Local contemporary artist’s work shows at Pawtucket gallery
The exhibition of Rachel Brask’s Abstracted Rainy Moments were included in an article in the April 6, 2017 edition of The East Providence Post. View/download PDF of full e-edition here.
Full text of article below:
Local contemporary artist’s work shows at Pawtucket gallery
City resident Brask’s effort featured for the next several weeks at Forget-Me-Not
Winter days will vanish at The Samaritans “Meet the Artist” reception on Friday, April 6, at the agency’s Forge-Me-Not Gallery, 67 Park Place in Pawtucket. The reception, fromt 6- to 9 p.m, will showcase the contemporary art of East Providence resident Rachel Brask entitled “Abstracted Rainy Moments”.
The exhibit will also be the inspiration for National Poetry Month events including poetry writing workshops for new poets, artist demonstration, readings by Galway Kinnell Poetry contest winners and a People’s Poetry Prize Contest.
Poetry is not new for the gallery as each year the space is the backdrop for the Pawtucket Art Festival’s Galway Kinnell Poetry Contest but to actually have the art inspire public participation in poetry events is new and one that the Samaritans executive director, Denise Panichas, hopes will encourage new audiences to visit the gallery and learn more about the gallery’s purpose. According to Samaritans’ website, the mission of gallery is to partner with Rhode Island’s creative community to inspire hope and inspiration.
“Our planning committee including artist Rachel Brask, Patti McAlpine, organizer of the Galway Kinnell Poetry Contest, Norma Jenckes, a Galway Kinnell 2016 honoree and gallery curator Eric Auger did a wonderful job of creating an exhibit and roster of events that will engage the community. I don’t think everyone will be disappointed,” said Panichas.
Rain is not usually something people embrace, but according to curator Auger, the colorful pieces created by Brask will help anyone tired of our late winter to think spring is just around the corner. “At the Forget-Me-Not Gallery, we strive to curate exhibits that are both visual stimulating and uplifting in spirit. Rachel’s presentation invites the viewer to see rain through her eyes…as a joyous and refreshing harmony of depth and color. I am looking forward to seeing how the imagery of this amazing exhibit encourages poets in the People’s Poetry contest to match the gallery’s mission of hope and inspiration.”
The exhibit will be on display from April 7 through June 30. Starting April 7 gallery hours will be Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To register online for the poetry workshops and to see rules for People Poetry Contest web submissions see News and Events at http://www.samaritansri.org or call The Samaritans business line at 401-721-5220.
Brask is a Rhode Island contemporary abstract expressionist painter with impressionist leanings. An active member of the Rhode Island art community, Rachel is involved in several area organizations serving in various roles, including: Art League Rhode Island, Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, Pawtucket Foundation, East Providence Arts Council, and the Graphic Artists Guild. Rachel studied art at Houghton College, concentrating in painting, design and photography. When she’s not painting or working, Rachel spends her time on education outreach and graphic design. Her studio is in East Providence. Find out more about her art at rachelbraskart.com
Of her work, Brask said,” Do you embrace the view or shy away? A rainy window intrigues me; it draws me closer. I study how the sheets of rain pouring down the panes causes distortion of the view outside. The flow of water abstracts the lens through which an observer sees the world outside in that moment. Rain makes the colors brighter and blend together. Lines and shapes becme blurred, and the motion of the continuing rain makes the scene even more dynamic. I embrace the rain and all that will be refreshed with hope and possibility. In these moments, I’m reminded of a poem by Abraham Sutzkever, that these colors, these moments, “…all this illuminated by the rain.”