UpFront announces spring art show

Port Jervis’s UpFront Exhibition Space will be holding its spring art show from April 5 through May 26, with an artist reception slated for Saturday, April 13, from 1 to 6 p.m. The show will feature works from Andy Peluso, Elva Zingaro, and Gordon Graff.

Peluso’s art piece “Dirty and Gritty” comes from an early life experience. A day in the hot city near an old factory, he wondered about all the unhappy people working inside and what it was like working in the huge factories with no heat or air conditioning...the old Lovin Spoonful song “Summer in The City” came to mind. Peluso’s compositions are icons that speak from a huge well of experience and feeling for life. His empathy fuels his imagination. Found parts and pieces given to him make the compositions.

Elva Zingaro’s oil painting “Here Comes the Sun” is directly inspired from a dream. She was moving through a dark gloomy swamp, when she reached a certain spot she looked up, a bright orange sun rose before her. Zingaro often paints familiar places she’s been to, but this landscape is formed by the dream. The sun rises out of the stream in front while the sky is still dark and brooding.

Gordon Graff returns with “The House Guest,” which appears as a warrior modeled with attitude. A roof ventilator becomes a metal helmet sprouting antler whiskers, pinned to the torso is an elaborate heraldic medal. This Viking image harks back to the first guests who came to our shores. Graff says he composes his pieces from objects he finds and is often given. The parts come together as they suggest to him what and how and his imagination sees the possibilities.

UpFront Exhibition Space is located at 31 Jersey Ave, Port Jervis. For more information, call 945-754-1808.