Published: February 02, 2009 11:02 am      

ART: Falls artist featured in new Castellani exhibit

There’s only thing more telling than the paintings selected for Amy Greenan’s new exhibit and that is the art that remains on the walls of her home.

In the living room of her little Niagara Falls bungalow hangs a large painting of what appears to be two people, although one is nearly see-through. The hand of one person seems to be reaching inside the body of the other and grabbing the spinal cord.

The words “You’ll be dead by Sunday,” are sketched on one quadrant and then painted over in a ragged manner.

It seems a rather ominous work, luring the viewer into a dark period of the artist’s life. When those feelings are expressed by a viewer to the artist, she tilts her head and says in a thoughtful tone, “Interesting. I’ve never heard that before.” The painting is actually about the death of one of her favorite singers several days after he performed in the area. “You’ll be dead by Sunday,” are the words she heard in her head as she painted.

The work seems to expose the artist’s dread but fills in no blanks to help the viewer with the storyline.

That’s just what Amy Greenan is after these days. She tells her intensely personal stories but leaves enough unknown so that the viewer is enticed to imagine their own ideas. “You can attach a story afterward if you want,” she said. “That’s always nice.”

Greenan, whose work is being exhibited in a prestigious solo exhibition series for emerging artists at the Castellani Art Museum, was selected for the honor largely because her work is intensely personal, according to Castellani curator Michael Beam.

A self-portrait included in the exhibit called “Lady Godiva’s Operation,” might be interpreted as a celebration of self awareness. It is a woman, shown from the back, with long dark hair flowing over her shoulders. Her heart appears to be leaving her chest, maybe going out into the world, or maybe not.

Greenan says she painted it as the final work in a lifelong series of self-images exploring her life “as an obese woman.” The Godiva work might be described as curious, yet triumphant. But actually, the heart in the painting was recycled, she said, from a previous work she had painted over. In the context of her examination of body issues, that seems to makes sense.

“I finally feel like I’m finding a way to be personal and do things that matter to me and yet reach out to other people,” she explained.

Greenan describes the solo exhibit as “the biggest thrill of my life.” She applied for the honor at the urging of a friend, former long-time curator at the Burchfield Penney Art Center Gerald Mead, whom she met when both were pursuing their Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Buffalo.

Mead, who was the Burchfield curator for 20 years, said Greenan’s work has a strong emotional feel.

“When you feel like you have an insider’s view of how the artist sees themselves in such a direct and raw manner, it draws you in,” Mead said.

“Her work stood out because it had a real sense of honesty to it,” said Beam. “You can tell when you look at her work that she is really working things out.”

The most significant reward from the experience for Greenan is a professionally produced catalog detailing her history and her work. The emerging artists are encouraged to use the catalog — something many exhibiting artists don’t possess — as they solicit future exhibitions.

The catalog, the exhibit and a special workshop she is holding on the personal magazines or “zines” she includes in the exhibit, are providing the motivation for Greenan to move towards what she says is “every artist’s dream of being able to live off their art.”

“I really need to get out there and be seen,” she said. “This year I plan to get out the door a little bit more.”



IF YOU GO

WHAT: Amy Greenan Exhibit: Nothing Was About to Happen

WHEN: Feb. 1 to May 17.

WHERE: Castellani Art Museum, Niagara University, Lewiston.

CONTACT: 286-8200 or www.niagara.edu/cam