Old Masters
June 27 – July 27 · Opening Reception Saturday June 27, 4–8 PM
Forget everything you learned in art history class. "Old Masters" is what they called the great European painters — Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Caravaggio — and every single one of them was a white guy. Women and Black artists? Background decoration, if they showed up at all. So we borrowed the title.
Old Masters brings together Malik Titus Bridges, a young artist from Monticello whose abstract portraits will stop you cold, and Catherine Chesters, who has been making art longer than Malik has been alive. Two people the original Old Masters would never have invited to the party — throwing one anyway.
Both Malik and Catherine are teaching artists with Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Malik is also deeply involved with the Black Library of Monticello — a community institution that, like this show, is about celebrating presence, voice, and visibility. Together they bring two practices rooted not in reference or representation, but in something harder to name. These are abstract portraits. There are no visual references — only what lives in the subconscious, rising to the surface. Come with open eyes. See what gets revealed.
Old Masters is a celebration of two artists — and of the underrepresented voices that have always been here, making work, showing up, belonging in the room.
The Collage Room
First Wednesday
of the Month
6.00 - 8.30pm
Suggested Donation $20
Open Studios
Please join me in the studio
May 16 & 17th
11-6pm
The studio will be open to all 11-6pm Saturday and Sunday. Art won’t just be on the walls — there’ll be a few chances to get your hands messy too.
Second Marks Feb 28 - March 28, brings together twelve local artists in an act of creative recycling and shared authorship. Each artist handed over an older work — something that had been quietly sitting in the studio — and invited another artist to step in and respond. The result? Paintings, photographs, ceramics, sculpture, and textiles that now carry two creative fingerprints. These pieces are layered, unexpected, and alive with dialogue — part collaboration, part transformation, part beautiful risk.
The participating artists are: Bette Blau, Catherine Chesters, Charles Wilkin, Claudine Luchsinger, Jorge Colombo, Kaitlyn Danielson, Leigh Allison, Lia Strasser, Nonna Hall, Ryan Ward, Sam Green, and Tif Wolf.
And this isn’t just about art. With funding for public radio drastically cut, independent stations like Radio Catskill need community support more than ever. Every artwork sold directly helps keep local voices on the air — the stories, music, and conversations that connect our region.
Opening night will also feature immersive soundscapes by Alex Fable, adding another layer to the experience and setting the tone for an evening where art, sound, and community come together.
All works go live online March 1st — but some may not make it that far. Opening night is first dibs. See the work up close, claim what speaks to you, and don’t wait — each piece exists only once. Every purchase supports Radio Catskill and helps keep independent, community-driven radio alive in our region.