The current show at Williams-Insalaco
Gallery 34 at Finger Lakes Community College (3325 Marvin Sands Drive,
Canandaigua) is “A Panoptic Survey” of the work of Class of ’81 FLCC alumnus
Neal McDannel, who returned to making art after a 13-year
hiatus. The exhibit features McDannel’s expressive,
realist drawings, paintings, lithographic drawings, and photography.
McDannel’s subjects include his
wife — his primary muse — and other family members. “Their demeanor within the
piece can reflect my state of mind or strong emotions I have recently felt,” he
says. Some works read as a snapshot of a reverie; others hold all of the moody
mystery of a film noir scene.
Inspired by religious multi-panel works, many of the pieces
are diptychs or triptychs. In each work, figures express depictions of apathy, frustration,
iconic love, inspiration, emotional turmoil, individual personalities, domestic
abuse, the beauty of daily life, introspection, and the complexity and mobility
of our society.
The show remains on view through April 17. On Thursday, April
2, McDannel will give a demonstration at 11 a.m.,
followed by an artist’s talk at 1 p.m. and reception from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 9
p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday & Sunday, noon to p.m. For
more information, call 785-1369, or email gallery34@flcc.edu.
Check out more of McDannel’s work at nealmcdannel.weebly.com.
This article appears in Apr 1-7, 2015.
