spheris gallery | 59 South Main St | Hanover, NH | 603.640.6155

August 15, 2008 Contact: Anzell Jordaan For Immediate Release

Wolf Kahn and Ray Ruseckas Exhibit Pastels at Spheris Gallery

Hanover, New Hampshire…Renowned landscape artist, Wolf Kahn, opens an exhibition at Spheris Gallery with long time friend and fellow artist, Ray Ruseckas, on Saturday evening, September 13 th. The reception is open to the public from 6:00-8:00, and both the artists will be in attendance. The exhibition runs from September 6 th to October 8th, 2008.

The exhibition focuses on these two artists’ unique interpretations of the New England landscape by presenting both their past and present pastels. Kahn and Ruseckas have worked together in the Connecticut River Valley's fields and woods over the past several years to create their transcendent, expressive and poetic environmental impressions, here, rendered beautifully through pastels. This exhibition will focus, specifically, on Hanover and the surrounding region.

Kahn’s lyrical landscapes articulate nature through expressionism, emphasizing his interpretation through a revolutionary use of color. His bold palette describes the landscape in unexpected and often enlightening ways. One observer has noted, “what Degas was to pastel drawing in his time, Wolf Kahn is to pastel in ours.” Kahn evidences his ease with the medium through a light, loose hand and deft mark making--a signature of his drawing style.

Through color fusion, spontaneity and representation Kahn has produced a rich and atmospheric body of work, which helped him establish himself as one of the most important colorists working in the country today. His work is a synthesis of modern abstract painting and draws on a combination of other formal disciplines such as Color Field painting and the atmospheric qualities of the American Impressionists.

Ruseckas’ organic palette lends itself naturally to the striking river views and woodland of the area– he routinely uses gentle mauves and peaches, ochre, and quiet greens and grays. His works' moodiness and subtle mystery reflects the artist's personal and contemplative experience of the landscape.

He tends to layer the pastel, adding subtle tonal shifts that create remarkable depth of field. Often using handmade papers with long fibers and visible tooth, Ruseckas employs the paper's attributes by literally grinding the pigment into the paper and building off the surface. The resulting tactile quality and surface texture add dimension and movement to the work.

The Spheris Gallery is now celebrating its fourteenth year of representing contemporary art in New England and is open Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 – 5:30 and by appointment. The gallery is located at 59 South Main Street in Hanover, NH. For further information, call 603 640 6155 or visit the online gallery at www.spherisgallery.com.

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