Two art exhibitions open at the Hoyt

Staff report

NEW CASTLE, PA.

The Hoyt Center for the Arts is closing the 2017 season with two new exhibitions in the ground-level galleries that are on display now through Dec. 21.

“Sensation of Place” features the abstract landscapes of New York-based artist Brian Rutenberg in the galleries of Hoyt East. Despite living in the city for some 30 years, Rutenberg describes himself as a Southern boy who credits his childhood memories of Pawley’s Island and bodies of water linking South Carolina to the ocean for his complex approach to light, color and composition.

“Southern children are taught to drink in the wondrous details of the local landscape,” he said. “A flower isn’t just a flower but Blue Water Hyssop or Southern March Canna, birds are Black-bellied Whistling Ducks or Red-footed Boobies, barbecue sauce is light tomato, heavy tomato, mustard or vinegar. Poetry lives in details, and the artist’s job is to intensify them.”

Rutenberg’s work has been featured in more than 200 exhibitions across the United States and may be found in numerous museum collections including the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown. Among his honors is a Fulbright Scholarship, fellowship from the New York Arts Foundation and the Basil Alkazzi USA Award.

“Playtime” features the assemblages of Edinburg native Michael Stephens in the Blair Sculpture Walkway.

A self-described “tinkerer,” Stephens loves to make stuff out of found objects – particularly metal. This fascination began as a kid in rural Missouri where he used to dig around in old farm trash dumps for vintage bottles and rusted metal pieces. He’s since added clock parts, gears, circuit boards and unusual objects collected from international travel.

The resulting collection is not only playful but has a distinctive steampunk vibe.

A noted metalsmith and jeweler, Stephens has received more than 40 awards at nationally juried art shows throughout the United States. He will begin offering classes at the Hoyt in 2018.

Rutenberg and Stephens will be present at a public reception Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free, and complimentary refreshments will be served.

The Hoyt is at 124 E. Leasure Ave. For information, go to hoytartcenter.org.