Star-shaped watch, 1875-1900. Austria, silver gilt, rock crystal, enamel.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Albert Shahinian Fine Art is featuring Gary Fifer, one of the region’s most talented plein air painters, in a long-awaited solo exhibition. Entitled “The Timeless Landscape,” the show runs through October 8 with a closing reception planned for Sunday, October 7, from 2 to 5 pm.
Fifer is a consummate master who traces his roots to the American Impressionists active in New York and Connecticut during the late 1800s to early 1900s. He is a long-time protégé of Arthur Maynard, himself a student of Frank Dumond, and an instructor at the Art Student’s League and the Ridgewood Academy. Fifer also studied with Frank Mason at the League and later at the National Academy of Design.
Using his formal training as a starting point, Fifer has created a distinct personal and spiritual style in his work. His goal is to capture the prismatic flow of light moving everywhere through the subjects of his landscapes. For him, light defines color, reaches into space, fills space, bathes and defines objects, and imbues every view with a presence, time, and space. He believes this beauty of light’s illuminations compels him to paint and drives his creative impulses.
When beginning a painting, his first concern is to capture the immediacy of the time of day and time of year. Once the light is fixed in the painting’s background, details are added to complete the work. Since he tries to complete paintings in one sitting – being true to the original impressionist ideal of quickly capturing the mood of the moment – he has learned to render the fleeting elements of a subject by a simplified painting process using prisms and triads.
The 25 paintings on exhibit draw from subjects in the mid-Hudson Valley, Dutchess and Ulster counties, and Nantucket Island, where Fifer has spent a number of seasons painting. His work ranges from large, atmospheric paintings to intimate genre pieces depicting rural life.
The gallery is in the River District at 198 Main Street. Fall hours are Thursday through Saturday, 1 to 6 pm, Sunday, 1 to 5 pm and by appointment. For information, 845-454-0522.
