For Immediate Release: February 3, 2005
Contact:
Andy J. Flynn | Public Relations | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 327-3000
PAUL SMITHS, NY – Saranac Lake artist Noryce Burgey’s "Adirondack Whim" exhibition recently opened at the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) in Paul Smiths.
The art show features 31 paintings of various media, including oil, acrylic and watercolor, and it highlights a number of animal species found in the Adirondack Mountains, such as black bear in “Bear Toes,” moose and raccoon in “Marsh Murmurs,” and white-tailed deer in “Last Beechnut.” Many of the works also depict views from around the Saranac Lake region.
“The ‘unexpected’ has a presence in several paintings,” Burgey said, “a frolicsome character, a story or a mystery.”
The “Moonshadow” painting, for example, shows an alert snowshoe hare under the eyes of Whiteface Mountain.
“A distant chalet is not what it appears, and there are more secrets to explore,” Burgey said.
Burgey is an avid hiker and paddler, and she wrote in her artist statement that she “becomes the humble student of ‘Mother Nature’s’ canvas.” In her work, she hopes to capture the essence of the outdoor world through textures and colors while telling stories, distilling the wonderment, and expressing “a small representation of nature’s secrets for the viewer to behold.”
Burgey is a retired graphic artist and designer. Spending much of her time outdoors, she has become an Adirondack 46’er and has completed the Northville-Placid Trail. Her current goal is to hike all of the 115 peaks over 4,000 feet in the Northeast, which she enjoys because it gives her the opportunity to observe moose.
“Adirondack Whim” is not full of the typical paint-mat-and-frame pieces found in other art exhibitions. Burgey’s creativity spills over the canvas and onto the mat or the frame. In some cases, the frame is part of the artwork. Wood is an essential ingredient.
“Giving several of my paintings a rustic dwelling extends from my own surroundings,” Burgey said, referring to the lakeside home she built with her husband and son. “I receive the same satisfaction in creating wooden forms for my art.”
The “Adirondack Whim” exhibition runs through June 15 at the Paul Smiths VIC. All paintings except two are available for purchase.
The New York State Adirondack Park Agency operates two VICs, in Paul Smiths and Newcomb, which are open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving. They offer a wide array of educational programs, miles of interpretive trails and visitor information services. Admission is free.
The Paul Smiths VIC is located 12 miles north of Saranac Lake on Route 30. For more information about the VICs, log on to the centers’ Web site at www.northnet.org/adirondackvic.