It’s Necessary to Talk About Trees

River Valley Arts Collective is pleased to present It’s Necessary to Talk about Trees, an exhibition that evolves from the new non-profit’s focus on material and process, and its mission to serve artists of the Hudson Valley.

It’s Necessary to Talk about Trees presents work by a group of artists who express a unique sensitivity to the environmental and social issues that inform their practice. The exhibition title comes from Adrienne Rich’s 1991 poem “What Kind of Times Are These”⁠—an urgent question and a provocation⁠ in which Rich speaks allegorically of a forest that is haunted by the shadows of history. The poem’s conclusion, “It’s Necessary to Talk about Trees,” is a call to action that highlights how inspiration is found in the natural world and recognizes the power of art-making in troubling times.

The exhibition considers artists’ agency and their role as primary producers, the environmental factors that drive their work, and the generative power that renders visible what others seek to make disappear. Through the found and crafted, tactile and felt, these artists create tangible evidence of time and place.

ART + NATURE + HOME

Upstate Diary, the premiere niche publication featuring creative lifestyles close to nature, will present its first art and design exhibition, 

 will feature furniture, design, functional sculpture, and art—all created from natural materials such as wood, clay, wool, and stone. Many of the objects are created exclusively for the exhibition by a select group of inspiring artists and artisans including: Jeremy Anderson, Paula Greif, Paula Hayes, Kat Howard, Christina Kruse, Kieran Kinsella, Jonathan Kline, Christopher Kurtz, Re Jin Lee, Chris Lehrecke, Jonah Meyer, Jason Middlebrook, John-Paul Philippe, Martin Puryear, Kentaro Takashina, Nicola Tyson, Joshua Vogel, and Nadia Yaron.

Rachel Uffner Gallery and Mrs.

Rachel Uffner Gallery and Mrs. are pleased to present a collaborative exhibition which highlights select artists from each gallery program. Inspired by the unique architecture and setting of Foreland, this exhibition focuses on materiality and texture, gesture and abstraction, bold and distinctive color as well as line and dimension. By bringing these artists together a kinship is developed, creating new narratives and conversations between the galleries’ rosters and the artists themselves.

Elizabeth Atterbury
Bianca Beck
Strauss Bourque-LaFrance
Meghan Brady
Joanne Greenbaum
Hilary Harnischfeger
Carolyn Salas
Sally Saul

Open Saturdays & Sundays from 11am-6pm or by appointment. To make an appointment outside of normal hours, please email rebekah@racheluffnergallery.com.

Foreland Launch Party

On August 28th we celebrated the official launch of Foreland after nearly half a decade of development. Under the watchful gaze of two inflatable queer lovers, we toasted to creating an art world that we want to live in: one filled with joy, generosity, hard work and Jell-O shots. At Foreland we believe that rigorous, culturally significant creativity doesn't require the sacrifice of space and light and natural beauty. With that in mind, we danced on the waterfront late into the night, alongside a Caravaggio model atop a Felix Gonzalez-Torres inspired platform. This party was the manifestation of weird ideas hatched once the dust and noise of the construction site settled. It was wild. It was the art party that we'd always wanted to go to.

NADA x Foreland

, and co-organized with NADA Member Jesse Greenberg of JAG Projects, the NADA x Foreland exhibition will highlight artworks from a community of NADA galleries, nonprofits and artists with a focus on artists working in the region of Upstate New York. The exhibition will be a dynamic use of the Foreland buildings, allowing viewers to not only explore the art on view but also the Foreland campus.

NADA x Foreland is free, open to the public and no reservations are required. Free parking is available 

. Please enter the event at 361 Main Street. Review our 

Space is the Place

 is curated by Mike Mosby. For this one-day event, artist Reggie Madison will be joined by three jazz musicians playing a Sun Ra inspired composite at Foreland. Madison has been deeply inspired by jazz from the beginning of his artistic career. 

 allows audiences the unique opportunity to see Madison's work in relation to the artform that he holds so dear.

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1941 artist Reggie Madison was greatly influenced by his parents’ love of jazz. The Madisons would often visit Club DeLisa in Chicago and were particularly fond of one musician named Herman Blunt, who Reggie would later know to be Sun Ra. As a child, Reggie would make frequent trips with his family to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Despite the Madison's love of arts, there were no paintings in their family home beside a lone drawing by Charles White, his aunt's schoolmate. Madison's first exhibition was in 1970 in a downtown storefront in Chicago and he later studied independently in Paris, Venice and Copenhagen. Eventually Madison settled in New York, first at a Greenwich Village studio and later in the Hudson Valley where he now calls home. Reggie Madison's work has been exhibited internationally and resides in both private and public collections both domestically and abroad.

's jazz trio is comprised of Anthony Ware, saxophonist and composer; Eric Wheeler, jazz bassist; and Jerome Jennings, drummer. All three performers have had extensive and inspiring careers that feature touring, recording, education and activism.

are $10 which will be collected at the door (cash or Venmo) and include drinks provided courtesy of Left Bank Ciders. Foreland will donate a ticket to a student in Greene County for every ticket purchased. A special food pop from Seafood Steamery will take place on Foreland's waterfront on the day of the event from 1-9pm. 

Untitled (Cardinal C-80)

Foreland is thrilled to present Virginia Overton's monumental sculpture, 

 is available for public view every Saturday and Sunday from 9am-6pm, October 14th, 2021 through February 28th, 2022. 

Virginia Overton was born in Nashville, Tennessee and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She creates sculpture and installation repurposing materials commonly associated with factories, farms and construction. By means of both subtle and drastic interventions, Overton re-contextualizes these ordinary objects revealing their intrinsic properties which highlights the wear accrued by passing time.

 sculpture consists of a white steel frame, previously used as a forklift glass transport rack stood on end. Within each of its many recesses Overton has fit white marble, cut carefully to size. The white monochrome has striations of grey in the marble and rust colored oxidation on the surface of the steel. The muscular structure bends outward in an L-shape, reminiscent of a screen divider, usually made of lightweight materials like paper and wood. The artwork is titled in a direct fashion, noting an industrial stencil stamped on the edge of its frame: “Cardinal C-80.”

To view the sculpture, park at 111 Water Street and walk north along the waterfront towards the artwork, situated between our buildings at 111 and 125 Water Street. Parking is free, there's no cost to visit and reservations are not required. Additional winter hours may be available based on visitor demand. Please subscribe to our emails and follow our Instagram at @Forelandcatskill to stay abreast of changes in public viewing hours.

Virginia Overton

Foreland Fellowship

The Foreland Fellowship provides a free 1,000 square foot studio at Foreland to an exceptional Hudson Valley-based artist who identifies as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI or as a person of color. Foreland acknowledges that structural barriers exist to make participation in the art world more difficult for artists of color. We are striving to develop a community that looks like the world we want to live in: strongly diverse, mutually supportive and culturally significant. The Fellowship studio is located within our campus comprised of 31 artist studios, exhibition spaces, event spaces and a café. In addition to the studio, this fellowship includes professional development opportunities such as studio visits with curators and/or galleries; exposure to the network of prestigious artists who base their studio practice at Foreland; and access to Foreland’s ancillary initiatives including events, programs, fairs, and exhibitions. Please note that this opportunity does not include housing or supplemental funding.

The Fellowship runs from June 1 to November 30, 2022.

-Applicants must identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI or as a person of color

-Applicants should live full or part time within 60 miles of Catskill, NY

-Students are not eligible for the Fellowship

-Artists working in any visual medium may apply

-Artists who have a sustained practice of working in a collaborative partnership of up to two people may apply together (please submit a single application)

The Fellow will receive a free 1,000 square foot studio for six months from June 1 to November 30, 2022. The studio is fully private, with multiple windows, fiber optic internet, a utility sink and individual temperature control.

Applicants will be asked to submit an eligibility questionnaire, 10 media representations of their work, a CV and contact details for a professional reference. The application is free and can be found 

Submissions will be reviewed by a panel including Ebony Haynes, Director of 52 Walker Street, and Ruba Katrib, Curator at MoMA PS1.

All applicants informed of their status: by March 15, 2022

Fellowship period: June 1 to November 30, 2022

Blue Winter Market

Saturday, December 11 and Sunday, December 12, from 11a-5p at 361 Main St., Catskill, NY. Organized by Current Cassis. 

Join us for a tender blue universe featuring a selection of textiles, prints, ceramics, homewares, candles, spirits, and, of course, cassis, from artists and makers who center reuse, human connection, and ecology in their work. 

With work by: Likeminded Objects, MYFAWNWY, Thank You have a Good Day, Village Common, Philo Cohen/Speciwomen, Maya Strauss, Hannah Shultz, Matchbook Distilling, and Current Cassis. 

In conjunction, a special, ticketed event, "The Art of Alcohol" will take place on December 12th from 2-4pm. Join Leslie Merinoff (Matchbook Distilling) and Rachael Petach (C. Cassis) for the chance to create the custom spirit of your dreams while learning about the science, tradition, agriculture and anthropology that make the art of alcohol so special. Tickets can be purchased 

Painting People Class

Foreland is pleased to announce its first educational offering, a class called “Painting People” taught by artist Caitlin MacBride, a studio tenant within the Foreland campus. This class is open to grade school students above the age of 12, college students and adults interested in art. There is no charge for the class and all supplies are included.

Participants are asked to attend 3 of the 4 classes, minimum. If you are interested but unsure if you will be able to attend, please refrain from registering, as space is limited to 15 students.

“Painting People” will cover the basics of proportion, color mixing, and painting methods using a fun, experimental approach. Participants will work with acrylic paint and will learn about a variety of techniques and approaches including realistic, surrealist and cubist styles. Students will learn to use both observation and imagination to create a portfolio of portraits. The class will culminate with an exhibition reception showcasing participants' work in the Foreland galleries.

 to register yourself or your child before December 15, 2021.

Masks will be required for all participants.

Caitlin MacBride is an artist and educator who received her MFA in painting at Bard College and her BFA from RISD. MacBride has taught students of all ages at Abrons Arts Center, Rutgers University, Bard College, University of Tennessee, Brooklyn College Community Program, Tyler School Of Art, and public schools in 4 of the 5 boroughs of NYC. She has exhibited her work at Fisher Parrish, Heroes Gallery, Chapter NY, Real Fine Arts, Greene Naftali, Zach Feuer, Jack Barrett Gallery, Hesse Flatow and Neuer Berliner Kunstverein among other venues. Her work has been written about in 

Current

Installation

Virginia Overton

Untitled (Cardinal C-80)

OPPORTUNITY

Foreland Fellowship

Upcoming

market

Blue Winter Market

OPPORTUNITY

Painting People Class

Past

Exhibition

It’s Necessary to Talk About Trees

Exhibition

ART + NATURE + HOME

Exhibition

Rachel Uffner Gallery and Mrs.

Event

Foreland Launch Party

Exhibition

NADA x Foreland

Event

Space is the Place