Susan Winter’s “Connecting Impressions” Opens

Winter was born on a large farm in rural Monmouth County where she had few playmates outside of her family. And yet her paintings, even her landscapes, invariably include human figures. “I suppose it is this lonely background that lends itself to the themes of most of my work; I enjoy painting people either interacting with others or in quiet reflection” she says.
Now living in Hightstown, where, since 1983, she’s part of the Art Station Studio, which she describes as “a wonderful studio setting where other artists are available for both critique and oil painting reproduction.” A certified teacher, she has taught art at the Peddie School, at Artworks in Trenton, and elsewhere throughout central New Jersey for over 35 years.

Her influences derive from Master Classes with Nelson Shanks and studies with Daniel Greene, Robert Sakson, Rhoda Yanow, Richard Pionk, Christina DeBarry, and Stephen Kennedy. One of her paintings was chosen to be included as part of the White House Collection and her painting “Ole Freehold” is owned by Bruce Springsteen

Inspired also by Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent, and, she says, awed by “their genius and value to the art community,” she is a charter member of the New Jersey Pastel Painters Society and a member of numerous galleries and arts councils including the West Windsor Arts Council.Her recent exhibitions include works on paper at the Philadelphia Sketch Club, and one-woman shows at Bordentown’s Farnsworth Gallery, Trenton’s Gallery on Lafayette, and Princeton’s Triumph Brewery.

Interviewed by phone, the artist shared her excitement at this new exhibition, titled “Connecting Impressions.” “The Plainsboro show is a perfect opportunity for me to express my love of people, and let my viewers see how important my personal connections with humanity are to me,” she says.

The artist’s rural upbringing figures heavily in her art, and although she works predominantly with landscapes, people play a critical role in the theme of each piece. But it wasn’t always so. From 1985 to 1996, she worked as a freelance artist with Greater Media Newspapers. “For 10 years I did nothing but paint portraits of houses; after that I did landscapes because that’s what galleries were interested in, but now I include people in my paintings and that’s what excites me about this show,” she says.

“Connecting Impressions” will feature oils, oil/collages, and pastels, paintings of seemingly ordinary scenes that are awash with light and color. Look for her lively park scene, Girl with the Yellow Balloon and The Washing, her rendering of women washing clothes in the Ganges.

In a statement of her artistic philosophy, Ms. Winter says: “I try to capture the beauty of my life: impossible; to try to capture the beauty in each extraordinary moment is only possible through the artist’s eye and imagination. This is my goal with each new painting.”

Combining photography and oil painting, Triburgo captures stirring portraits of transgender men. He poses his subjects with their chins held high -- a marker of 19th century portraiture, creating heroic depictions that demonstrate just how far-reaching the spectrum of masculinity can be.

The project centers around the concept of socially constructed ideals, particularly notions of shared gender identities. To enforce this idea, Triburgo painted decadent landscape backdrops to accompany his stark models. Using instructions from Ross' "The Joy of Painting," he points out that even our ideas of nature are constructed.

"The photographs represent my personal relationship to gender and photography, drawing a parallel between the (mis)perception of the 'photographic record' devoid of social construct and gender," Triburgo writes in his artist statement. "In 'Transportraits' I invite the viewer to question the construct of portraiture (and masculinity) while simultaneously depicting a sincere heroism."

Taken together, the resulting photographs are a visual journey through diverse transgender experiences. It took Triburgo four years to complete and ended with over 30 portraits of volunteer individuals.

“I'm so grateful I could find men who were interested in being out and interested in being photographed," Triburgo explained to Slate. "As a trans man myself, I don't have to be out. I could go my whole life and never tell anyone, but for me it's important to be out and create imagery that creates positive representations of trans men."

First commissioned to decorate the sacristy ceiling, the 27-year-old Veronese so impressed his patrons that he was turned loose on the entire church. He filled the space, lining the apse with stories from the life and martyrdom of the church's titular saint. (A captain of the Praetorian Guard, Sebastian was tied to a tree and shot full of arrows during Diocletian's persecution of Christians; rescued and nursed back to health by Irene and her handmaiden, he then berated the emperor personally, resulting, not surprisingly, in his being bludgeoned to death.) Veronese expanded on the story on the walls of the church, in frescoes and tempera paintings, now being worked on. On one side, archers aim their arrows across the nave. Opposite, Sebastian stands before Diocletian, boasting of his survival.

Save Venice, which earlier funded structural repairs, hopes eventually to restore the entire church, including the facade and floor. We'll have to wait for that, and for the conservation team to complete its work and remove the scaffolding in the nave, to revel in the full splendor and complexity of the decoration. But in the meantime, since San Sebastiano remains open during the restoration, we can study the radiant, recently cleaned ceiling.

There, elaborately carved, gilded and painted coffers frame large scenes from the story of Esther, with smaller panels of garlands and putti, monochrome Virtues, and "bronze" Winged Victories. Why Esther? Because she intervened to save the Jewish people, she was seen as a precursor of the Virgin Mary. (Sebastian's return to life after being shot with arrows was seen as a parallel of the Resurrection.) But the iconography of the glowing ceiling is unusual. The story of Esther's discovery and revelation of the evil counselor Haman's plot to destroy the Jews is collapsed into three rather peripheral scenes: the banishment of the Persian king Ahasuerus's first wife, Vashti, whom Esther replaced; the crowning of Esther by Ahasuerus; and the triumph of Esther's uncle Mordechai, celebrating the defeat of Haman.

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