Art at APL Opening Reception

Countenance: The Contemporary Portrait, December 5- May 9, 2025

Nuveen Barwari, Judith Braun, Maggie Halloran, John Hampshire, Phil Knoll, Mark McCarty, Philip J. Palmieri, Winosha Steele, Felicia van Bork, Oliver Wasow

In Countenance: The Contemporary Portrait ten artists reveal a desire for connection. While some explore themes of feeling surveilled, isolated, scattered, or inauthentic, others touch on illness, cultural identity, or just the love and challenge of observing a fleeting encounter. As our gaze is more and more mediated by screens, do we really look at each other face to face anymore? 

Felicia van Bork’s intuitive portraits come from observing models on Zoom during the pandemic. Maggie Halloran’s self-portraits smack of surveillance, confronting viewers with unavoidable, uncomfortable eye contact, while Judith Braun’s self-portraits investigate the many complexities of what it means to be human. Mark McCarty draws the light out of a subject, eliciting empathy. Distortion plays a part in the work of both Philip J. Palmieri and John Hampshire. Historic portraiture is also referenced here. Nuveen Barwari reclaims and reimagines Kurdish visual history through collage, painting, and textiles. Oliver Wasow’s portraits follow in a long tradition of studio photography. Winosha Steele explores self through experimentation with surrealism. Lastly, Phil Knoll’s lovingly-rendered animals seem almost human in their focused, attentive stare.

The evening will also feature music by the Albany High Band and light fare. 

The Art at APL program is curated by Opalka Gallery of Sage College of Albany.

Art at APL is funded by the Friends and Foundation of Albany Public Library, with additional support from the Arts Thrive and Grow grant administered through The Arts Center of the Capital Region and funded by New York State.