Andrea Epstein

andreaepstein.com, andreajepstein@gmail.com, 201-532-5637

I have always been driven to develop images focused more on the process itself and allowing images to emerge without a preconceived notion of the outcome. For me this process is one of simultaneous observation and participation, adding and subtracting, layering and peeling away, approaching and retreating. I am seeking a journey into uncharted territory. This journey allows for a certain amount of texture and mark making to happen on the surface of the picture plane, evolving into a complex arrangement of shapes, forms, textures and colors through a layering process. Often, before I start a monoprint or a painting, it feels as though the image, although unknown to me at the outset, is somehow already there. Not unlike an archeological dig, my job is to show up to excavate the image or composition and reveal what is lurking beneath the surface. I am unmasking my personal journey and vision as I explore my own intuitive process.  I layer transparent and opaque forms, shapes and calligraphic marks that go in and out of focus, creating an ambiguous space. My aim is to create an image that reveals itself slowly over time as opposed to being accessible all at once.

Collage has been an important part of my process for a long time now. Sometimes there are actual collaged elements in my paintings and prints but mostly it is a collage aesthetic that I choose to employ I work with oil based printing inks, acrylics and mixed media on paper, utilizing a variety of printmaking techniques, both planographic and relief. I use printmaking in a very intuitive spontaneous way, experimenting with traditional methods, such as collagraphs, monotypes, linoleum carvings and a combination of these processes which end up as monoprints. Often I will hand color the prints and they evolve into mixed media paintings and/or prints.

There isn’t much that is more pleasing to me than working in my studio, immersing myself in the work. Thrown into a creative trance, the world’s chaos falling away, I feel as though I’ve stepped outside of time. The joy of that process abounds and my work takes directions I can’t anticipate. What I truly love about the various printing methods I employ, is the element of surprise. I can achieve a variety of textures and colors in my print practice that I could not in painting alone, which is why I combine the painting and printing media. I also really enjoy doing multiples because I can create one image and take it through many permutations while still retaining a record of the process.

My training incudes a B.F.A. from The Rhode Island School of Design and an M.F.A. from The Yale School of Art.

Alfredo Cardenas

Alfredo Cardenas of Hispanic and Native American descent, was born in Brooklyn, NY, and holds a BFA degree in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute and an MFA Degree in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College. His training includes study at the School of Visual Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, The Art Students League and with master sculptor Jose de Creeft. Mr. Cardenas is Internationally known for his work, as he has exhibited galleries in New York, New Jersey, Newburgh, Yonkers, Rockport, Italy, and Portugal. He has won numerous awards and scholarships in sculpture and was a guest lecturer at Borough of Manhattan Community College and the School of Visual Arts. Alfredo has judged on panels for the Philadelphia Council for the Arts and Audobon Artists. His work entails a wide range of mediums such as stone, bronze, wood, metal, plastic, plaster, and found objects. In addition Alfredo has created molds and designs for F/X in films and restored monumental sculpture. Alfredo’s piece “Dinnig Room” has a permanent home on the waterfront in the Yonkers Symposium Sculpture Park. He has also been commissioned to do pieces for Oasis, A Haven for Women and Children and the Puffin Foundation. He continuously displays his sculptures at the Unison Arts Sculpture Garden in New Paltz, the Wildflower Sculpture Park in Maplewood and for the Wurtzboro Arts Alliance. Alfredo has taught at the Sculpture Center, Five Towns Music and Art Foundation, the Education Alliance, Brooklyn College, New Jersey School of Visual Arts, JCC Long Beach, Westchester Community College and Montclair State University. He currently teaches at Nassau Community College. His set design has been shown in collaboration with his wife Maxine Steinman at Montclair State University, Joyce SoHo, The 92nd Street Y, Pace Downtown Theater, and in Brazil and Japan. For more information email alfredocstudio@yahoo.com. Some of his work can be seen on Facebook.

Artist Statement
As a direct stone carver, my approach to sculpting is intuitive. I allow the stone to dictate part of its own design, turning raw material into an artistic form, either abstract or figurative. The color, shape and density of the stone play an important role in the outcome of the work. Both the rhythm and cylindrical design elements enable me to find the form hidden beneath the surface of the stone. Much of my work is inspired by nature, either figurative or abstract. I investigate the transformation of stone into natural forms from inorganic to organic, hard to soft, and from raw to supple. Aside from stone, my creations embrace both classical and abstract forms and consist of various mediums and textures including wood, metal, and bronze.