Winners Fine Art Showcase

The Smithtown Township Arts Council is pleased to announce Winners Showcase 2013, an exhibition featuring the work of award-winning artists from STAC’s 2012 juried exhibitions, May 18 – June 14 at The Mills Pond House Gallery in St. James. Regular Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10 am-5pm; Saturday and Sunday, 12-4pm. Closed Holidays. Call 631-862-6575 for more information. Admission to the gallery is free. The public is invited to an opening reception on May 18 at 2 pm to meet the artists and view their work.

Participating artists:

Shelia Cappelletti lives in Queens, New York and began painting landscapes at the age of nine with her father, an artist and teacher. She lost her father at age ten, but his legacy to her endured throughout her life. Her work has won numerous awards and is held in many private collections. “My paintings try to capture the transience of earth’s meaning of existence. They are flights of the imagination that allows the viewer to feel the power to interpret visions through abstract shapes of colors. Hopefully, it will carry some emotional content.”

Photographer Tommy Matthews was born and raised in Seattle, WA. He has always felt affection for both natural surroundings and the hidden landscapes of the city. “Photography for me is closely intertwined with memory. When making an exposure I am hoping to discover and convey the history of the subject, from as far in the past as possible until the moment I release the shutter. Using a wooden whole plate camera from 1908, among others, he creates unique, one-of-a-kind images blending historical process photography with the new digital of today.

Photographer Karen George Mortimore is a native Long Islander from the south shore, who has been capturing life on Long Island, or wherever she travels, since she was 10 years old. “My eyes tend to unveil character, contrast and depth in places where other might not look twice. Many of my images portray an out of the ordinary view of our typical everyday lives.”  Karen’s style can be quite abstract at times, but natural.  Most often, her shots are “the spur of the moment”, with only one chance to capture the shot.

New Hyde Park artist Gia Schifano is basically self-taught “except for the help of some inspirational high school teachers and the artists that surrounded my life” She loves to paint local scenes from the North Shore and East End of Long Island where she spends most of her summers.
Using acrylic, she recreates the light and color that Eastern Long Island is famous for.

Gunter Stern has been involved in the arts throughout his life. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums across Long Island. Gunter’s preferred mediums are oil and acrylic which he often mixes with sand. The
resulting gritty surface gives his paintings a unique impasto appearance. As a lyricist and vocalist, Gunter has held leading rolls in numerous musicals and has appeared on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in La Rondine’.

Long Island artist Nicholas J. Valentino uses
“throw-away” items (e.g. automobile parts, old musical instruments) to create his unique mixed media art. He is a collector of sorts who has taken his love of cars and music to a completely new level, creating beautiful contemporary
art out of discarded items.