COOLVINES features Brooklyn Oenology wine tasting w/ Alie Shaper.

HOWDY NEIGHBOR! There is no disputing the benefits of and satisfaction from the practice of obtaining ones goods and services from local sources. Sometimes, one only needs to get over the river and through the woods to find treasures of the palate. In this case, Alie Shaper and Brooklyn Oenology made the hop, skip and jump into Westfield's (NJ) COOLVINES location for the second of three "in-store" meet-the-artists-and-wine-tasting events on June 15th.

Featuring wines with names like Social Club White, Shindig and Motley Cru, Brooklyn Oenology Winery (pron. ‘EN-ology’, or simply ‘BOE’), is a locally focused winery based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn founded in 2006 by winemaker Alie Shaper.  BOE works to bridge the creative culinary, agricultural and art worlds by crafting award-winning regional wines from NY State grapes, and by displaying the work of New York City artists on the bottle labels.

There was a modest but steady flow of people who dropped in to sample some of Brooklyn's finest wines, and featured artists Lyman Dally and Tara O'Leary were in attendance to represent and support the artwork in the accompanying exhibit "The Intersection Of Art And Wine".

Once again, many thanks must be given to Hank Zona (TV host of "The Grapes Unwrapped") for his ceaseless collaborative energy and vision, and to Cheryl Rush, Lauren Ramos and Damon O'Gara at CoolVines for their unwavering hospitality and warmth in hosting "The Intersection Of Art And Wine" exhibit and related in-store events.

One last in-store event is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday June 29th, from 6-9pm, featuring artist and winemaker André H. Mack and his MOUTON NOIR WINES.

COOLVINES is located at 127 Central Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090 / ph. 908.232.5050 / coolvines.com

Brooklyn Oenology President and Winemaker Alie Shaper.

Winemaker Alie Shaper of Brooklyn Oenology pours BOE samples for TV host Hank Zona, artist Lyman Dally and designer Brenda Schwartz.

(l-r) Artist Lyman Dally, TV host Hank Zona, BOE President Alie Shaper and artist Tara O'Leary.

(l-r) TV host Hank Zona, BOE President Alie Shaper and COOLVINES staff Cheryl Rush, Lauren Ramos and Damon O'Gara.

Artist Reception Saturday June 16, 2012 @ 5p-9p for "ROBERT CENEDELLA CLASS FROM THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE OF NEW YORK OCCUPIES GAS GALLERY AND STUDIO" - Presented by GAS Gallery And Studio | Curated by Elizabeth Carol Winchester

Artist Reception: Saturday June 16, 2012 | Time: 5 pm - 9 pm
Exhibit Dates: June 11 - July 28, 2012

This art exhibit is a collaboration with artist and curator Elizabeth Carol Winchester and Robert Cenedella, artist and educator at The Art Students League of New York, and showcases artwork created by fourteen selected students from Mr. Cenedella’s painting class. The exhibit will be on view June 11 through July 28, 2012, with an Artist Reception scheduled for Saturday June 16th, from 5pm to 9pm.

As part of GAS Gallery And Studio’s “EMERGING ARTISTS” program, this exhibit is designed to showcase the work of talented artists who may have not yet exhibited in a modern gallery setting and provide them with real world exhibit experience while introducing their work to a contemporary and new audience of art lovers and art critics alike.

Featured artists include: Akiko Asanuma, Robert Dickerson, Renee Fineberg, Wendy Lax, Val Mannino, Lucas Melo, Fred Mendelsohn, Ursula Mur, Yuri Ohara, Yasuaki Okamoto, Aleksandar Pilipovic, Gil Podorson, Jeff Tocci and Elizabeth Carol Winchester.

Founded in 1875 by artists and for artists, The Art Students League of New York has been instrumental in shaping America's legacy in the fine arts. Many renowned artists have honed their skills at the League, which is dedicated to sustaining the great tradition of training artists. Today, more than 2,500 students of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels, study at the League each month.

Since 2010, GAS Gallery And Studio has been bringing unique and diverse art and event programming to the greater New York metropolitan area, specifically the Maplewood and South Orange communities of Northeast New Jersey, just a thirty-minute trip from New York City.

Robert Cenedella

Robert Cenedella is a master of pictorial satire and fantasy, justly celebrated for his paintings revealing all aspects of big-city life. As part of New York’s art community for over three decades, he paints everything and everybody from cameo likenesses of celebrities to those of the common man. His pictures of subways, symphonies, sports arenas, street scenes and drinking establishments are quintessentially New York.

He has had one-man shows throughout the United States and Europe. His first Berlin exhibition, In Search of DADA, was in 1994, and coincided with the George Grosz Centennial Exhibition at the National Galerie in Berlin. He returned to Germany in October 2006 for a one-man retrospective at the Otto-Nagel Galerie, also in Berlin. His renowned mural of the original Le Cirque restaurant in New York City, Le Cirque, the 1st Generation, was recently installed at the restaurant’s new location on East 58th Street. Other notable murals include Mi Casa, Su Casa for Bacardi International; Tony’s World, commissioned by the late Tony Randall for former League model Heather Randall; and his Absolut Cenedella commissions. These can be seen on his website: rcenedellagallery.com.

For more information about The Art Students League of New York, visit their website at theartstudentsleague.org/Home.aspx. 

Wine Tasting & Exhibit Event #2 - "THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND WINE" hosted by CoolVines (Westfield)

Tomorrow night, Friday June 15th, from 6p-9p, CoolVines in Westfield (NJ) will be hosting the in-store Wine Tasting and Art Exhibit Event #2, featuring Alie Shaper of Brooklyn Oenology, as part of the ongoing exhibit "THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND WINE".

Hosted by COOLVINES and presented by GAS Gallery And Studio and Hank Zona of the Grapes Unwrapped.  THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND WINE exhibit is a unique collection of Wine-themed art that will thrill art and wine lovers alike.

Don't miss the festivities Friday June 15th, from 6p-9p featuring a tasting with Alie Shaper, President & Winemaker, of Brooklyn Oenology who will be introducing us her remarkable wines. BOE works to bridge the creative culinary, agricultural and art worlds by crafting award-winning regional wines from NY State grapes, and by displaying the work of New York City artists on their bottle labels.  Also, meet the artists and collaborators of the event!

Wine Tasting and Art Exhibit Event #3 is the last and final in-store event scheduled for Friday June 29th, from 6p-9p at CoolVines in Westfield (NJ), and is scheduled to feature artist and oenologist ANDRE H. MACK of MOUTON NOIR WINES.

COOLVINES is located at 127 Central Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090 / ph. 908.232.5050 / coolvines.com 

ART TAKES TIMES SQUARE presented by Artists Wanted

Who says there's nothing exciting going on in the art world?!!! Well, here's an opportunity for you to participate in a truly global exhibition experience, get free advertising and publicity for your work and a chance to win $10,000.00. The best part is, participating is FREE!!!

ARTISTS WANTED (www.artistswanted.org) is a collaborative project between several New York City artists and creative organizations working to build new lasting opportunities for emerging talent. They have experienced first hand the difficulties in breaking into the professional art world and it is their mission to make this process more welcoming, dynamic and open-ended.

ART TAKES TIMES SQUARE (www.artistswanted.org/arttakestimessquare) is a unique vision in art exhibition and competition. Anyone can join and submit their work for FREE. The work is "collected" by viewers online, and the artists appearing in the most collections will ultimately have their work reviewed by the event judges to decide the awarding of the Grand Prize, not to mention the work will be displayed in a grand scale amidst the lights and excitement of world famous Times Square. So, what are you waiting for?

Visit the Artists Wanted website and enter the ART TAKES TIMES SQUARE competition today. If you're not ready to join the competition, you can also sign up as a collector and take part in choosing the winning art/artist(s).

Good Luck and enjoy!

THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND WINE

On Thursday March 1, we hosted the video production and recording session for THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND WINE, a new installment of The Grapes Unwrapped wine program created and hosted by local wine educator Hank Zona, with videography by Michael Calabrese.

This episode is part of a greater collaboration between GAS Gallery And Studio, Hank Zona (The Grapes Unwrapped) and Kevin Lynn (Wine Sisterhood), in which the topics of Art and Wine are discussed and examined within the context of a two-part program comprised of a live panel-discussion and tasting, followed by an exhibit and reception.

The Featured artists taking part in this project are Lyman Dally, Kevin Lynn, André Mack and Tara O'Leary, with an appearance by Felix Sockwell.

During the panel-discussion event, which is designed to engage the artists in a conversation and dialogue of the wines as well as related wine artwork, such as wine labels and other works inspired by wine or containing wine themes, attendees will have the opportunity to sample the same wines that the artists are sampling and discussing, thereby becoming a part of and being connected to the immediate creative process.

The exhibit and reception will contain works which were commissioned, created and/or produced for distribution as the actual wine labels. The Grapes Unwrapped video programs/segments can be seen on YouTube, so check them out.

l-r: Lyman Dally, Tara O'Leary, Hank Zona, Kevin Lynn and Felix Sockwell

l-r: Lyman Dally, Tara O'Leary, Hank Zona, Kevin Lynn and Felix Sockwell

Wine educator and enthusiast Hank Zona with GAS Gallery And Studio owners Rick Hauser and Micha Hamilton.

Wine samples for the tasting.

Wine art. Wine and Ink on paper.

Wine art. Wine and Ink on paper.

l-r: artist Kevin Lynn and Grapes Unwrapped host Hank Zona share a laugh.

Photography Exhibition is "COLLECTOR'S CHOICE"

Last night was the artist reception for our current show COLLECTOR'S CHOICE Selected Photography, and it was a smash! Congratulations to Steven J. King for curating this energetic collection of photography from featured artists Skip Dye, Susan Evans Grove, Rick Hauser, Peter Kolonia, Greg Leshé, Jeremy Moss and Lauren Rutten.

Group exhibitions are like treasure hunts and always generate an electricity of activity and interest as they bring together such a varied and wide demographic of people, personalities and artistic orientations. Familiarity with a particular artist and their work gives way to discovery and intrigue as their selected piece(s) is/are given a new voice and platform to reach out to the viewer by creating a new context in which to view it.

In this setting, the creative monologue typically generated by the exhibition of a singular artist's vision now becomes a group dialogue with multiple discussions occurring simultaneously, filling the room with a stream-of-consciousness buzz and heat like that of a curious and impetuous child. The big question is, "Do the individual works play nice with one another, or are they further isolated by bringing them together?".

Well, this time the sermon was delivered, the choir sang, the congregation said "Amen" and harmony prevailed!

Thank you to the featured artists for accepting the invitation and challenge of the group dynamic. Without your work our walls would be bare.

Thank you again to Steven J. King for spearheading this exhibition. As curator, you are vulnerable to the potential barbs and bullets, but today it's all BRAVO !!

As always, many many thanks to all our attendees and guests for staying out late on a school night. Your presence is always encouraged and appreciated, and your interest and warmth inform our humble space with a life and history of its own!

Don't stay away for too long now, you hear?! See you soon...