Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present "REAL / IMAGINED" an exhibition of outstanding art by nine artists who are part of the Affiliate program at the gallery. The exhibit will continue from February 4th to February 22nd, 2014. There will be an opening reception Thursday, February 6th, 6-8PM. The Viridian Artists Affiliate program is an important aspect of Viridian's mission to expand exhibition and sales opportunities for outstanding contemporary artists, both emerging and well-known.

Joshua Greenberg uses photo-based imagery to create abstract art. In Lines and Latitudes, he explores the lines which divide us and the latitude we use to bring about change. "As a series of visual ideas, this is represented by reflections, shadows, segmentation and abstraction. As lines turn into abstract forms, this action represents the flexibility and freedom that latitude brings. The variation in color and texture brings movement to the work and highlights the abstraction. The changing intensity of light shows the range of lines and latitudes, as does the contrast between foreground and background. This series is intended to illustrate that from lines may come both latitude and art."

Renee Kahn's "goal is to create the maximum intensity using the least amount of means. The purpose of this simplicity is for the viewer to focus on the colors, body language and design of the painting. Color rendering emotion is a prime ingredient of my work."

Nancy Macina is exhibiting oil on canvas images 16” x 20” of four of the boroughs of New York City: Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan. The artist says " I painted my feelings inspired by the gestalt type of energy emanated by the various boroughs during recent times, since I perceive they keep changing under our gaze, as time passes."

Jeffrey Melzack states: "The work I'm presenting represents geographies of my own random thoughts about place and longings. The work is intimate. One has to get close to explore the details. The work is personal, yet universal, in that we all share in the human experience of exploring all that is around us and what defines us. This is the core of my visual imagery. What defines your space, your longings? My love of playing violin and the allure of the ballet are woven throughout my visual thinking and infuses my creative impulse."

Sarah Riley is Prof. Emeritus and former Head of Printmaking at Southeast Missouri State University. Her book, "Practical Mixed-Media Printmaking Techniques", published in 2012 by A & C Black, London is available on Amazon. Her artwork, combining drawing, collage, printmaking and paint, frequently contains feminist overtones drawn from myth, literature and personal history; the juxtaposition of images suggesting both memories and re-imaginings. In the works exhibited this year she explores alignments of olychrome abstract watercolor monotypes with monochrome photographic imagery printed from polyester plate lithos. Her work was recently included in Four Great Printmakers, an exhibition at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill in Truro, Massachusetts.

Katherine Ellinger Smith 'S new series of paintings and drawings is an exploration of her favorite films with female characters like Rebecca or Bette Davis in 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane' who have double-edged personalities. To begin the development of a painting or drawing, she first photographs film “moments” with a digital camera while viewing the movie on television and then edits the shots until she finds an image that she feels directly connected to. Her intent is to draw the viewer directly and powerfully into the content of the piece. She is a tenured art professor at South East Missouri State University.

Sheila Smith continues to experiment with digital imagery both abstractly & with photos from life.

Toto Takamori 's paintings involve thick layers of paint that he works & reworks more than 60 times. The primary concept in his work he feels is contrast, by which he attempts in some of his paintings to contrast a somewhat realistic element with a heavily textured multi-colored background. In others, his desire is simply to contrast light & dark or to explore opposites in a more general way. Takamori lives in Tokyo.

Meredeth Turshen is an artist/writer, feminist, lover of poetry, and New Yorker who yearns for distant shores. These images, painted on paper with oil sticks, reflect on nature in landscape; the ideas are represented non-figuratively in abstract compositions. "The freedom and immediacy of drawing is related to handwriting, and the rapidity of the process enables me to express a wide range of moods." The titles are taken from poems by contemporary women poets.