5/18/08

my sunday local artist ramble

It is always wonderful to discover new artists by writing this weekly blog, but it is also nice to revisit artists that have inspired me who happen to live in the good old HV (Hudson Valley, that is). Judy Pffaf is one of those people. I did not really get in touch with her work until an artist named Sheila Pepe came to the UMass University Gallery and reinterpreted/responded to an installation Pfaff did there many years before. You can see a write up and images of that here.

I guess what drew me into Pfaff's work was her ability to fuse so many artistic techniques into one experience. By using shape & form as her main focus, she still manages to tell a story (even if an abstract one). When viewing artwork I have a hard time experiencing abstractions as anything beyond emotional impulse. Momentary passions, pain or joy- no clear intellectual pathway that leads me to these emotions- just impulse. But Pfaff opened me up to the narrative that abstract art has to offer. Hats off to her. Another incredible Hudson Valley artist. By the way- Pfaff works at Bard College in Rhinebeck, NY.

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