On Friday, July 14, Yonkers Arts presents a conversation between artist Robert Zakanitch and Laura Vookles, curator of collections at the Hudson River Museum, on the occasion of his exhibit there, “Robert Zakanitch: Garden of Ornament.”
Since the 1970s and particularly during the last decades in New York’s downtown art scene, Zakanitch has been a pioneer in bringing back representational art, following dominant trends such as Formalism and Minimalism. In his founding role of the Pattern and Decoration movement, he challenged the established acceptability of what was “truth,” and, with his huge, colorful paintings and bold, stenciled floral subjects, defied the conventions of cooler, minimal work found in art galleries of the period. Criticized for his daring, he emerged as a prophet of “Less is less,” stating that: “Beauty is. It is as natural as breathing. Its allure is transforming. I don’t think art is about anything else.”
The conversation takes place 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, 29 Warburton Ave. (formerly Dock Street) in Yonkers. Refreshments will be served, and admission is free.
For more, call 914-965-4027 and visit yonkersarts.net, zakanitch.com and hrm.org.
– By Georgette Gouveia
