Glen Cove, NY - April 21, 2017 - Hersh Fine Art is pleased to announce Awakenings, a solo exhibition of paintings by Long Island artist Marjorie van de Stouwe. Awakenings will be on view from May 13 until June 17, 2017. The artist will be present for an opening reception on Saturday, May 13, from 6 to 8pm.
Dr. Marjorie van de Stouwe is woman devoted to nurturing and preserving life. Both a successful physician and a highly skilled artist, her artistic work naturally comes from a deep love and respect of life in its depiction of living flower arrangements and their accoutrements. “I would like my work to soften the edges on our minds,” Dr. van de Stouwe explains, “to create a sense of peace, and at times, possibly humor.” Her subject matter is primarily still life with an emphasis on nature, frequently featuring flowers picked straight from her garden.
Credit: Marjorie van de Stouwe/Long Island Academy of Fine Art
Each season offers a new opportunity to create a fresh body of work as the landscape changes with the weather. Awakenings celebrates transition, spring, and new birth. Tying together lyrical composition with an almost scientific investigation into the surface quality that communicates the difference between a dandelion and a daffodil, Dr. van de Stouwe’s work transcends mere academic pursuit. It celebrates the fleeting yet enduring qualities of beauty and impermanence. For a moment, the petals are intact and the leaves are suspended the in the air by their own strength, but the moment passes, and the flowers cannot endure long. Awakenings explores all stages of life and brings dignity to each one.
Antique Spray Roses subtlely pinpoints the moment of transition from the peak of life to its end. No petals have fallen, yet in an otherwise spry bouquet, several of the roses have begun to soften and sink, signaling the inevitable decline. Dandelions in a Crystal Vase pushes even further, immortalizing a common weed in all of its life cycles and giving it a place of honor in elegant crystal. It is a reminder that the apparent end of life is another beginning; the seeds will be taken up by the wind, dispersed, and new flowers will bloom.
Credit: Marjorie van de Stouwe/Long Island Academy of Fine Art
Dr. van de Stouwe began formal classical training in earnest in 2002, studying at the Stevenson Academy and then the Long Island Academy of Fine Art in Glen Cove, but her journey began when she purchased her first oil painting set in the 8th grade. Her strengths in science and math took her on a different career path, however, and she graduated medical school with a specialty in Rheumatology. Dr. van de Stouwe has continued a serious pursuit of painting while maintaining a thriving rheumatology practice and raising three daughters, taking workshops and classes on a regular basis in addition to private lessons with Michael Klein and others. In 2014 she brought her years of private training to the public eye and began exhibiting and winning awards in numerous juried shows across the United States, including exhibitions for Oil Painters of America and American Women Artists. Awakenings is her first solo exhibition. Dr. Van de Stouwe currently lives and paints in her home studio in Upper Brookville, Long Island.
Awakenings will run from May 13-June 17, 2017, with a gallery reception on May 13 from 6-8pm. For details please refer to www.hershfineart.com or contact Rebecca Forster at 516-590-4324 or info@liafa.com.