Where Earth Meets Sky:  Elise Freda
Matadoras:  Carri Skoczek

Two Solo exhibitions opening at Causey Contemporary this December

Brooklyn, NY, November 2010,  Causey Contemporary is pleased to announce two solo exhibitions at the Gallery in December 2010.   Where Earth Meets Sky will feature the exquisite mixed media abtracts of Elise Freda  while Matadoras will feature Carri Skoczek's strong, sexy Female portraits.  For both artists, these exhibitions mark return solo exhibitions with the gallery.   Both shows will open on December 17 and run until January 24, 2010 with a pubic reception for both Ms. Freda and Ms. Skoczek on December 17th from 6 - 9 p.m.  The public is invited to attend that reception and to visit the exhibition during gallery hours:  Wed. - Sat.  11 am to 7 p.m., Sun. 12 - 6 p.m.  And Mon.  9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where Earth Meets Sky marks Elise Freda's third solo exhibition with Causey Contemporary.   Her works in acrylic, encaustic and other mixed medias on panel are her own abstract interpretations of the play between trees, plants, the earth and the sky with nods occasionally to Asian calligraphy.   Elise views the paintings as her visual response to the fields, trees, mountains and skies that surround her Catskills, NY studio.  She says that the southern view of the Catskills is a grounding force for her with the continuity of the glowing line, where the mountains meet the sky a daily touchstone  that she seeks to translate into her paintings.  

Elise Freda has been developing and exhibiting her paintings since 1990.  Her works have appeared in both group and solo shows throughout the Eastern United States at such places as the Randall Beck Gallery in Boston, Stephen Haller Gallery in New York, the Lorraine Kessler Gallery in Poughkeepsie, the Banana Factory in Pennsylvania, The Delaware Arts Center, the Amarillo Museum of Art, Binghamton University and Skidmore College among others.   Her works are in the permanent collections of Coventry Paper, Canter Fitzgerald and Champion Paper. Additionally, they have been published in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Brooklyn Rail, The Boston Globe  and the Times Herald Record.

Matadoras, the second of the December solo exhibitions at Causey Contemporary features the intricately drawn portraits of female toreros or bull fighters by Carri Skoczek.  Like Elise Freda, this exhibition marks Carri's third solo show with the gallery.   While still based on the theme of strong women, Ms. Skoczek's portraits in printer's ink and pearl powders take quite a departure from her previous depictions of pin up girls and fashion plates   Ms. Skoczek's paintings capture both the determination of these women toreros and their brilliant costumes or traje de luces as they are known.  While their sport might be controversial, the strength and courage of these women is what Carri strives to capture in her portrayals. 

Carri Skoczek is  a painter, printmaker, costume designer and voodoo doll maker. She has  exhibited extensively for the last 23 years in Denver, CO; Milwaukee, WI; Santa Fe, NM; Chicago, IL; New Orleans, LA; Greece, Jamaica and New York City.  She received a Wisconsin Arts Board Painting Fellowship in 1986. Additionally, she was the resident costume designer for Theater X in Milwaukee for 12 years.  Carri traveled  in the Caribbean working on costumes for Carnival in Trinidad and Junkanoo in  the Bahamas.  She is also the curator of the annual Mermaid Show and a award winning participant in the Coney Island USA Mermaid Parade. Carri studied drawing and printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and graduated from the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Denver, CO. In 2008, she was selected for a two-person exhibition and catalogue at The Portrait Society in Milwaukee titled "Pin-Ups: Sixty Years of Feminine Posturing".
For more information on both Where Earth Meets Sky and Matadoras please contact the gallery at 718 218 8998 or via email at info@causeycontemporary.com 

Below:  Hot Sky, oil,wax on paper, 4.25 x 12 x 5 ins., 2010 Elise Freda 

              Matadoras, pearl powders,print ink on paper, 40 x 22 ins., 2010 Carri Skoczek