Brad Stroman in North Caroline Home Magazine

Read the article, here: http://www.gallerymar.com/info/press/

As an artist-activist Brad combines his passion for making art with his concerns for our environment. His paintings have won acclaim from environmentalists and art lovers alike. Today his work is exhibited nationally in both solo and juried group shows. Currently represented by galleries in Pennsylvania, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, New Hampshire, South Carolina and North Carolina, Brad’s original paintings and giclees are also included in over 100 private and corporate collections.

Brad Stroman, "Winter Raven" 32" x 32" in Acrylic, 2011

During his 34 years spent as an art educator he received several honors through “Who’s Who of American Teachers” and the 1990 national ‘art teacher as artist’ award from the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation. He belongs to several professional organizations, one of which includes the Colored Pencil Society of America where he achieved Signature Status. Stroman grew up in south-central PA but resides today in Black Mountain, NC with his wife, cat and two rescued dogs. His painting studio is located in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC. The district is a collection of old converted warehouses and is home to over 150 artists and craftsmen.

As we highlighted in an earlier edition of News MAR, Brad Stroman‘s work was recently featured in an exhibition at the Hudson River Museum in New York. The exhibition focused on how American painters (from the Hudson River School to contemporary American movements) interpret nature, and in particular leaves. “Paintbox Leaves: Autumnal Inspiration from Cole to Wyeth” exhibited more than sixty works tracing the history of the American Autumn landscape painting, beginning with brilliantly-hued fall scenes created by Hudson River School painters such as Jasper Cropsey, Frederic Edwin Church and Thomas Cole.

The exhibition included loans from major museums and private collections, in addition to works from the Hudson River Museum collection.

We just heard from Brad Stroman that the curator said the exhibit was well received and viewed by many while it hung. In fact, the museum saw over 600 visitors on the last day, many purchasing the exhibit catalog which has Brad Stroman’s painting, “October”, as the frontispiece image. How exciting!

Stroman’s quote about the painting, “October,” in the catalog:  “The Sycamore leaf in ‘October’ is still very powerful despite its Autumn folds and creases…[and] stands as a metaphor for Man’s search for understanding of our own existence…” And on the other painting, “Beauty Contestant,” Laura Vookles, museum curator, wrote in her catalog essay: “Today, Brad Stroman makes use of these universal concerns a primary element of his art, which is influenced by Japanese aesthetic and the philosophy of wabi-sabi, the philosophical acceptance of transience. Like nineteenth-century works of Ellen Robbins, Stroman makes the leaves his primary subject, celebrating the beauty of their imperfections, isolating and enshrining them in a dynamic balance with deliberately artificial compositions. In Stroman’s Beauty Contestant the life cycle is a positive, not negative, force.”

A few of the contemporary American painters whose works were exhibited along with Brad Stroman’s included: Jamie Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, Janet Fish, Jack Stuppin, Bill Sullivan, Jeanie Tomanek, Clive Smith, Andrew Stevovich, Robert Kushner, George Kelly, Wolf Kahn, Mark Innerst, Kysa Johnson, Lois Dodd. Richard Haas, Simon Gaon, and Debra Bermingham

And the historically significant American painters included in the show were, to name a few: Milton Avery, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Albert Bierstadt, Charles Burchfield, Frederic Edwin Church, Thomas Cole, Arthur Dove, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, George Inness, N. C. Wyeth, Thomas Moran, and Maxfield Parrish.

Brad Stroman, “Acid Bog,” Acrylic

For the first time, Southwest Art Magazine is launching their “21 Over 31″ emerging artist competition. The magazine is well known for the 21 under 31 competition, but it is the perfect time to recognize emerging artists of all ages… such as a selection of our Gallery MAR artists!

SWA will award cash and prizes for the top 21: First place is $2,000 and even the honorable mentions receive $100 worth of North Light Books. The best part? Being published in the November 2010 edition of SWA and in the consideration for the cover. All for a “mature” emerging artist!

The deadline for this competition is July 1st, so start your submission or make a recommendation to a friend to apply. You can view the official entry form at www.Southwestart.com.

Thank you for artists Lisa Lamoreaux and Brad Stroman for helping Gallery MAR to realize such a success in our “A Conscious Balance” Exhibition in March and April. Through the Opportunity Drawing and sales of that show, Gallery MAR was able to raise $1,000 for the Swaner EcoCenter.

Above, Gallery MAR Owner Maren Bargreen gives Swaner’s Sally Tauber the check.

With 1,200 acres of breathtaking open space nestled amidst expanding development, Swaner is a refuge for an abundance of wildlife. Over 10 miles of trails offer recreational opportunities for mountain bikers, hikers, birdwatchers, fishermen, snowshoers and photographers.
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Fostering the delicate relationship between people and nature is at the heart of managing this community treasure.

Celebrating that relationship is at the heart of our new Swaner EcoCenter. The EcoCenter is the greenest building in Utah, a symbol of Swaner’s ideals and values, and a powerful expression of our relationship to the environment. It is a place for reflection, enlightenment and celebration.

With expanded programming for youth and adults, interactive exhibits, an innovative theater, and space for unique events, the EcoCenter is designed to inspire a deep respect for the natural world.

At Swaner, we understand how the health and beauty of the natural landscape heightens our quality of life. Our environmental ethic is reflected in our architecture, in our programs, and in the face of every child who crosses our threshold and wonders at nature’s mysteries.

It is an ethic born of the sense of well-being we all feel when we gaze across the wildflowers in the Swaner meadows, look up at the idyllic backdrop of the surrounding mountains, breathe in their seasonal beauty and know why we chose to visit – or perhaps stay.

Thank you to Lisa Lamoreaux and Brad Stroman for the highly successful exhibition, and for their tireless energy and artistic talent that went into creating the show. “A Conscious Balance” will hang for two additional weeks, so stop by the gallery soon, or visit the gallery website to view the works. For each sale, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Swaner EcoCenter, so call the gallery today to reserve your favorite piece. Thank you to Lisa Lamoreuax for joining us for the exhibition opening, all the way from Washington state! Congratulations to both of the artists.

Sales from “A Conscious Balance” will benefit the Swaner Nature Preserve and EcoCenter, which proudly protects 1,200 acres of high-altitude wetland, stream corridor, and upland habitat for wildlife, water quality, and recreation in Park City, Utah. This exhibition runs from March 23rd through April 13th. Swaner Eco Center, Park City, Utah.

Art Business News ran a feature called “Generation Next– Staying Relevant in a New Era of Art” which featured artists Brooks Yates [p.29], Lisa Lamoreaux [p.30], and Brad Stroman [cover]. View our Press Page to read the article, written by Michael Wilmering.

Warren Neary “Winter Eve” Oil

• “Children’s Spookin’ Art Show” – October 31st, 2008

Young Artists up to age 13 are invited to join Gallery MAR in presenting our Spookin’ Art Show. Stop by the gallery beginning October 1st to receive your blank canvas. Using the Halloween theme, paint or decorate your piece in a “Spookin’” fashion and deliver your work back to the gallery by October 20th. $10 entry fee. Proceeds benefit Arts Kids.

The Spookin’ Art Show and sale runs October 24th through November 3rd. Reception for the artists is on Friday, October 31st from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Costumes encouraged. Call 435-649-3001 for more information.

• “Winter Grand Opening and Miniature Show”

Utah artists – December 26th, 2008. Local Utah artists present new miniature works for this holiday season, in all styles and media, for all art lovers and their unique tastes. Artists include Ryan S. Brown, Debbie Fowler, Shirley McKay, Aaron Memmott, Penelope Moore, Jan Perkins, Kathleen Peterson, and Brooks Yates. Contact the gallery for a private preview of the artworks.

The Winter Grand Opening and reception for the artists will be Friday, December 26th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. All are welcome to join us for delicious eats and artful conversation. This exhibition runs from December 19th through January 4th.

Our Winter Grand Opening will be followed by a lineup of exciting artist receptions, all of which will start at Gallery MAR at 6 p.m. and include gourmet eats, beverages and illuminating chats with the artists.

• “As Nature Unfolds”

New works by Brooks Yates and Sharon Jackman – January 30th, 2009. This exhibition runs from January 26th through February 9th.

• “Alternate Reality”

New works by Ginger Bowen and Fred Calleri – February 27th, 2009. This exhibition runs from February 23rd through March 9th.

• “A Conscious Balance”

Brad Stroman and Lisa Lamoreaux – March 27th, 2009. This exhibition runs from March 23rd through April 13th.

Opportunity drawing for an original painting by Brad Stroman to benefit the Swaner Eco Center. A portion of sales from “A Conscious Balance” will benefit the Swaner Nature Preserve and Eco Center, which proudly protects 1,200 acres of high-altitude wetland, stream corridor, and upland habitat for wildlife, water quality, and recreation in Park City, Utah.

Gallery MAR just received this email from Brad Stroman, our Pennsylvania artist and environmentalist:

“Often after an exhibition or show at a gallery or other venue I make an effort to donate to a worthy local environmental cause. After receiving your wonderful email about the sale of three of my paintings in one day at Gallery MAR, I would like to do the same there in Park City.

Would you kindly present a gift of $100 to the Swaner Nature Preserve in Park City in my name? http://www.swanerecocenter.org/primarypages/aboutsnpmain.html. I don’t do this with every show, but I feel I want to do this at this time. Thank you.”

Of course, Gallery MAR will match that gift in kind. After such a successful Grand Opening Weekend, it’s wonderful to pass the energy on… when was the last time you donated to an environmental cause?