FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Suzanne Sheeder
Tel:  215-248-2549
Email:  chestnuthillgallery (at) yahoo.com
August 21, 2007

  

POETS AND ARTISTS WORK TOGETHER

It began when painter Debby Souders and poet Kathleen Sheeder met at an art reception at the Chestnut Hill Gallery.  Wouldn’t it be exciting, they wondered, to work together on a poetry and painting project?

Now, almost two years after that conversation, they have been joined by eight other poets and artists to create SideWays:  A Poets’ and Artists’ Collaboration which will run from October 13 – October 20 at the Chestnut Hill Gallery.  The show includes paintings, photographs, sculpture and poems which have been written responsively to these works.  Sheeder explains, “Each poet was paired with an artist and wrote responsively to four of his or her works.  In so doing, the artist found new ways of looking at his own work, the poet found compelling images for his imaginative use, and we hope the audience will find not only two distinct works of art, but a third, in the complex relationship between the two.”

The general public is invited to the opening reception at 6-10 p.m. on Saturday, October 13.  The artists will be introduced and the poets will read from their works at 7 p.m.  Joe Borrelli, the owner and director of the Chestnut Hill Gallery says, “We’re happy to host this show.  We want to encourage this kind of literary and artistic partnership in the Chestnut Hill community and it’s satisfying to support both emerging and established artists.”

Deborah Souders, an accomplished painter herself, and teacher at the University of the Arts, describes the other artists and poets in the show as “extremely talented and diverse in their artistic approaches.”  She says, “I think the public is in for a delightful surprise.”  Poets participating in the show include Elizabeth Scanlon, Raymond Gilliar, Rick Topper, Peter Walsh, and Kathleen Sheeder.  Artists include Cheryl Harper, Eleanor Day, Michael Donato, Brea Souders and Debby Souders.

The public will find that the art work in the exhibit is available for sale during the week- long exhibition and in fact, buyers will receive the accompanying poem, signed by the poet, ready to be mounted next to the art work at home.   The Chestnut Hill Gallery welcomes inquiries at 215-248-2549.