NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

Wild Kingdom
100 Years of Animal Art

NOVEMBER 17 2019 - MARCH 3 2020

For the sheer fun of it, nothing beats the theme of animals in art. This rip-roaring show assembles a circus parade of the wild and the woolly, from the big cats (lions, tigers, leopards and others) to the sheep and bunnies beloved by all (including the cats). The roll call of major talents represented in the show whose paintings, drawings, and sculpture have immortalized the wild kingdom includes many of the top dogs in art history, including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, John James Audubon and Jeff Koons among many others (there are over a hundred works on view).

As a special treat, a lavishly colorful installation by the world-renowned artist and designer Hunt Slonem will transform the elegant rooms of the mansion into a dream-like sanctuary for parrots, rabbits and butterflies, his signature motifs. This show within a show, titled Eden Never Ends, includes not just a dazzling array of paintings but an unforgettable installation of fabrics and extravagant furniture designed by Hunt Slonem, created expressly for this show. 

Nassau County Museum of Art

Feast for the Eyes

Art Inspired by Food and Dining
in a Sweeping Two-Floor Exhibition

July 30 - November 6, 2016

Feast for the Eyes, guest curated by Franklin Hill Perrell, explores how food has always inspired artists. The exhibition opened on July 30, 2016, and remains on view through November 6, 2016. 

Feast for the Eyes, a sweeping two-floor exhibition focused on food and dining in art, features works by a sweeping array of artists, including Audrey Flack, Red Grooms, George Grosz, Henri Matisse, Claes Oldenberg, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol and Susan Cushing, among many others.

Drawn from a wide variety of media, the exhibition offers viewers eclectic portrayals of feasts, eateries, restaurants, cafés, groceries, and table settings. Included are luscious depictions of edible delights by artists such as Ben Schonzeit, Gina Beavers, Luigi Benedicenti and Wayne Thiebaud. Berenice Abbott contributes iconic 1930s photographs of the Automat and other dining destinations of New York City. The designer Judith Leiber makes fabulous jeweled evening bags modeled after sensuous fruits and vegetables.

Stylistically, the works range from a classic 1908 still life by William Merritt Chase to a 1973 Pop Art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. Caricaturist Al Hirschfeld shows celebrity diners from stage and screen in his famed line drawings while The New Yorker's Roz Chast pens humorous cartoons on a range of culinary topics. Photorealistic works from the 1970s to the present day by Don Eddy, Ralph Goings and others portray a variety of gastronomic experiences. 

Nassau County Museum of Art opens its Vault for 25th anniversary exhibit

Vernacular Visions, reflects the diversity and vibrancy of Long Island’s artistic community through the work of three prominent painters and a sculptor: in addition to Francisco Villagran, there are works by Burt Young, also of Port Washington, Susan Cushing of Southampton, and Richard Gachot of Old Westbury.

Susan Cushing’s highly stylized narrative landscapes are inspired by the decade of the 1970s and are reminiscent of the lifestyle photographs of Slim Aarons and the post-modern figural style of Alex Katz and David Hockney. Cushing’s casually elegant paintings, each a snapshot of the colors and themes of summer, can be seen as metaphors of life lived to its fullest

 NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART – ROSLYN HARBOR, NY

VERNACULAR VISIONS

“OUT OF THE VAULT: 25 YEARS OF COLLECTING”

opens March 21 and continues through July 12. 2016

“VERNACULAR VISIONS” opens March 21 and continues through July 12 in the Contemporary Collectors Gallery. The exhibition features the work of four Long Island artists: Susan Cushing, Richard Gachot, Francisco Villagran and Burt Young.

The exhibition presents artwork and objects from the permanent collection presented by theme including past and present portraiture, great traditions in small paintings, post-war sculpture, the eccentric object and vintage posters of the 1930's and 40's. Highlights include works by naturalist John James Audubon, photographer Larry Fink and Pop artists Marisol Escobar, Robert Indiana and Larry Rivers.

NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART: VERNACULAR VISIONS

Nassau County Museum of Art Presents the Work of Four Prominent Long Island Artists

(Long Island, NY) Vernacular Visions, opening at Nassau County Museum of Art on March 21 and remaining on view through July 12, 2015, reflects the diversity and vibrancy of Long Island’s artistic community through the work of three prominent painters and a sculptor: Susan Cushing of Southampton, Richard Gachot of Old Westbury, Francisco Villagran, and Burt Young, both of Port Washington.

Susan Cushing: September. Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Artist.

Susan Cushing’s highly stylized narrative landscapes are inspired by the decade of the 1970s and are reminiscent of the lifestyle photographs of Slim Aarons and the post-modern figural style of Alex Katz and DavidHockney. Cushing’s casually elegant paintings, each a snapshot of the colors and themes of summer, can be seen as metaphors of life lived to its fullest.

RECENT COLUMNIST ARTICLES

 "Vernacular Visions" is the new Contemporary Gallery exhibit -- small but we think it will be a stunner. Three painters and one sculptor. Southampton's Susan Cushing employs the colors and themes of summer to create paintings that depict a casually elegant lifestyle we'd all like to live. Here's her "Cut Rush." What do you think

Flower Power Blooms at Nassau Museum’s “Garden Party” Show

by Spencer Rumsey 

on April 2, 2014

By contrast, across from this bold collage are three …paintings by Susan Cushing, which taken together epitomize the exhibit’s theme of leisure celebration. In “What’s New Pussycat?” posh partygoers enjoy themselves in a park; in “The Wayfarers,” a waiter serves drinks to people lounging by a pool; and in “It Doesn’t Get Any Better,” an intimate group of friends relaxes in the shade of a white-washed veranda while behind them a spacious green lawn shimmers in the afternoon heat of a leisurely day in the Hamptons, where Cushing drew her inspiration.

Roslyn News

Cushing Exhibit At Museum

April 28, 2014 By Joe Scotchie

Marc Chagall, Georgia O’Keeffe, David Hockney and Susan Cushing: What do these artists have in common? Well, they all employ the theme of the Garden Party in their artwork.

Cushing, in fact, is currently exhibiting a new show at the Nassau County Museum of Art, located in Roslyn Harbor. The exhibit is on display from now until July 6.

Cushing’s work exemplifies the theme of Garden Party by exploring the imagery of elegant outdoor entertainment. Her work reflects the 145-acre gardens at the Frick Estate and the county house era, when a great country estate with a beautiful garden was a necessary attribute for wealthy Americans.

Cushing is honored to have been selected by guest curator Franklin Hill Perrell, to show her work at the Nassau County Museum, which is now ranked among the nation’s most important suburban art museums.

As with most artists, Cushing is including her own artists’ statement along with the exhibit.

“You can imagine the conversation. You want to be there. At first glance you are struck by the innate desire of wanting to be there,” the statement began. “You are drawn into a world of beauty and glamour where you willingly participate. You find yourself wanting to linger inside each of the paintings. Being there becomes a hidden mantra. The venues, the dress, the postures, the ease of living bring you back to old movie glamour, that of a charmed life.

“While these snapshots of charmed life with stylish people, living an enchanted life, in elegant settings — garden parties, lazy porches and poolside scenes — are pleasing to view you soon realize that you are part of the picture eavesdropping from a voyeur’s perspective. Each one is composed of reflections and shadows, light and dark spaces, that are also a metaphor of life. You can’t have the bright light without the shadows. Susan summarizes her painting philosophy as, ‘The beauty I see around me is what I strive to capture on the canvas. Instead of being dark and brooding, I choose to bring light and levity and focus on happy times.’”

“You are engrossed in her use of color that surrounds every painting. Susan’s belief that stray feelings of beauty that surround us are portrayed in the richness and depth of the color she uses. As Susan says, ‘Turning up the volume on color is what interests me. The richness of color portrays the rich textures of life.’”

“You next observe the shadows, reflections and extreme patterns in the strong light. Reflections become a medium for aesthetically pleasing ideas. ‘I love to play with the strong light at the beginning and end of the day to create abstract shapes within real settings — allowing the abstract shapes to shine through as the main subject of the paintings. Reflections and light become a central theme of life. The colors are saturated. The value is turned way up,’ Cushing said of her work.”
“Susan’s work is a highly stylized series of narrative landscapes inspired by the decade of the 1970s – reminiscent of the lifestyle photographs of Slim Aarons and the post-modern environmental style of Alex Katz and David Hockney. You are part of a narrative landscape; the portrait and Susan’s paintings are evocative of this world of casual elegance as she beautifully captures the colors and themes of summer on canvas.

“Susan’s philosophy of painting is to bridge classical technique with modern themes, capturing moments of reflection in all their beauty and idealized form,” the statement concluded.

Long Island Press

After a grueling winter—not the worst but dispiriting just the same—spring gets a jumpstart at the Nassau County Museum of Art. The timing for this inviting “Garden Party” exhibit could hardly be better. Paintings by Susan Cushing, which taken together epitomize the exhibit’s theme of leisure celebration. In “What’s New Pussycat?” posh partygoers enjoy themselves in a park; in “The Wayfarers,” a waiter serves drinks to people lounging by a pool; and in “It Doesn’t Get Any Better,” an intimate group of friends relaxes in the shade of a white-washed veranda while behind them a spacious green lawn shimmers in the afternoon heat of a leisurely day in the Hamptons, where Cushing drew her inspiration.

“Everyone is having a wonderful, wonderful time,” says Perrell. “It’s not raining. Everything is perfect and it’s always summer.”

Southampton Press

Westhampton Garden Club Tour Offers A Trip To The Past, And Onto A Canvas

Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press                                                   By Maggy Kilroy    

Jun 29, 2014

Peering at a painting by local artist Susan Cushing, called “Garden Party,” one can make out two men in black suits laughing while a woman leans over her own shadow, which flows off the canvas, to touch the grass.  Ms. Cushing’s specialty is narrative landscapes that put her audience right in the canvas. Setting up her easel outside the lavish garden of Quogue’s Tudor estate “Anachronism,” Ms. Cushing will be looking for new subjects as they walk around the gardens as participants of the Westhampton Garden Club’s garden and house tour on July 11.

An extra bonus of this event will be local artists working “en plein air” at each of the six homes and gardens on the tour circuit. Set in estates both in Quogue and the greater Westhampton area, the tour really is a trip to the French 1800s. The houses on the tour were given titles to express both the natural aesthetic of the estate and the homes’ unique decor.

Anachronism” has an arboretum with two weeping Chinese dogwoods planted by the nurseryman Baier Lustgarten, as well as four cherry trees. Driving up to the house one would normally find a gate with all of the romantic secrets of Victorian Quogue tucked away

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 11, however, the gate will be swung wide as part of the biennial house and garden tour. And as the day moves from morning to afternoon, so will Ms. Cushing’s paintings.

I love to play with the strong light at the beginning and end of the day to create extreme patterns, allowing the abstract shapes to shine through as the main subject of the paintings,” Ms. Cushing said. “I want you to feel that you are part of the picture yet slightly removed. I am interested in the role of the observer-voyeur.”

Those who visit the estate in the morning may be seen under the soft light of the rising sun, while those “basking in the heat of the afternoon will also have stark shadows leading off the canvas; they may be forever memorialized on the canvas through Ms. Cushing’s brush strokes

The Art Gallery At The Quogue Library    

Wednesday July 2, 2014

The Quogue Library maintains a state-of-the-art Art Gallery designed exclusively to display works of art. The Gallery is an integral part of the library, adding another dimension to it as the cultural center of Quogue. The exhibits are initiated and developed by the Art Gallery Committee representing new concepts and trends in painting, photography and sculpture with monthly exhibits by prominent local and East End artists.

The works include a rich variety of medium, genre and techniques that are enlightening, thought provoking and occasionally cutting edge. Special projects include Art and Design Lectures presented by well-known authorities and collaborating exhibits with other community non-profit organizations including the Westhampton Garden Club, the Peconic Land Trust, the East End Arts Council, the East Quogue Association, the Bays Artists Alliance and others.

Artists exhibiting with us agree to donate to the Library 20% of the proceeds resulting from the sale of their works on exhibit to help sustain the costs of maintaining the Library.

July -- Susan Cushing: “Being There” Reception:  Saturday, July 5, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Susan Cushing has studied art and practiced her craft since graduating from Davidson College with a degree in Fine Arts, followed by studies at Savannah College of Art & Design, The Corcoran School in Washington, D.C., the Art Barge in Amagansett and the Scottsdale Artists School in Arizona. Ms. Cushing currently works and lives in New York City, Palm Beach and Quogue.

“Being There” is a highly stylized series of narrative landscapes inspired by the decade of the 1970s and very reminiscent of the society photographs of Slim Aarons and the post-modern environmental style of Alex Katz and David Hockney. The artist captures the beautiful colors and themes of summer and evokes a world of casual elegance with scenes of garden parties, lazy porches and poolside lounging. “You are drawn into a world of beauty and glamour where you willingly participate”, Ms. Cushing says. “The venues, the dress, the postures, the ease of living bring you back to old movie glamour, that of a charmed life.”

Color, shadows and reflections are important to the artist, and she notes that “turning up the volume on color is what interests me. The richness of color portrays the rich textures of life.” Ms. Cushing feels that the strong light at the beginning and end of the day creates abstract shapes that can become the main subject of the painting. She describes her artistic philosophy as “striving to capture on canvas the beauty I see all around me. Instead of being dark and brooding, I choose to bring light and levity and focus on happiness”.

"The Good Life" New Work by Susan Cushing

Posted by Melissa Olcott , September 05, 2012 at 04:23 PM

Friday, September 21, 2012, 1:00 PM

"The Good Life" New Work by Susan Cushing - Arts & Entertainment Event, - Southampton, NY Patch

http://southampton.patch.com/groups/arts-and-entertainment/p/ev--the-good-life-new-work-by-susan-cushing

4 North Main Gallery is pleased to present the art opening of “The Good Life”, new work by Susan

Cushing. Opening Reception: Saturday, September 22nd 5-8 pm. Susan's new work is a highly stylized series of narrative landscapes. Evocative of the world of casual elegance Susan's paintings beautifully capture the colors and themes of summer on canvas. You are drawn into a world of beauty and glamour where you willingly participate with stylish people, living an enchanted life, in elegant settings. Susan’s describes her work as “Turning up the volume on color, and using shadow and reflection to create abstract shapes within real settings is what interests me. I love to play with the strong light at the beginning and end of the day to create extreme patterns -- allowing the abstract shapes to shine through as the main subject of the paintings. The colors are saturated. The value is turned way up. The richness of color portrays the rich textures of life. ”

KDH ART SCENE: ‘THE GOOD LIFE SERIES’ BY SUSAN CUSHING:

 Exhibition Opens Sept. 22 at 4 North Main Gallery!

4 NORTH MAIN GALLERY hosts SUSAN CUSHING Exhibition Opening Night Reception September 22nd!

“The Good Life series“, a fine art exhibition featuring the recent paintings of Susan Cushing, runs September 2lst 23rd at the 4 North Main Gallery in Southampton, New York with an opening reception on Saturday, September 22~ from 5 to 8 pm.

The series is a highly stylized exhibit of narrative landscapes reminiscent of the lifestyle photographs of Slim Aarons and the post-modern environmental style of Alex Katz and David Hockney. Susan’s paintings are evocative of the world of casual elegance as she beautifully captures the colors and themes of summer on canvas. The venues, the dress, the postures, the ease of living bring you back to a gilded glamour, that of a charmed life.

While these snapshots of life - garden parties, beachscapes, croquet matches and poolside scenes — are pleasing to look at, each one is composed of reflections and shadows, light and dark spaces, that are also a metaphor of life: “My philosophy of painting is to bridge classical technique with modern themes, capturing moments of reflection in all their beauty and idealized form,” Susan shares. You can’t have the bright light without the shadows.

“Turning up the volume on color, and using shadow and reflection to create abstract shapes within real settings is what interests me. I love to play with the strong light at the beginning and end of the day to create extreme patterns — allowing the abstract shapes to shine through as the main subject of the paintings. The colors are saturated. The value is turned way up. The richness of color portrays the rich textures of life. ” “The beauty I see and experience around me is what I strive to capture on the canvas. Instead of being dark and brooding, I choose to bring light and levity and focus on happy times.”

MORE

Art Imitates Life...The Good Life

Up your culture quotient with artist Susan Cushing's new series of vibrant paintings.

by Susan Swimmer • Fashion Features Editor

We’re wild for the work of artist Susan Cushing, and her new series, appropriately titled “The Good Life,” is now on view. Featuring saturated landscapes that channel the breezy, glam lifestyle of a Slim Aarons photograph (chaise lounge, anyone?), the paintings will positively transport you. The collection can be seen at the 4 North Main Gallery in Southampton, New York from September 21st through September 23rd (with an opening reception on the night of September 22nd), and we promise you the work will delight (and possibly have you craving a Mint Julep).

WHERE: 4 North Main Gallery, 4 North Main Street, Southampton, NY 11968

WELCOME TO NEST BY TAMARA

This weekend stop into the Susan Cushing Gallery's art opening in Southampton -- The Good Life -- for one last dance with summer!

Last glimpse of summer? this weekend's art opening at the SUSAN CUSHING GALLERY in the Hamptons may be just the perfect event to attend to capture that summer feeling and hold onto it a little bit more

Susan Cushing's show   The Good Life  -  4 North Main Gallery -  Southampton

I have to agree with the gallery's viewpoint of Susan's work:

"Susan's collections are highly stylized series of narrative landscapes reminiscent of the lifestyle photographs of Slim Aarons and the post- modern environmental style of Alex Katz and David Hockney. Evocative of the world of casual elegance, Susan's paintings beautifully capture the colors and themes of summer on canvas" When taking in these high voltage versions of dreamy settings, I feel the urge to dive right into that sparkling swimming pool, and sip an iced tea under that porch.

The vibrant colors and landscapes are soothing, yet are created in an almost imaginary cartoon-like fashion making them even more intriguing. I would love one last dance with summer and maybe hanging one of these beauties to gaze upon all winter long is the anecdote to keeping the winter blues away!

Hope to see you there!

xo Happy Nesting