ANNE CROWLEY was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her grandfather, Liam O’Rinn, a painter renowned in Ireland and Europe, ignited her love of art.After she earned a BA at the National College of Art and Design in Ireland, Crowley came to New York City where she received a Masters in Fine Art from Hunter College. Her work has been exhibited in Dublin, Ireland, San Francisco, in various New York City galleries, and at the WFG gallery in Woodstock, in Kingston. The artist has received numerous awards and scholarships and has been reviewed in the Woodstock Times, the Irish Arts Review and the Irish Times. Since moving from New York City to the Hudson Valley in 2000, the Ashokan Reservoir, Catskill Mountains, its flora and fauna serve as Crowley's ongoing muse.The artist’s lush, vibrant imagery are a constant exploration of landscapes she has grown to cherish. Full Moon and Stars holds a sense of mystery and wonder reminiscent of the work of the 1930s Canadian painters’ Group of Seven. We welcome Anne back to show her ever growing, ebullient work with us at the Lodge Gallery for the fifth time!

“After painting landscape for twenty years I came to a point where I was pulled beyond making a beautiful picture and began to see the trees, the movement of animals, all the nuances and rich confusion of nature as metaphors for my own feelings, for the chaos of my life and what’s going on in the world. It was then that I climbed into the natural world that surrounds me, merged with it and began to let the brush strokes and the paint speak. I use the structures I have learned as a painter and then open to let things flow.When painting I often come to a crossroads, that difficult point where the work could be ruined or it could be glorious. I’ve learned to let nature and the work itself be my guides.”

RYAN WARD is the Curator of The Maslow Collection in Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Owner/ Director of The Ruffed Grouse Gallery in Narrowsburg, New York. He specializes in Contemporary, Folk, and Self-Taught Art and has curated a diversity of exhibitions involving regional, national, and international artists. Ward holds an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His painting and sculptural work utilizes cowboy and circus references to explore ideas around myth-making, belief, and historical record-keeping. As the recipient of the Murray Dessner Memorial Travel Prize, he executed an in-depth investigation of curatorial methods employed at American historical sites. This research has led to various lectures as well as recent solo and group exhibitions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Italy. Ward has taught at Studio Arts College International in Florence, Italy, and currently teaches Arts Administration and Studio courses at Marywood University.

Ryan states: “Ring toss. Whac-A-Mole. Skee-ball. Hot Shot. Water guns. Guess-my- weight. This was how I earned my first paycheck. Baking under the summer sun and enduring the daily barrage of “critiques” from sore losers, or the occasional impact of a half-eaten hot dog, my fellow 14-year-olds and I weren’t actually all that amused by working at an amusement park. At a certain point, I began to ask myself - what exactly is happening here? The best that I could come up with was that it was one giant social and psychological experiment. It was a place where the willing participant entered into an unwritten agreement to suspend disbelief. It was one where groups watched each other act out fantastical stories, either for pleasure, for a chance to escape everyday reality, or for a chance to simply win. Fact became fiction, fiction became fact, and the park-goer didn’t really care. Glossy, colorful, tasty things were for sale, and they were along for the ride...”