4th Annual AMR Artists Exhibition Impresses

By Jenny Neal

MARGARETVILLE — Last Saturday September 20 saw the opening reception of the AMR’s group exhibition at the Galli-Gurci Theatre on Main Street in Margaretville. Every September following the annual July AMR Open Studios tour, the organization hosts this group show featuring a number of the artists who participated in the open studios tour. All work is for sale and nine pieces were sold at the reception.

Firstly, thanks are due to the tireless organizers Deborah Ruggiero, President, and Rebecca Andre, Executive Director of the AMR, which is a non-profit. Rebecca organized the show. Deb directed the hanging team that included Victoria Scott, Wayne Morris, Samantha Nick and Rebecca. It took the best part of four days to meticulously hang participants’ work, first laying out all the work and deciding where it will go; marking an axis on the wall and measuring each piece of work to make sure it aligns evenly on the axis.

This rural community is indebted to all volunteers in all areas who go above and beyond what’s required to contribute their time and best efforts to all fields in our society, sometimes earning little or nothing.

The AMR began as a grass-roots collective in 2012, hosting the Open Studios Tour in the three Delaware County towns of Andes, Margaretville and Roxbury. Now hosting the tour in eight Delaware County towns, the event expands each year, providing access for mountain region artists as they promote both established and emerging creatives.

There were 45 artists in this year’s exhibition showing a mix of smaller works punctuated by two or three very large works, by Samantha Nick and Gary Mayer. This new work from Gary highlights a foray into monochrome, except for the delicate presence of a lemon yellow, a departure from the vivid multicolor of previous works. Samantha Nick’s “Her”, a glorious rendering of the female form in warm orange was the most striking for the intricate detail of its subject, as well as its size.

Other artists were: Alan Powell, Aldo Gonzalez, Ale Casta, Amy Metnick, Ann Hoffman, Corneel Verlaan, Deborah Ruggiero, Dominik T. Wyka, Don Freeman, Eddie Donaghue, Ellen Wong, Esther De Jong, Fred Woller, Gail Freund, Gerda van Leeuwen, GG Stankiewicz, Holly Cohen (dreamy landscapes), Irina Grinevitskaya, Ivory Biruk, Jenna Spevack, Jennifer Lord Rhodes, Joe Miller, Kathleen Sweeney, Lesley Powell, Lynn Preston, Maria del Carmen Garcia, Mary McFerran, Michael Reichman, Mina Teslaru, Rebecca Andre (luminous nature photography printed on metal), Rich Tazzara, Ricky Zia, Rob Brune, Robin Kappy, Ron Macklin, Scott Ackerman, Sheila McManus, Stormy Brandenberg, Suzanne Ausnit, Tabitha Gilmore-Barnes, Victoria Scott and Wayne Morris.

Don Freeman has produced a series of beautiful ghostly vases portrayed in mixed media (layered photographs printed on fabric mounted on wood), two of this series being on show out of the twenty works he has planned to produce.

Of his work, Don says: “I showed the work for a few years as a photograph [only], but there were so many elements of the work that I wanted to elaborate on, like the relationship to the spiritual world, and plant world, so I started mixing the image with images of plants and pressings and watercolor and doing it on the computer. I sort of layered all those images together and then I printed them on fabric and then layered those together. Photography is a great tool, but I always wanted to express a little more than what the camera does”.

Sara Stone showed two watercolors, with one piece looking like an enlarged postcard entitled “Summer in the Catskills 2025” depicting a portmanteau of nature scenes. Asked to comment on what involvement in the show means to her, Sara replied: “It’s part of being an incredible community of artists and wonderful people, and its nice to be included in that. This is a great venue too. You can really see everything and there’s space to step back and look at things”.

The Galli-Curci Theatre was constructed by Clarke Sanford and opened in 1923 as a silent film cinema and offices for The Catskill Mountain News. It continued to be an integral part of the cultural fabric of the region until its closure as a cinema in 1985. The theater’s current owners have made it their mission to continue presenting art and culture in this space.

For the second year in a row, there is also a film screening to take place during the Exhibition, paying homage to the space’s original purpose. This year, Kate Taverna's short film "The Art of Metaphor - Donna Dennis" will be featured.

Finally, after five years with AMR, and three in a leadership role, Rebecca is stepping down as Executive Director. “I’ve been honored to be part of the AMR team”, she says. “I’ve made friends, learned a lot, and hopefully made a small difference in the community. We had a wonderful exhibition and I’m grateful to everyone who contributed to its success”.

The show runs from September 19 to October 5, 2025. The theater will be open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-5 pm. Galli-Gurci Theatre, 801 Main Street, Margaretville, NY 12455. www.amropenstudios.org