LYNDEN GALLERY PRESENTS the work of ROBERT PATIERNO, More Than Meets the Eye. An ARTIST’S JAZZ RECEPTION will be held Friday, September 25th from 5:00 to 8:00 pm, featuring the TRP Duo, from The Reese Project. Suggested cover for the evening is $5.00 per person in support of the band. Front Wall Feature, Jonathan Frazier will present a series of paintings, Overlooking the Shenandoah Valley. The exhibition will continue thru November 7th.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE aptly titled, as Patierno’s drawings push the boundaries of classical art to a psychological level. What appears to be a well-drafted landscape, or still life, is actually more of a metaphoric commentary. Look closer – what do you really see? The work begs inspection, and the telling of the master’s stories behind the work. “Emerging from a history of ideas,” the artist says, “the drawings are really a kind of wandering in the dark.” The primitive nature of things and people in polite society are often overlooked, if not downright ignored. And the humor isn’t lost to the viewer.

“DRAWINGS ARE RESEARCH, and an end in themselves. The act of drawing is lyrical playfulness, no matter how serious or time-consuming the piece.” The drawing process is direct, yet searching, uninhibited and unrestrained by subject matter. Through it, the artist has the opportunity to test the quality of thought and themes. “It is the realm of rampant ideas, where I can later reveal to the audience the way I am thinking by the selection of images and unveiling of a theme,” says Patierno. Drawing is the simplest, most effective means to that end, representing concepts chiefly in monochrome and spontaneous gestures.

AN ARTIST AND A PRINTMAKER, Robert Patierno has been well received throughout the art world with constantly evolving universal themes and tireless expressions. His works are often striking solutions to the chaos of existence and provide commentary on everyday occurrences in a light that may not be evident within superficial thought. Patierno seeks to identify pockets of reality that typically pass unnoticed, or become more interesting when taken out of context. At times portrayed in a way curious, or even alarming to the viewer, his drawings exemplify this thought process, which in turn often leads to major works in more complex mediums such as oil, watercolor or printmaking.

“THE SIMPLICITY OF SUBJECTS’ actions is overcast by the suspicions that the darkness of the drawings evokes fear and a ‘culture of fear’… many are centered on universal ideas such as envy, revenge, fear and love. Patierno’s work has a cyclical nature like that of the world; it has the ability to lead an audience on a journey from one point to the next and back to the beginning without a pause.” Christina Fainke, Independent Art Critic, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

ROBERT PATIERNO’S WORK has been exhibited, collected and recognized across the country and around the world. He spent many years teaching and exhibiting in Belgium, and his work is included in permanent collections at the Royal Museum of Antwerp, in Antwerp, the Frans Masereel Center for Graphics, Museum Collection, in Kasterlee, both in Belgium; the Southern Alleghenies Museum, in Loretto, the Erie Art Museum, in Erie, the Lancaster Museum of Art, in Lancaster, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, in Harrisburg, Susquehanna Bankshares, in Lititz, all in Pennsylvania; the Syracuse University Collections, Lowe Gallery/Museum in Syracuse, New York; and the Boise Cascade Paper Company, headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

RECENTLY, IN “REFLECTIONS OF THE SUSQUEHANNA” in a traveling group exhibition, Bob’s painting was included alongside work by prominent American painters from he Hudson River School and contemporary painters Mark Innerst and George Sorrels. Recently his work returned from the U.S. State Department, Art in the Embassies program, having toured with Ambassador to Macedonia in Skopje, Macedonia. He won first prize in the Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Images of Pennsylvania Rural Life, a traveling exhibition of Pennsylvania artists at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the Capitol Inauguration of Governor Ridge. A portfolio of prints and drawings was published in Yellow Silk Magazine, California, and he has been an esteemed juror to numerous exhibitions throughout the country. CO-

FOUNDER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN in 1982, Patierno served as Chair of the Fine Arts Department for ten subsequent years and developed the print department. Upon his resignation in 2003, he was the only full professor when it became a four-year degree granting, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. The college is located in Downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania and has been central to the bourgeoning arts community.

PATIERNO LIVES AND WORKS on the west shore of the Susquehanna in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. He frequently features his pets, home grown vegetables, wife Kathy, and neighboring cows, visiting crows, rodents and snakes in his paintings and drawings. He has a gift for irony, portraying even the sorriest of circumstances with a wry sense of humor. One can’t help but smile – the gesture of each stroke expresses the genius of the artist himself.

THE ARTIST’S JAZZ RECEPTION will feature the The TRP Duo, of THE REESE PROJECT from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. John Kunkle on guitar and Tom Reese on flute provide jazz and celebration for the evening. Tom Reese, flutes, plays highly-charged, soaring flute lines that carve new sounds out of traditional forms, infusing the music with quotes from rock to pop. John Kunkle on acoustic guitar, a Lynden Gallery favorite, and Tom offer a nod to past masters, the original jazz created steps in a new direction, while staying squarely within the boundaries of real jazz. It's definitely music for fresh ears. Performing everything from jazz standards, funk, blues, rock covers, classical music & originals, The Reese Project’s TRP Duo includes something for everyone -- from Bach to the Beatles. They have played to packed houses throughout the US & Canada (even in a major snow storm!). Influences include Miles, Coltrane, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor, Yo Yo Ma, Modeski Martin & Wood, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, David Grisman, Stephane Grapelli, Turtle Island & Kronos String Quartets, and classic rock bands. Band members have worked with Les Brown, Petula Clark, Stanley Clarke, Norm Crosby, Jay Daversa, Gloria Estefan, Larry Gatlin, Robert Gordon, Charlie Grace, John Guerin, Phil Harris, Roger Kelloway, Tom Larsen, Jerry Lewis, Melissa Manchester, Henry Mancini, Chuck Mangione, Shelly Manne, Valery Pomoronov, Jerry Reed, Jeanne C. Riley, Chita Rivera, Bobby Rydell, Ira Sullivan, BJ Thomas, Rufus Thomas, & other notables.

THE GALLERY SUPPORTS JAZZ alongside Fine Art as "simply a natural pairing" - exhibiting work of some of the area's most exceptional jazz talents. The suggested $5.00 cover charge supports the musicians, as many of the bands regularly agree to perform for less than they typically command, or for whatever comes in the door. Your generous support allows Lynden Gallery to keep the music coming in this acoustically pleasant, smoke-free environment, the vibe resonating between the visual and musical arts.

LYNDEN GALLERY features central Pennsylvania’s largest Fine Original Art Gallery, offering Custom Framing, Art and Interior Design Consultation to a discerning clientele. Located at 117 South Market Street, in Downtown Elizabethtown’s original Fire Hall, the gallery is open Tuesday thru Saturday 9:00 to 5:00. Evening hours are available by appointment. Directions can be found on the gallery website, www.lyndengallery.com, or by calling 717-367-9236. The gallery is handicap accessible and offers convenient parking.