PATHWAYS AND PARALLELS                                 
Florence Putterman and Ellen Slupe
Artist Reception, Friday, August 3, 5:00 to 7:00   

BRIGHT VIBRANT COLORS, forms of imagination and curiosity bring a lively end to the summer at Lynden Gallery.   Entitled “Pathways and Parallels”, the works of these two artists complimentary, yet each different in style and articulation.  Putterman tells stories in primitive forms painted on a sand-textured underpainting, while Slupe pursues the rhythmic nature of pattern and line.   An Opening Artist Reception will be held Friday, August 3rd from 5:00 to 7:00 at the Lynden Gallery in Elizabethtown.  The exhibition continues through the month of August.

ELLEN SLUPE is a local artist, writer, and former co-owner of the Pfenninger Gallery in Downtown Lancaster. She says of her work,

“ The repetitious mark-making suggest records of activities or things that keep steady rhythm or pulse that I rarely pay attention to—like heart beats, seconds of the day, cycles of the moon, life cycles, etc. all repeating over and over again. Each mark through it’s action influences the outcome of the work-sometimes beautiful color associations surface, other times the colors are so similar they seem to disappear.”

Having begun her education in the sciences, having graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Med Biology from Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA, which was followed by research at Scripps Institute and Research Foundation in La Jolla, CA and at Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA.  hse eventually discovered she “liked science, but loved art”, and continued her studies at Millersville University, Millersville, PA to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at in 1995.  Having immersed herself in the arts community full of enthusiasm, she’s never looked back.

Slupe has exhibited her work most recently at the Lancaster Arts Hotel and Pfenninger Gallery, Lancaster, PA, and also in Florence, Italy, Shizuoka, Japan, Seoul, Korea and Venice Italy.   Her work is held in public collections including Aegis Investments, Inc, Leola, PA, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA, Sindall Leasing, Inc, Leola, PA, Weidenhammer Technology Systems, Wyomissing, PA, Noyew Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ, and Federation of Artistic and Culture Organizations of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

FLORENCE PUTTERMAN draws on past memories, experiences and issues facing mankind, and ties to the natural world and it’s creatures for inspiration. Experiments with texture, using sand and crushed eggshells combined with gesso, are the base for her paintings.  Vibrant colors demand attention and jumpstart the imagination. She says,

“My work began with an exploration of nature, sometimes seen close-up and sometimes at a distance. My focus then shifted to an investigation of certain basic forms, which occur in nature, resulting in more abstract works. Gradually I returned to human forms and narratives involving humankind and all creatures that inhabit the earth.”

Putterman graduated form Penn State University in 1973 with a Masters Degree in Fine Art.  She is recognized nationally and has exhibited in Cracow, Poland, Madrid, Spain, Hanoi, and Regensburg, Germany in Europe. Her work is held in prestigious public collections including the Metropolitan Museum or Art in New York City, NY, Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, Jacksonville Museum, Jacksonville, FL, and the Chicago Art institute in Illinois.

Florence also participated in traveling exhibitions including “Bird, Hand & Man”, Polk Museum, Lakeland, FL,  “In Search of Origins”, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst County, VA, and the “New American Monotypes”, organized by the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC.    She has been the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. 

LYNDEN GALLERY is located at 117 South Market Street, Downtown Elizabethtown, and is open Tuesday thru Saturday 9:00 to 5:00, and evenings by appointment.  Directions are available on the gallery website, www.lyndengallery.com, or by calling the gallery at 717-3679236. The gallery is handicap accessible and offers convenient parking.