By Robert Brune
MARGARETVILLE — On Saturday, January 10, as milder temperatures settled over Margaretville and a light rain replaced the familiar grip of midwinter, Longyear Gallery opened its latest members exhibition. Unlike past years, this show did not ask artists to respond to a prescribed seasonal theme. Instead, member artists were invited to present work that reflects their current interests, processes, and inner landscapes. The result is an exhibition that feels expansive, personal, and rooted in dialogue rather than uniformity.
While some artists chose to carry forward visual references to winter, others moved in entirely different directions. This variety underscores the gallery’s cooperative spirit, where individual voices coexist without hierarchy. Moving through the space, viewers encounter quiet landscapes alongside abstraction, narrative painting beside photography, and works that speak as much about inner experience as the world outside.
Several winter scenes remain present, including two works by Deborah Ruggerio. Winter Serenity offers a moment of stillness, while Snow Bliss, a pine tree rendered in white pencil on black paper, demonstrates how restraint and precision can heighten emotional impact. The monochromatic approach draws attention to form and atmosphere, allowing the viewer’s own associations to complete the image.
Photography provides another avenue for introspection, particularly in the work of Bonnie Mitchell. Her photograph Joy invites the viewer into a layered, almost ethereal space. A softly blurred figure appears enveloped in steam, while a vertical line traced across the base of red flowers leads the eye toward a single bloom in sharp focus. The image resists a fixed narrative, instead encouraging a slow, intuitive and sensuous response.
Mitchell describes her participation in Longyear Gallery as something she never anticipated. “It is something I never expected in my life, to be part of a gallery,” she said. Though she has been taking photographs since childhood, she does not define herself by professional labels. Becoming part of the gallery, she said, has been both a surprise and a motivation. “I really love being considered a photographer. It has made me work on this talent and produce work.” Now retired, Mitchell finds that the time and encouragement have deepened her commitment to the medium. “It has been, and continues to be, a great experience,” she said.
Reflecting on what her work has revealed to her, Mitchell spoke of discovery rather than intention. “Maybe it taught me that I am capable, that I have a good eye,” she said. “It taught me that there are still incredible surprises in this world.” When viewers engage with her photographs, she hopes for an emotional response. “I hope the work moves them,” she said, “that it creates some kind of emotion.”
Ron Macklin, known for his striking photo realism, presented Blues for Psyche, a watercolor that reflects his ongoing exploration of abstraction and myth. “Showing my work at Longyear is fantastic,” Macklin said. “Art is meant to be seen and shared, not locked away in one’s studio.” While each piece carries personal meaning, he prefers not to direct interpretation. Blues for Psyche, he noted, brings to mind the mythological story of Psyche and the emotions of love, jealousy, sadness, and redemption, but he leaves space for viewers to bring their own understanding.
Narrative energy emerges in Marion Behr’s acrylic painting Spirited Wedding. Ghostlike figures swirl around a church as two central characters reach toward one another, arms extended in anticipation. The painting feels both celebratory and dreamlike, balancing storytelling with expressive color. Behr sees visual art as a natural form of communication. “I reach out to you,” she said, “you take partly from me and partly from your own experiences.” She values Longyear Gallery for the exchanges it fosters between artists and visitors, describing that shared dialogue as central to the gallery’s identity.
Alan Powell reflected on the responsibility and opportunity of belonging to a cooperative gallery. Presenting new work regularly, he said, encourages experimentation and growth while inviting viewers to consider where each piece fits within their own aesthetic framework.
Taken together, the exhibition becomes less about a unifying theme and more about the act of offering. Each work represents an extension of its maker, placed into a shared space where meaning is shaped through viewing, conversation, and reflection. Longyear Gallery continues its mission of supporting artists of varied backgrounds and approaches, creating an environment where both artists and audiences are encouraged to look closely, think deeply, and remain open to discovery.
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