Current Exhibitions
Altoona
A Glorious Tradition
Exhibition in the George A. and Herbert T. Wolf Gallery & the Shirley and Fred A. Pechter Gallery
March 12, 2021 – June 18, 2021
Painting has long been a romantic, nostalgic tradition steeped in the timeless beauty of the medium. It’s been a tool to glorify individuals, visualize myths, and create legends. At its core, traditional painting is an ode to beauty. It is a constant celebration of life’s visual pleasures and peculiarities. From portraits of significant figures to detailed still life paintings, viewers will encounter reality translated through paint. This exhibition, on view from March 12th, 2021 through June 18th, 2021, honors the glorious tradition of painting.
The Vibrant Indefinite
Exhibition In the Paul I. Detwiler Education Center
May 28, 2021 – July 24, 2021
The Vibrant Indefinite: Works by Michael Allison and Anthony Porter will feature colorful abstractions by both artists.
Anthony Porter is an artist based in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Influenced by impressionism, ukiyo-e, and art nouveau styles, Porter’s work is colorful and layered. Digitally rendered, it is reminiscent of Porter’s experience as a youth, experimenting with “scribble drawings”. Through this process, Porter makes unconscious choices, playing on patterns, forms, and shapes.
Michael Allison has, for the past 40 years, been involved in a variety of art related projects in this region. As the former curator of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, he was responsible for over 25 exhibitions held at the museum and it's outreach galleries. He served for a period on the Visual Arts Advisory Panel of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He also has been directly involved with the Blair County Arts Festival and was the founder of the arts organization Art in Common. He has taught privately and has served as an artist in residence in the Pennsylvania school system.
Bedford
Trees: An Appreciation of Nature
Exhibition In the Titelman Galleries and the Paula and Dean Lemley Gallery
April 6, 2021 – July 10, 2021
Come see the various depictions of a ubiquitous part of nature in Trees: An Appreciation of Nature, an exhibition of artworks from the museum’s permanent collection. Everywhere we go, we find an abundance of trees.
In this exhibition, SAMA Bedford is showcasing one of nature’s most abundant resources: trees. From photography to paintings, this exhibition shows how these stoic giants have stirred the appreciation of various artists. Let us put down the devices and surround ourselves with what nature has to offer. The Trees exhibition will inspire us all to appreciate the outdoors a little more.
Poignant Moments: a Photography Exhibition
Exhibition In the Ashe Gallery and Regional Galleries
May 8, 2021 – August 14, 2021
These gentlemen have found that the camera allows them to explore and capture poignant moments in their surroundings through film. Each artist expertly showcases impactful explorative moments to share with us. SAMA Bedford invites you to enjoy the perspective of two photographers’ work that ranges from moody landscapes to vibrant cityscapes. You will not want to pass on the opportunity to experience their remarkable observations!
On his work, Josiah Weaver states, “From a young age, I have always found myself intrigued with the sights and sounds of nature. Being raised in rural Bedford County and waking up each childhood morning to the sunrise over the rolling foothills has instilled interest to see more. I invested many hours of self-taught learning within my homeschooled education to gain access to the endless possibilities of digital format cameras, as well as film photography, music, and art. To this day, I continue to use what I have learned as a self-employed photographer, videographer, and artist. The vast serenity that surrounds a single landscape is what I wish to showcase for the viewer. No matter where you are, there is a place of stillness calling for you in nature.”
Scott J. Walsh is a photographer who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His work is primarily street and landscape photography. He spends his time traveling around on his skateboard or bike, taking photos. Taking pictures is his way to quiet the ever-constant city noise. “Photography has always helped me get out of my head and focus on my intuition. It is a meditation and a way of learning more about my environment."
Scott often spends a lot of time visiting Coney Island or Far Rockaways, taking photographs of the streets and beaches. His artwork expresses both the joy and the fear he has of the ocean. To him, It is a metaphor for the precariousness of life and how it is constantly evolving. He also finds interest in the ambient light that comes from urban landscapes. Sometimes, Scott goes out at night to find a quiet corner to capture the stillness. He also finds inspiration in poetry, in particular, the poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti. When he walks around Coney Island, he often thinks about the many stages Coney Island has gone through and how the landscape evolved over the years.
Portraits by Donald M. Robinson
Exhibition In the Donald M. Robinson Gallery
May 8, 2021 – August 14, 2021
Johnstown
Reopening TBD
Ligonier
Looking for the Light in Dark Times
Exhibition In The Elizabeth Shaw Gamble Gallery
April 30, 2021 – July 31, 2021
Jonelle Summerfield is an oil painter from Indiana, PA. She received a degree in Interior Design from The Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2001. She began painting as a hobby shortly thereafter while she worked as a full-time kitchen designer, taking lessons from her mother, Jolene Joyner. Like her mother, she began her artistic career participating in the New Growth Arts Festival and the Indiana County Open Arts Studio Tour in the early 2000s. After taking workshops with other artists she admired, she began to paint full-time in 2012. Aside from her mother, she has taken workshops with Qiang Huang, John Del Monte, Darren Kingsley, Kerry Dunn, and Robert Liberace. Her paintings are impressionistic, and her subjects include interiors, street scenes, animals, and still lifes, among others. European travel is one of her biggest influences, and she travels to obtain her reference photos for each painting. The goal of her work is to depict the good things in life and to provide relief from a chaotic world.
Jolene Joyner of Clymer, PA has had an interest in art since childhood. Though she went to nursing school after graduating from high school and established a forty-year career as a surgical nurse, she resumed her artistic pursuits in her mid-twenties. She has been a member of the Indiana Art Association since the mid-1980s where she met many friends, instructors, and mentors that encouraged her artistic growth. She entered juried exhibits in the region and won many awards while she honed her skills. She later participated in the annual New Growth Arts Festival and the Indiana County Open Arts Studio tour as she gained a following. Notable artists with whom she studied are James Sulkowski, John Del Monte, Darren Kingsley, and Kerry Dunn. Many subjects inspire her, and she is always adding subjects of interest to her repertoire. Favorite subjects include felines, still lifes, scenes from her travels to Europe and beaches of the Caribbean and America's east coast, as well as rural landscapes that include horses and cows.
Back to Woodstock
Exhibition In The Elizabeth Shaw Gamble Gallery
April 30, 2021 – July 31, 2021
1960’s memorabilia and posters from the Collection of Mark Del Costello will most certainly bring back memories. Step back in time and enjoy these authentic music posters from noted artists including Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead. These featured posters represent the original 1969 Woodstock held August 15-18 on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York.
Loretto
Donald M. Robinson Photography Biennial 2021
Exhibition In the Sullivan Gallery
April 16, 2021 - June 25, 2021
Loretto’s Donald M. Robinson Photography Biennial 2021 exhibition will take place from April 16, 2021 through June 25, 2021. The Robinson Biennial is a juried exhibition attracting photographers from across the commonwealth.
The Robinson Photography Biennial Juror is Linda Benedict-Jones. Linda Benedict-Jones is a photographer, writer, and independent curator based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2015, she retired from being the first Curator of Photography at Carnegie Museum of Art. She has also served as Executive Director of Silver Eye Center for Photography and Curator of Education at The Frick, both in Pittsburgh. She taught courses in the history of photography at Carnegie Mellon University for 18 years, from 1999 to 2017. Before moving to Pittsburgh in 1993, Benedict-Jones was Curator of The Polaroid Collection and director of Polaroid’s Clarence Kennedy Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Benedict-Jones studied at Minor White’s Creative Photography Laboratory at MIT where she earned a master’s degree in visual studies in 1982.
Cash awards will include a top prize of $2,000 for Best of Show, together with a $1,500 first place award, a $1,000 second place award, and a $500 third place award. The exhibition and events are sponsored by the Donald & Sylvia Robinson Family Foundation.
Through the Lens: Landscapes by Donald M. Robinson
Exhibition in the Margery Wolf-Kuhn Balcony Gallery
April 16, 2021 - June 25, 2021
In 1993, the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art became the repository for the Donald M. Robinson collection of photography and archives. For more than fifty years, Donald M. Robinson has explored landscapes, wildlife, and the human condition. Reflecting on the power of the photographic medium resulting in an enduring source of inspiration for future generations, Robinson also exhibits a mastery of technical complexities. From the dawn of nature’s beauty to the last frontiers on earth, his photographs extend beyond documentation; the collection is a novel of personal experiences and expressions of the universe and all its glory.