Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Threads, new pastels by Sheilah Rechtschaffer at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring New York. The exhibition will run from July 1 through July 31, 2016.  The opening for the show will be on Friday July 1, 2016 from 6-8pm.

A recent rediscovery of the1994 painting, Fire in the Lake establishes the visual and subjective theme of the exhibit. It reminded her of the an Asian mountain range, a lake aflame, calligraphic mark making, tied to events and travels, executed in loose and brushy, high keyed colors; which together dramatically changed the direction of her work.  The exhibition follows Rechtschaffer's thought process involving color, materials and mark making that has evolved in series after series, with different subject matter throughout her career, unconsciously in the earlier work and consciously in this latest exhibition.

In this exhibition the recurrent theme is fire and water. Elements that are connected to issues of environment, political events, history, and awareness of current problems, are the basis for this body of new work.  Rechtschaffer states; “It was the beauty of the environment that stirred me to think of the Interface between history, politics and landscape. The peacefulness of my artwork is also a plea and a warning.” Beauty and conscience combine in this exhibition to create works that resonate.

Rechtschaffer has been making pastel drawings for decades using a process that employs vigorous expressive lines and space in brilliant colors developed through multiple layers. She uses her own recycled and resurfaced papers, which create a base of rich muted color, and textures that are imbued with the echoes of previous mark making suggesting a "thread" of history expressed in the newer work.

Sheilah Rechtschaffer has degrees from Boston University and SUNY Purchase. She taught fresco painting at Parsons School of Design for many years. Rechtschaffer is also a co-founder of Academia Caerite summer workshop in Ceri, Italy working there from 1991 to 2000. She has exhibited at numerous galleries and art spaces including the Skylight Gallery in NYC, Theo Ganz Gallery in Beacon NY, Gallery 66 in Cold Spring NY and the Garrison Art Center in Garrison NY. Rechtschaffer”s work is in many collections locally, nationally including collections in Italy and Vietnam

Buster Levi Gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 12-6 pm. 
For more information: busterlevigallery.com