SHE SHE at ArtUp Gallery

By Jenny Neal

MARGARETVILLE — Friday, August 1 saw the opening of a new show “SHE SHE” at ArtUp Gallery in Margaretville featuring two artists: Beth Reisman and Donna Tadelman.

ArtUp frequently shows art that leans towards abstract and SHE SHE is no exception. The name of the show is partly a humorous play on the phrase chi-chi, but this show is fabulously bold and striking.

Both artist’s use of color is remarkable, but their styles - the way they arrange and create the color - contrast vividly.

Beth Reisman’s work evokes nature and her paintings feel soothing like nature, and uplifting. The paint appears to flow like ripples or waves rendered in muted and soft tones. Her starting point is wood grain patterns, but why? “I use wood grain as a metaphor for the interior marking of existence,” she says. “It started by accident. I painted on wood panels because I like the surface. I didn’t like the texture of canvas. The panels had grain and I started to become intrigued with that, and one thing led to another and it felt right”.

Beth says she has been inspired by the mountains since she starting working here. “I find the line of the mountains against the sky when you’re driving up here magical”.

Donna Tadelman’s compositions are geometric and more brightly colored, one piece looking like a pixelated image of nature in a variety of earthy hues. There’s a 3-D aspect to one piece, where some of the shading makes the painting look like the sun is shining across it. Another piece looks like a multicolored patchwork canvas.

Asked what her main inspiration for this body of work is, Donna replies: “freedom from having to work anymore. Freedom from anyone having any expectations of me”.

“I did mostly still-life in my young adult life and then I had to take a break from painting for about a decade. When I came back, still-life felt like a job”.

Asked what parts of her personality her work expresses, she says: “it’s everything: color and visual things are my touchstone. It’s where I can be calm and aware and mindful. It’s a feeling that nothing else gives me in the world. I grew up kind of poor and I always thought I didn’t have what other people had. At one point in my life I thought: I can make whatever I want”.

“At my age - I’m going to be 73 this year - there’s a freedom in getting older. It’s not terrible. It’s wonderful. I’ve never felt so comfortable in my own skin. Feeling that way, I’m free to do whatever comes to my mind”.

When asked why their two distinct styles work so well together, Beth says: “it’s the attention to detail - and color”.

Beth Reisman received a B.A. from Clark University, B.F.A. from Tyler School of Art, Phila., PA and a M.F.A. from the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives in Jackson Heights, Queens and works in Long Island City and Margaretville, New York.

Donna Tadelman has been a Chicago based painter. Initially self-taught, she received formal training in painting and drawing at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) in the early 1970s.

This truly wonderful show will be on view until August 24, 2025. Gallery opening hours are: Friday to Sunday, 12-4pm. ArtUp Gallery, 746 Main Street, Binnekill Square, Margaretville, NY 12455.

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