Malverne starts a fine arts exhibition

Chamber launches first annual ArtWalk on Saturday

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Nearly 100 works of art created by more than 30 artists will be on display in two dozen village businesses when the Malverne Chamber of Commerce kicks off its first ArtWalk on Saturday. The opening ceremony will be held at the Malverne Cinema at 10:30 a.m.

The exhibition will run through June 24 during regular business hours, and much of the artwork will be for sale.

Artists from communities across Long Island will showcase their works, ranging from photographs to sculptures, paintings, pencil drawings and more. Free maps detailing the location of all artwork will be available at village businesses.

“It’s the first of what we hope is an annual event,” said Kathi Monroe, a board member of the Malverne Chamber of Commerce. “We see this as a benefit to the merchants, the residents and the amateur artists exhibiting. Everyone wins.”

Among the artists are locals, including the Malverne Afterschool Center’s Erica Perjatel-Stolba, 38, an art teacher. Perjatel-Stolba will have several pieces on display, including a graphite pencil drawing titled “Boar” and a hanging sculpture, made of recycled material, and created with the help of 45 Malverne elementary students.

Barbara Cittadino, 62, is an Oceanside resident and photographer who will also have several works shown. “I take pictures part-time, and the other time I’m trying to retire,” said Cittadino, whose favorite subjects are children. Among the photos she will have on display are “Tea with Grandma,” which has sentimental meaning because she inherited the dishes in it from her grandmother.

At 79, Malvernite Zelda Randell is a watercolor artist who lived in Rockville Centre for 33 years and still teaches at the local senior center. “I only paint in watercolor. I started when I was 16 years old and I never stopped,” she said. Randell was a textile designer who painted professionally before retirement. She said her paintings are often in the surrounding libraries, including Rockville Centre and Hewlett. Her paintings “Water Lilies” and “Cactus Flower” will be on display during the ArtWalk. To see more of her work, visit www.paynesandgrey.com.

Warren Marquis, 53, a Rockville Centre resident who works in the financial industry, is a self-taught watercolor artist who will have four paintings in the exhibition: two still lifes and two carousel horses. After taking a course in 2007, Marquis said he was inspired to paint the horses’ animated faces because he fondly remembers riding them as a child. Many of his works are now part of private collections.

Kerri McKay, 45, of Floral Park, has work hanging in homes, libraries and the Bank of America’s corporate collection. An art teacher at Bayside High School, her greatest motivation is an Irish proverb that cautions, “It destroys the craft not to learn it.” Her pencil drawing, “Conversations,” is a rendering of a 1920s or 1930s telephone. “The machine is elegant, and my drawing is meant to applaud its graceful design,” she said.

Other artwork featured in the walk will include pieces by Lawrence Agnello, Christine Bell, Alex Camacho, Marie Carrese, Peter Casini, Justin D’Andrea, David Chin, Barbara Feeney, James Furey, Monique Hickey, Teresa Idelowitz, Gerri Insigne, Maryellen Glasser-Lawless, Trudy Kopp, Veronica Lauriano, Kathy Leistner,  Kathleen Marie Nolan-Kasal, Patricia O’Leary, Patrecial Pepe-Clark, Bob Retnauer, Harriet Slaughter,  Christian Stolba, Ebony Thompson, Mitch Vandoff, Marianne Vilardi and Caroline Walowski.