The CMA Gallery at Mount Saint Mary College held the opening reception for its newest mixed-media exhibition, “Mandorla in Pieces,” by Joan Ffolliott and Charles Purvis, on Saturday, March 2, 2024.
The gallery is located on the first floor of Aquinas Hall on campus, 330 Powell Ave., Newburgh, N.Y.
The gallery will be open Monday through Friday during normal business hours or by appointment through May 26, 2024. Email cma-gallery@msmc.edu for more information.
“Mandorla in Pieces” combines the various talents, specializations, and life experiences of the artists with the media they have chosen. They approach their work from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
The exciting works and unexpected results that have come from this kind of trust and teamwork have greatly expanded the possibilities and artistic expressions, both individually and collectively, of the artists. They range from working side by side on identical photos to transferring partially finished pieces to the other person to finish.
Ffolliott is a skilled printmaker, sculptor, and teacher, while Purvis is a photographer who mostly uses collage and analog film. They come together in the middle of the exhibit, passionate about their respective processes. Purvis expressed how incredible it was to see the final image after seeing the process and the collaboration.
Designed as a professional artist space, the CMA gallery opened in 2019 to display media selected by Mount faculty from the growing number of artists residing in and around Newburgh, Beacon, and the Hudson Valley.