The Griffing Gallery of the Kallet Civic Center, 159 Main Street, Oneida, will be showcasing the recent watercolor and collage work of local artist, Catherine Bennett, began May 31 and continuing through the end of June. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Bennett has been painting watercolors professionally since 1986. In addition, she once held the position of Visual Arts Department Chair for the former Metropolitan School for the Arts in Syracuse and created and taught an art curriculum for Syracuse University and OCM BOCES.
Bennett has shown in Agora Gallery in SoHo, NYC, and she’s been published by both Courage Card Co. of Minneapolis and by Akron University. She was the 2012 featured cover artist for Kaleidoscope magazine of Akron, Ohio, which highlighted her progression and includes many images of her watercolors. She is listed in Who’s Who of American Artists, Who’s Who of American Women, and Who’s Who in America. Her artwork has been exhibited at the VIVA Gallery near Los Angeles, California for the National Watercolor Society Show, at Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, and at the Everson Museum. She is collected internationally from Burma, India to Pescara, Italy and was included in the 2013 National Parkinson’s Disease calendar for the month of September.
Catherine Bennett’s current collage works depict emotional experiences or memories that cross every ethnic barrier and unite us all in similarity. Strong light, bold values, and a sense of timeless mystery fill her work. Catherine’s undaunted love of creativity thrives even as she faces increasing physical difficulties due to Parkinson’s disease. Although over time her choice of primary medium has changed, her message remains true. She is inspired to synthesize God’s presence with our own never ending, ever powerful, human spirit. Her pursuit of the sublime, despite personal adversity, becomes inspiration for us all.