27 Jul 2017

Homeland

Art Garage - Cooperstown

Reviewed by Petey Brown

Homeland is the theme of the current group show at the Art Garage. Peter Edlund uses a limited palette of blue to evoke a nostalgic mood as he paints images inspired by the meaning of Otsego County place names, in the original Seneca, Munsee, and Mohawk languages. Tracy Helgeson portrays rural landscapes, barns and farmhouses in country scenes, emitting a poetic light that suffuses the canvases.

Ashley Cooper’s works are inspired by iPad communication with her husband during his deployment in Afghanistan. New Hat, a lushly painted picture, shows a child modeling his hat for the absent father. In Popcorn, an overhead view of the artist's hands holding the iPad shows the face of her faraway spouse. A cat snuggles beside her and a bowl of popcorn sits nearby, contrasting the intimate details of home and comfort with the distant volunteer's patriotic sacrifice. The work is poignant and sensitive, while maintaining subtle humor, perhaps the key to enduring the separation with grace.