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 Mt. Kisco, NY - A new show titled “EDEN(!) Naturally” featuring the paintings of Briarcliff resident Doris Downes opens with a reception on Saturday, May 17, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Gallery in the Park at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River.
The exhibit showcases elegant watercolors and oils evoking beautiful gardens with a 21st century twist: Downes’ works are traditional botanicals set on untraditional canvases. One work captures an exquisite orchid in a Hudson River School sky raining cloned frogs, while another depicts a jeweled dragonfly perched on a genetically modified, yet beautiful, blossom. Ms. Downes captures the curve of the stem and the wind in the flower while at the same time evoking thoughts about future ecosystems.
Doris Downes was born into a family of artists and trained in fine art. She has worked as an art director at several magazines and as a design director at Sotheby’s before devoting herself to painting full-time. Her work is influenced by the early Dutch masters, but tempered by the awareness of contemporary pressures on nature such as DNA splicing.
“EDEN(!) Naturally” will be on exhibit daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through August 31. Admission is free; parking is $4 with a Westchester County Park Pass, $8 without the pass. The parking fee will be waived on Saturday evening, May 17, for the opening of the exhibit.
The Gallery in the Park is part of the Westchester County Art in Parks program, which brings changing exhibitions of sculpture, paintings, murals and other forms of artwork to Westchester County Parks for the appreciation of visitors of all ages.
Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is a Westchester County Park and is located at the junction of Route 35 and 121 South in Cross River. It can be reached via I-684 to exit 6, Katonah/Cross River. Head east off the exit; the park is four miles ahead on the right.
For more information about the Gallery in the Park, call (914) 864-7317.
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