Father-Daughter Art Exhibited Posthumously to Raise Awareness of Borderline Personality Disorder

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New York, NY – Fountain House Gallery hosts “Empowered to Create,” a fine art group exhibit and auction in New York City presented by the advocacy group, Emotions Matter, Inc., which includes a photograph by New York artist Xiomáro together with the posthumous display of a painting by his daughter.  The one-day art show and auction, on Thursday, May 18, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, seeks to raise public awareness for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – a complex and debilitating condition that affects 6 out of every 100 people.  Admission is free, but a $20 donation is suggested.  Emotions Matter, Inc. is a non-profit whose mission is to connect and empower those impacted by BPD to raise awareness and advocate for better mental healthcare.

Xiomaro (pronounced “SEE-oh-MAH-ro”) is an internationally recognized artist, writer and speaker whose photography has been covered by The New York Times, CBS Eyewitness News and Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.  His photography has been widely exhibited at New York City’s Fraunces Tavern Museum and African Burial Ground National Monument as well as at Harvard University and other major institutions.

In 2016, Xio’s daughter, Jessica, died from an accidental drug overdose after years of struggling with BPD, a complex and debilitating disorder of understanding and regulating one’s own emotions that leads to impulsivity, distortions of thought, identity disturbance, stormy interpersonal relationships, rage outbursts, self-harm, self-injury and suicidality.

An artist and poet, Jessica’s 30”x30” painting titled “My Iron Lung” (2015) is a metaphor for her drug use as a way of feeling normal amid chronic mental illness.  The violent imagery includes an actual rubber hose representing the lung together with the words “chain saws” and “Fight Back” appearing in the center from collaged newsprint.  The painting will be exhibited together with a 17”x25” print of a dead Blue Jay photographed by Xiomáro as part of a commission from the National Park Service.

The exhibit presents 39 two dimensional pieces from 28 artists having a personal connection to, and experience with, BPD such as individual sufferers as well as their parents, siblings, spouses and partners.

Six out of every 100 people will develop this disorder in his/her lifetime with between 50 to 80% also having a substance abuse disorder.  The impairment in functioning is as great as that due to bipolar disorder.  Yet, BPD, which is at least as prevalent, gets only one-tenth the funding of bipolar disorder from the National Institute of Mental Health, the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders.  Worse yet, BPD is not a billable diagnosis and therefore does not get covered by insurance.

Through the exhibit, Emotions Matter, Inc. seeks to empower those impacted by BPD to utilize art as a means of expression and hope, to raise public awareness of BPD through art, and to raise funds for the organization.  Artists will have the option to donate their pieces for auction.  One hundred percent of funds raised will support Emotions Matter, Inc.  Fountain House Gallery is the perfect venue for the exhibit as the gallery was founded to provide an environment for artists living and working with mental illness to pursue their creative visions and to challenge the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

The art show and auction, “Empowered to Create,” takes place on Thursday, May 18, 2017, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Fountain House Gallery, 702 Ninth Avenue (at 48th Street), New York, NY 10019, (212) 262-2756, www.fountainhousegallery.org.  Admission is free, but a $20 donation is suggested.  Click here to RSVP.  For more information about Emotions Matter, Inc. and BPD, visit www.emotionsmatterbpd.org.  A free e-book containing some of Xiomaro’s work is available at www.xiomaro.com.

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Photo Ceramics by Xiomáro on Exhibit at Weir Farm National Historic Site

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Weir’s Studio

Connecticut’s Weir Farm National Historic Site will open its 2017 season with the debut
exhibition “Photo Ceramics by Xiomáro:  An Homage to J. Alden Weir and the Tile Club,” a collection of photographs fused on black ceramic tiles by the park’s Visiting Artist, Xiomáro.  The collection of 23 photo ceramics will be on view at its Visitor Center and Museum Store from May 1 to October 31, 2017, Wednesday through Sunday, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Admission is free.

Weir Farm is Connecticut’s first national park unit and features the wildly eccentric home and studio of J. Alden Weir (1852-1919), the father of American Impressionist painting.  In 1877, Weir formed the Tile Club with Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase and other iconic artists for the camaraderie of creating hand-crafted decorative tiles – a Gilded Era craze sparked by displays at the 1876 Centennial celebration in Philadelphia.

Xiomaro by Sapna Dhandh-Sharma

Xiomáro, the park’s Visiting Artist since 2012, applied a modern twist to the idea.  Rather than painting on 8” square crème-white tiles as Weir did, Xio used his brush to apply adhesives and finishes to fuse photographic prints he created onto black ceramic tiles that are 4”, 6” and 12” square.  The photo ceramics have a luminous surface and the accidental effects from the flow of the stippled brushwork impart an individualized antiqued texture to each piece, all of which are for sale directly from the artist.

The solo exhibit presents four themes as an homage to Weir and the Tile Club.  For the first two themes – “Stepping Back in Time” and “Decorative Treatments” – Xio used photographs that Weir Farm commissioned him to create as well as images from when he began as the park’s Artist-in-Residence.  These themes give an overview of the park’s historic buildings and grounds as well as close-up views of stained glass, wallpaper designs and other artful details from Weir’s house and studio.

Delft tile from Weir’s dining room fireplace

The final two themes are “Long Island” and “Connecticut.”  Xio borrowed photographs from his Fire Island National Seashore collection to commemorate the Tile Club’s three famous excursions to Long Island, which helped popularize plein air painting and the Impressionist style.  As Weir and many of his contemporaries were drawn to the beauty and light of the Connecticut landscape, Xio used photographs from his collection of the New England Scenic Trail, a 215-mile hiking route that starts at Guilford, goes through the state and ends at the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.

View through the antique glass of Weir’s dining room.

Xiomaro (pronounced “SEE-oh-MAH-ro”) is an internationally-recognized artist, writer and speaker whose photography has been covered by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, CBS Eyewitness News and The Huffington Post.  His photography has been widely exhibited at Harvard University, the State Capitol in Hartford, the Bridgeport office of Congressman Jim Himes and the Mayor’s office in Stamford.

Weir Farm National Historic Site is located at 735 Nod Hill Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897.  The exhibition is at the park’s Visitor Center and Museum Store and runs from May 1 to October 31, 2017.  Admission is free.  Viewing hours are from Wednesday through Sunday, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  For more information call (203) 834-1896 or visit www.nps.gov/wefa.  For more information about Xiomáro and to receive a free e-book on Weir Farm, visit www.xiomaro.com.

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Harvard’s Fruitlands Museum celebrates the National Park Service with Photographs by Xiomaro

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HARVARD, MASS. – Having turned 100 years old, the National Park Service inaugurates its second century with a fine art photographic exhibit at Harvard’s Fruitlands Museum titled “Find Your Park:  National Parks in New England,” which includes several large-scale photographs by New York artist Xiomaro.  The group display is open now through March 19, 2017.

Xiomaro by Sapna Dhandh-Sharma

Xiomaro (pronounced “SEE-oh-MAH-ro”) is an internationally-recognized artist, writer and speaker whose photography has been covered by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, CBS Eyewitness News and The Huffington Post.  His photography has been widely exhibited at Harvard University, Long Island Museum, Fraunces Tavern Museum, African Burial Ground National Monument, Siena Art Institute (Italy) and by members of Congress.  Xio’s commissions for the National Park Service include the New England National Scenic Trail in Massachusetts as well as the Brookline home and office of Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Boston’s Emerald Necklace.

The exhibit, guest curated by Rebecca Migdal, was developed in partnership with Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area and with additional support from Artscope Magazine.  To showcase the beauty of New England and the important work being done to preserve and promote the national parks, Migdal selected four super-sized photographs by Xiomaro.  The images, on public display for the first time, are hung from the ceiling so that visitors can “walk through” the parks to explore their cultural, historical and natural wonders.

Two images Xio created under a commission from Boston Harbor Islands National Recreational Area show the range of historical and scenic diversity that can be encountered.  One photograph depicts a dramatically forlorn Civil War hospital on the prison grounds of Fort Warren on Georges Island – its most famous captive being the Confederate Vice President.  Another is an inviting seaside view lined with colorful Adirondack chairs against the backdrop of a newly restored World War II army chapel on Peddocks Island.

Longfellow’s entry hall

Xio’s commission for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s house, a national historic site in Cambridge, produced a pensive view of the entry hall where the world-renowned poet and abolitionist greeted dignitaries of his day.  Another commissioned photograph shows J. Alden Weir’s painting studio where he created works that are now at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford and other world-class museums.  His homestead became Weir Farm National Historic Site, Connecticut’s first national park unit and the only one in the country dedicated to American Impressionist painting.  It is also where Xio began his career as an Artist-in-Residence and continues as a Visiting Artist.

The National Park Service (NPS) officially turned 100 on August 25, 2016 and, with this exhibit, is looking ahead to the next century of stewardship and opportunities for public engagement. The NPS covers more than 84 million acres and includes 410 sites.  Fruitlands Museum, founded in 1914 by Clara Endicott Sears, takes its name from an experimental utopian community established on the site in 1843.  In addition to the exhibit, the art museum includes a collection of over 100 Hudson River School landscape paintings by artists such as Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Church.

Fruitlands Museum is located on 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, MA  01451.  The exhibit runs now until March 19, 2017.  Viewing hours and other information is posted at http://www.fruitlands.org/exhibitions or call (978) 456-3924.  A free e-book containing some of Xiomaro’s work is available at http://www.xiomaro.com.

 

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Fire Island’s Centennial Art Exhibit Features National Park Photographs by Xiomaro

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Photographs created by Long Island artist Xiomáro have been selected by the National Park Service for their Centennial Art Exhibit at the Patchogue Ferry Terminal gallery space, which welcomes visitors as they embark on their journey to Fire Island.  The exhibit is open now through September 5, 2016 with a free reception open to the public on August 25 – the day the National Park Service celebrates its 100 year anniversary.

Xiomaro (photo by Sapna Dhandh-Sharma)

Xiomáro (pronounced “SEE-oh-MAH-ro”) is a nationally recognized artist, writer and speaker whose photography has been covered by The New York Times, News 12 and Newsday.  His photography has been widely exhibited at Harvard University, Long Island Museum, Oyster Bay Historical Society and other major institutions.  Xio has completed several commissions for the National Park Service including Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill mansion in Oyster Bay and the High Dune Wilderness on Fire Island.

Artists from around the country are represented in this special juried group exhibit – curated by Dawn Lee, an Associate Professor and Chair of the Art Department at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue – with a variety of visual media interpreting the parks, such as drawing and painting.

Fire Island High Dune Wildnerness by Xiomaro

Included in the exhibition is Xio’s photograph of the slave cemetery at the William Floyd Estate, which attracted much media attention during Black History Month last year.  Another photograph, on view for the first time, is an image Xio created as part of a commission to artistically document Fire Island’s High Dune Wilderness, the only federally-protected wilderness in New York State and one of the smallest managed by the National Park Service.

Slave Cemetery at the William Floyd Estate by Xiomaro

The Patchogue Ferry Terminal is located on 150 West Avenue, Patchogue, NY  11772.   The exhibit runs now until September 5, 2016.  Viewing hours are Saturdays and Sundays:  9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  The public is invited to a free reception on Thursday, August 25, 6:00–8:00 pm to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service, popularly known as “America’s Best Idea.”  For more information call:  (631) 687-4777 or FIIS_Information@nps.gov.  A free e-book containing some of Xiomáro’s work is available at www.xiomaro.com.

Xiomaro’s “Weir Farm – Restored” Photographic Exhibit at the Connecticut State Capitol

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The Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford presents “Weir Farm – Restored,” a solo photographic exhibit by Xiomaro, on view October 3 to November 30, 2016, revealing the dramatic before-and-after restoration of artist Julian Alden Weir’s house and painting studio at Weir Farm National Historic Site.  The exhibit also celebrates the Centennial of the National Park Service as Weir Farm, which is located in the towns of Ridgefield and Wilton, is Connecticut’s first national park unit and the only one in the country dedicated to American Impressionist painting.

Closet Door Before Restoration

Closet Door After Restoration

Xiomaro (pronounced “SEE-oh-MAH-ro”), Weir Farm’s Centennial Visiting Artist, is a nationally exhibited and published artist, curator, writer and speaker whose work has been covered by  The New York Times, The Hartford Courant, News 12 and Fine Art Connoisseur.

Xiomaro (photo by Sapna Dhandh-Sharma)

The National Park Service commissioned him in 2011 to artistically photograph the empty interiors of the key historic structures at Weir Farm, which were being restored for the first time in the history of the park.  After the restoration was completed in 2014, he returned to photograph the stunning change.

The exhibit will occupy 250 feet of wall space at Connecticut’s seat of government:  the Upper Concourse is the main underground passage between the Legislative Office Building and the Capitol Building.  Visitors can also use the moving walkway there to slowly peruse the large photographic prints measuring 17″ x 25.”  Through these immersive views, one can experience the significant contrast between the rarely-seen empty interiors – stark, rustic and ethereal – and the rooms restored and furnished to their original colorful and wildly eccentric stylings. Originally scheduled for the month of October only, the General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Management offered Xiomaro the option of extending the exhibit to the end of November.

The spirited décor is the result of artists having continuously occupied Weir Farm for 123 years.  The property was acquired in 1882 by J. Alden Weir, the father of American Impressionist painting.  After his death, Weir’s daughter, painter Dorothy Weir Young, and her husband, sculptor Mahonri Young, took up residence followed by New England painters Sperry and Doris Andrews.  Today, the 60-acre farm, which also includes barns, gardens, and Weir Pond, is one of the nation’s finest remaining landscapes of American art – and artists still reside there.

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Through the park’s Artist-in-Residence program, the tradition of visual artists living and creating at Weir Farm continues.  Xiomaro was a part of that program and that indirectly led to “Weir Farm – Restored.”

The exhibit runs from October 3 to November 30, 2016, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, at the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106 and is funded, in part, by Weir Farm National Historic Site.  For more information, visit www.xiomaro.com or call (860) 240-0100.  For more information about visiting Weir Farm National Historic Site, visit www.nps.gov/wefa or call (203) 834-1896.

 

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Exhibit Opportunity for Nassau County Female Artists and Photographers

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Nassau County female artists and photographers are encouraged to apply to be considered for exhibition in the 3rd Annual Nassau County 2016 “Women’s History Month Art & Photography Exhibition,” to be held on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at 6:00 pm, at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building, 1550 Franklin Avenue in Mineola, New York.

This free event, hosted by Comptroller George Maragos, will feature 50 to 70 of Nassau County’s most distinguished female artists and photographers in an effort to spread awareness for the arts.  Last year’s turnout was close to 300 visitors plus 60 artists.

Xiomaro speaks with JoAnne Von Zwehl about her oil painting “Hope” at last year’s Women of the World exhibit.  Xiomaro served as a judge in the competition.  Photo:  Steven Pfost.

During the event, entrants will be judged by industry experts and academic professionals in two categories, fine arts and photography. Judges will include prominent members of the art community with winners in each category receiving prizes.

Xiomáro was invited by the Comptroller to return as a judge.  Xiomáro is a nationally exhibited and published artist, curator, writer and speaker whose work has been extensively covered by the media including The New York Times, Newsday, News 12, The Huffington Post and Fine Art Connoisseur.  His photography is widely exhibited at venues such as Harvard University, Long Island Museum, Fraunces Tavern Museum and by members of Congress.

To apply for consideration and for more information, artists should contact either Barbara Powell or Anthony Genova.

Judges from last year’s exhibit flank Comptroller George Maragos (center).

National Park Service and Partners Commission Xiomaro To Highlight Connecticut and Massachusetts

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The National Park Service and its partners have commissioned Xiomáro to create an artistic photographic series that will bring wider acclaim to the New England National Scenic Trail (NET), a 215-mile hiking route through 41 communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts comprised primarily of historic trail systems.

Although the NET has been in existence for over a half century, it was federally designated as a National Scenic Trail in 2009 to receive protection as a nationally significant recreational resource.  The trail is jointly managed and cared for by the National Park Service, The Connecticut Forest & Park Association and the Appalachian Mountain Club (for the Massachusetts portion).  The three organizations commissioned Xiomáro (SEE-oh-MAH-ro), an artist known for creating artistic photographic collections that help draw wider public attention to national parks and historic sites.  Since 2011, Xio has been the Visiting Artist at Weir Farm National Historic Site, in Wilton/Ridgefield, Connecticut.  The site is the homestead of J. Alden Weir, the father of American Impressionist painting whose works can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian and many other world-class institutions.

The NET travels through classic New England landscape features:  long-distance vistas with rural towns as a backdrop, agrarian lands, large forests, and river valleys.  The trail also highlights colonial historical landmarks and a range of diverse ecosystems:  mountain ridges and summits, forested glades, wetlands and vernal pools, lakes, streams and waterfalls.  Since the federal designation in 2009, there have been some noteworthy changes to the historic route, including a 15-mile extension to Long Island Sound in Guilford, Connecticut, and a 22+ mile eastward deviation from the historic Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in Massachusetts.

Xiomáro is a nationally recognized artist, curator, writer and speaker whose photography has been covered by  The New York Times, News 12, Newsday, The Huffington Post and Fine Art Connoisseur.  His photography has been widely exhibited at Harvard University, Long Island Museum, Fraunces Tavern Museum and other major institutions.  Xiomáro has completed several commissions for the National Park Service including Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, Long Island.  A large exhibit of his Weir Farm photographs will be exhibited this year at the Connecticut Capitol/Legislative Office Building and at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, both in Hartford, in celebration of the National Park Service’s Centennial.

“Using the camera as a palette, my goal is to showcase the unique beauty and history of the NET and the dedicated volunteers who care for it.  The public needs to know of this resource and increased visitation is a much needed economic driver for the communities touched by the trail,” says the artist.

Xiomaro (photo by Sapna Dhandh-Sharma)