Jane Notides-Benzing is one of the award winners in this year’s Arts & Cultural Council’s juried 2011 “Summer Member Exhibition”. Her mixed-media, three dimensional work “High Tension Storm” was selected for an Award of Excellence. It is one of three pieces in the show, including “Fiesta Sky” and “Memory Rain”, that show her multi-layered work encased in Plexiglass.

"Memory of Rain" by Jane Notides-Benzing

In an article about her work in the Art & Cultural Council’s Fall 2011 publication Metropolitan (page 21) she describes what inspired this current work.

“A few years ago, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York city, I saw two giant sheets of transparent fabric suspended from the ceiling. As I walked through the gallery, I was intrigued by the way I could see through the first sheet and blend the two images together.”

The plexiglass case that encloses each of her abstract multi-layered works could be thought of “as a miniature gallery,” she says.

Creating a miniature gallery with the transparent box works well to focus our gaze on her artwork. I like her layering technique using transparent materials with abstract markings. She is “interested in vaporous and watery elements with intrinsic energy: clouds, rain, sunshine,” Norides-Benzing says.

The show at the Arts & cultural Council’s space is open through November 30th, with a reception November 30th from 5 – 7 pm. If you are in the area stop by and look at her work, or go to their website:
http://www.artsrochester.org/