Photo-Technic II Exhibit Brings Alternative Processes To Alex Ferrone Gallery.
 
The Photo-Technic II Exhibit features works created from different alternative photographic processes by three regional artists and opens August 13 at Alex Ferrone Gallery in Cutchogue. Noted master printmaker, Dan Welden is exhibiting works he created using his own developed technique, Solarplate Etching. Photographers, Gerry Giliberti and Lois Youmans are including works of Gelatin Silver Chloride contact prints as well as Transfer prints on plaster, respectively.  Meet the artists at the opening reception on Saturday, August 13 from 6-8pm and enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres.  Photo-Technic II runs through September 25, 2016.

With camera in hand, the adventure of Dan Welden's former career as a photographer was stimulated for this series.  A lotus pond provided the backdrop and each image was selected with intention of taking the photograph to the next dimension, culminating with the hand-pulled Solarplate etching. Developed in the '70s by Dan Welden, the Solarplate technique is a safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing using a special light-sensitive polymer plate, an image on transparent film, the sun or UV light, and ordinary tap water.
 
Bridging nineteenth and twenty-first century photographic technologies, Gerry Giliberti has created a series of landscapes and contemporary views using a photographic technique that was popular in the past - the gelatin silver chloride contact printing process.  Gerry has used a specialty printing-out paper (POP) coated with a silver chloride emulsion that requires no developer, as an image is formed directly by the action of light during exposure.  Each print is a unique edition and a final record.
                                                                                                                                   
Beginning with a fresh, live, vivid red pepper plant for a new photographic series, Lois Youmans set aside her new subject, but as days went by, forgot to water the plant.   Consequently the bright red peppers shriveled and darkened over time and the leaves dried and curled up. She found the frailty of the aged plant more beautiful and more interesting, so she purposefully furthered her project by drying additional fruits and vegetables and waited patiently for their delicacy from aging to photograph. The images were then digitally printed onto a film and transferred to plaster to mimic the look of ancient frescos.

Photo-Technic II Gallery Talk:  Join the artists on Sunday, August 21 from 1:00-3:00 PM for a free luncheon Gallery Talk to hear the discussion about their works.  Reservations are required for the Talk. Sponsored by Abatelli Realty of Cutchogue.
 
Alex Ferrone Gallery is at 25425 Main Road, Cutchogue.  Hours: 11am-5pm Thursday through Sunday; (11-6 Saturday); or by appointment other days. Call 631-734-8545 for more info or visit AlexFerroneGallery.com
 
 
Artist Bios                                                                                                                                
 
Dan Welden
Master printmaker, painter, educator and author, Dan Welden has been creating works on paper for over 50 years.  Widely shown in over 80 international solo exhibitions in museums and galleries and over 700 group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, China, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Peru, Dan's artworks are also in many public and private collections throughout the United States including the Amity Art Foundation, Baltimore Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, and Temple University among many others.
 
An innovator of the safe, alternative movement of printmaking without the use of dangerous chemicals, Dan is the originator of the technique called Solarplate etching, and is the co-author of the book and instructional film of Solarplate methods, both titled, 'Printmaking in the Sun'.  As a teacher, Dan continues to inspire students, teachers and artists internationally with workshops that demonstrate the Solarplate process and printing both intaglio and relief plates.  A past president of the Society of American Graphic Artists, Dan has taught printmaking at several colleges in the NY Tri-State area, and he also demonstrates his safer, greener methods of Solarplate etching at various arts and graphics conferences in the country.
 
As Director of Hampton Editions, Ltd. printing services in Sag Harbor, Long Island, Dan has collaborated with many noted artists including Robert Dash, Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Jimmy Ernst, Dan Flavin, Esteban Vicente, Kurt Vonnegut, Alfonso Ossorio, and Jack Youngerman among many others.
 
Gerry Giliberti
A long-time Springs, East Hampton resident, Gerry Giliberti is a print-based photographic artist who uses graphics, photography, sculpture and digital imagery to create abstract, surrealistic images and constructions that bring the viewer into a new visual world.  Giliberti's classical Fine Arts education from Farmingdale State College SUNY and New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury included specialized printmaking, photography, sculpture, and painting, along with illustration, etching, and silk-screening that all laid the foundation for his unique ability to see simple images among complex textures.
 
Gerry is a member of various professional and art organizations including East End Photographers Group, East Hampton Artists Alliance, Southampton Artists Association, and Springs Improvement Society.  Gerry Giliberti's award-winning work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums and is part of many private collections.
 
Lois Youmans
Lois Youmans' photography is rooted in the exploration of the human condition, its fragile and ephemeral nature, often using damaged subjects such as antique dolls or decaying vegetables, to metaphorically illustrate her concepts. She uses a variety of alternative techniques and media for her work that reflect her love of antique processes.
 
Ms. Youmans holds an M.F.A. degree from Long Island University C.W. Post, and has taught photography and alternative photographic process classes at several Long Island colleges.  Lois has had several solo exhibitions in New York, Italy, and Korea and her photographs have been included in numerous group exhibitions in the USA, Italy, China, and Russia. She is co-founder with Sandra Carrion of Image Factory Workshops, offering classes in alternative digital printing processes.  As a founding member and past president of fotofoto gallery, in Huntington, NY, Lois is a strong proponent of maintaining a creative community with other artists and is also a member of Soho Photo Gallery in Manhattan.