WOMENSWORK.ART is a gallery space located in the heart of the City of Poughkeepsie, NY, dedicated to the mission of lifting up emerging and mid-career Women Artists and Curators, and discussing current events and issues that great affect Women in their everyday lives and their messages through Contemporary Art.
As part of the Poughkeepsie Arts Community, Womenswork.Art is committed to working with fellow local artists and galleries to build up the local arts scene in a sustainable manner, as well as host artists from across the United States and Internationally.
The gallery was founded by Nansi Lent, whose studio was adjacent to the gallery’s home base, at 4 South Clinton Street. Like a snowball that gathers snow, the intention is the growth of a collective, over time. Womenswork.art welcome ideas for exhibits from women artists and curators, and actively seek more venues in Poughkeepsie for on-going exhibits.
GALLERY DIRECTOR: Nikki Hung
Nikki Hung is an accomplished local Photographer and Arts Administrator, with a strong background in online marketing, curating and event planning in the Non-Profits sector. She knows the importance that showcasing and elevating emerging artists, not just for the local arts community but also on a national level. It is imperative to keep giving under-represented and under-appreciated artists a platform to show their works and for an audience to hear their messages. Her experiences on both sides of the business of art help Nikki shape the quality of the exhibitions held at Womenswork.Art that are now featuring artists not just in the United States, but from several countries around the world.
On View During Open Studios: Group Show
ARTIST: VITALIA DERIABINA (she/her)
petrykivka on paper and canvas using gouche and acryllic paints
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
"The magic of paints and brushes always fascinated my imagination as a child. When not reading a book, one could always spot me drawing. My parents, who are far from the art world professionally, kept saying that my grandfather passed his artistic genes to me. He was a self-taught artist and a beekeeper in a rural village of Ukraine, who admired life and its beauty and presented it to the community. When I was a child, I used to spend summers at my grandparents’ old traditional clay house with a straw roof filled with big paintings on the walls which created a feeling of being in the arts gallery.
When turning 12, I decided that it was time to look for an art studio to learn how to paint better. My mother took me to the School of Fine Arts but I was not accepted because of my age. The Soviet school system denied the possibility to get free education in arts to a teenage girl, saying that I should have come at least four years earlier. That was the time when I understood that my dream of becoming an artist was not to come true.
After the 9th grade, I chose not to go to the High School and instead to apply for a College of Education to become an Elementary teacher. It was the time when I was able to return to my dream inspired by my new art teacher at the college. Back then the Ukrainian folk art known as petrykivka (pet-ry-kiv-kah) became my favorite style. Petrykivka folk art was included in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.
With my art I want to connect to the people of different cultures and empower them, make them believe in their talents, encourage to become artists and make our world even more beautiful place."
What identities of yours are important to you? How have they impacted your practice?
I am a Ukrainian, and our culture is rooted back to ancient civilisation of Cucuteni-Trypillia. Our traditons are greatle connected with nature. I love gradening, flowers and animals, and the spirit of my ancestors, who lived closely connected to nature, influenced my artistic work.
ARTIST: NICHOLAS ALEXANDER KANNINEN
acrylic paintings, acrylic pours, and alcohol ink on canvas
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
"Young, upcoming artist here trying to put myself out there and get noticed! Since I was a kid had an eye as well as a passion for art and have always been pretty good at it. I’ve had my struggles with it just like everyone but I’m getting more confident with my work as I get older and I would love to share it with the world and maybe get something out of it too! I’ve been playing around with acrylic pours and such for the past few years and I’m happy with the way they have been coming out but as of recently I’ve discovered alcohol inks and I’m obsessed with the complexity of its movement when trying to manipulate it on paper."
ARTIST: ANN LEBRON
collage using upcycled materials
ARTIST: lourdes lebron (she/her)
freestyle, acrylic
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
"To bring a positive message through original photos and recycled newspapers and old books."
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
"I am a freestyle artist. I really mostly enjoy working on acrylic pouring art because there’s just so many different things you can accomplish with it."
ARTIST: ELINOR LEVY
Soft sculpture with vintage women's gloves, crochet, knitting embroidery, china, and more.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST:
"This is a new journey, sort of, About 20 years ago I worked with vintage gloves to create two pieces, the Handbasket and a boa (the boa is long gone). Last fall as I was asked to participate in A Brave and Startling Truth: Women Scribe the World. My piece involved using loves to represent hands and a stitched quote about hands from Rumer Godden's China Court. That piece sparked more ideas about the use of gloves as my medium. All sorts of things spark my ideas, from song lyrics to folk practice."
What identities of yours are important to you? How have they impacted your practice?
"My work as a folklorist and a textile artist is vital to my practice. Without either, there would be no practice."
ARTIST: MARIANNA PALOMBA
canvas paintings
ARTIST: LORNA THOMPSON
mixed media, collage, oil painting
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
"I have always had a love for art, but just recently got back into it now that I have the time and want to see how far I can go!"
