installation in CBG’s On the Wall space is built from polychromed wood, electrical wiring, bulbs, and bookwork. The first interpretation, an observatory, is meant to display the stars in anthropomorphized constellations as they have been throughout history to give a more concrete connection between space and humanity. By displaying the stars in this way, Observatory Redux conveys a sense of cosmic connectedness that is attainable through art. Much like art, religion also aims to connect humanity to abstract ideas. Because of this, the piece resembles an altar that demonstrates the kinship of religion and art. Thirdly, Observatory Redux can be interpreted as a rocket ship to demonstrate that humanity aims to control the vastness of space to avoid seeking solutions to problems on Earth. The mythologic stories conveyed in Observatory Redux are used to parallel Kronenberg’s own conflicts and life. Finally, the connection of individuality and the stars demonstrates the complementary principles expressed in the Yin-Yang of Chinese philosophy. Observatory Redux is meant to express numerous ideas relating to the need of humanity to understand and control abstract ideas.

Ann Kronenberg is a versatile artist and writer whose creative endeavors span a wide array of mediums, including sculptural objects, installations, book works, works on paper, handmade paper works, wearables, and performance art. Beyond her visual creations, Kronenberg also delves into literature, crafting memoirs and texts for her book works, adding depth and narrative to her artistic expressions. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and exhibition spaces in New York City and across the nation. With a rich background in education, Kronenberg has shared her passion for art with students of all ages, teaching adult education courses, children and adolescents, and facilitating continuing professional education. Her extensive experience extends beyond the classroom, encompassing roles in arts and non-profit administration, editorial work for artists' newsletters, published art criticism, clothing design for retail markets, and costume design for performances. Additionally, her illustrations have been featured in national magazines, showcasing her multifaceted talents. She studied art and art history extensively, earning her MFA in sculpture from Hunter College.  However, her academic journey began with her undergraduate major in biological sciences, receiving an AB from Cornell University, and continued with years of teaching science and working in laboratories. This unique background infuses her art with a distinctive perspective, as her scientific training informs both her subject matter and analytical approach to artistic creation.

Observatory Redux is on view until November 8, 2025.