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SUMMER EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS, AND NEWS
The Mary C. Daly Gallery at Mercy by the Sea
"Transformation" The Artists of Gallery One 
This idyllically situated spiritual retreat and conference center is a perfect setting for a summer exhibition. For this show, I have assembled a collection of works that incorporate mirrors. To understand what the mirrors are all about, read the statement about these pieces in "A Note from the Artist" at the bottom of this newsletter.
Gallery One is an itinerant cooperative group of mid-career artists who are committed to their individual creative practices and mutual sharing for artistic and personal growth. Each Gallery One exhibit offers viewers a broad variety of intellectually and visually stimulating experiences. Its artists are sculptors, painters, printmakers, and calligraphers who work in styles ranging from representational to abstract. For this exhibition, Transformation, Gallery One's artists have chosen works that align with The Mary C. Daly Gallery's mission of exhibiting art that expresses "... a powerful connection to creation in all its forms."
Opening Reception: Sunday, July 17, 2 - 4 pm 
Exhibition Dates: July 17 - August 31, 2016
Mercy by the Sea 167 Neck Road Madison, CT 06443 Hours: Mon - Sat 9 am - 4:30 pm, Sun closed (203) 245-0401
Gallery One For information about the group and its artists.
George Billis Gallery
"Invitational Exhibition" 
I am very pleased that The Porch, Summer's End will be at George Billis' gallery in Chelsea, New York for his summer invitational. A collection of my postcard sized Old Lyme beach cottage paintings will also be available. If you're in New York, please come and meet me at the reception.
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 28, 5 - 8 pm
Exhibition Dates: July 26 - August 20, 2016 
George Billis Gallery 525 West 26th Street, Ground Floor Between 10th and 11th Avenues New York, NY 10001 Hours: Tues - Sat 10 am - 6 pm (212) 645-2621
Old Lyme's Midsummer Festival
Shop for Limited Edition Reproductions! 
It's the 30th year for this quintessential New England celebration in the heart of Old Lyme's historic district. This year's schedule is jam packed with events including art exhibitions, fresh market and artisan fairs, musical performances, talks and demonstrations, kids activities, and food trucks.
Over 36 alumni and students will be participating in the art fair on the grounds and in the studios of The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. Look for me in the Stobart Studio, just inside the big barn doors. I will be returning with a large selection of limited edition reproductions and stone lithography prints. Preview a sampling of the images on the studio website. This is a great opportunity to pick up unique gifts and add to your collection! Have your heart set on a specific image? It is highly recommended that you order in advance to guarantee availability (limited quantities will be available at the festival).
One Day Only!!! Saturday, July 30 9:30 am - 4 pm 
My table will be located in the Stobart studio at the College.
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts 84 Lyme Street Old Lyme, CT 06371 For a listing of events at the College:
Midsummer Festival: For a full schedule of events, map, parking info.
Lyme Academy College of Fine Art 40th Anniversary
Limited Edition Reproductions to Benefit Scholarship Fund
 Beautiful, archival limited edition reproductions of drawings are being offered for sale by the Lyme Academy College during Midsummer Festival. The drawings for these reproductions, now in the college's permanent collection, were commissioned to commemorate the accreditation of the Lyme Academy as a BFA degree granting college. Fifty percent of sales will benefit the scholarship fund.
Available at Midsummer Festival Saturday, July 30, 9:30 am - 4 pm
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts 84 Lyme Street Old Lyme, CT 06371 (860) 434-5232
Arnot Art Museum
 "The 75th Regional Exhibition" Continues
This exhibition of works by over sixty contemporary artists continues through mid-August. If you happen to be on a road trip near the Finger Lakes region of New York this summer, it's well worth a stop! And if you are not traveling that way,
On exhibit is my large oil painting Onlooker. The Arnot Art Museum is known for its permanent collection of European art with works by Bouguereau, Courbet, Millet, and Gerome; its 19th and 20th century American art collection that includes Hudson River School artists; and its notable collection of 21st century contemporary representational art.
Exhibition Dates: Through August 12, 2016
Arnot Art Museum 235 Lake Street Elmira, New York 14901
A NOTE FROM THE ARTIST
Reflecting on the Mirror Paintings 
For the group show Transition at Mercy by the Sea, I have assembled a collection of works from my ongoing "Spectatorship/Voyeurism" series. This series of paintings explores various aspects of the gaze and our roles as viewers and participants in art. Initially these paintings included figures that look directly out at the viewer, some sporting sunglasses or peering through binoculars to create the effect of both obscuring and magnifying the eyes. I then subsequently considered more voyeuristic imagery and created pieces using multiple panels that juxtapose replicas of nude women from art history with that of the voyeur, the "Peeping Tom". It occurred to me that since we are also gazing upon these images of nude women we are, likewise, voyeurs and Peeping Toms. That is when I first decided to incorporate a mirror within a piece, to reflect our image as we look at the painting and prompt us to consider our role.
As it turns out, mirrors have long held a presence within the history of art. They have appeared in ancient art and in works by numerous painters, including Titian (Venus with a Mirror), Jan van Eyck (Arnolfini Portrait), Diego Velázquez (Las Meninas), René Magritte (Not to be Reproduced), and Michelangelo Pistoletto (Mirror Paintings). Mirrors are used as a central device that allows the artist to take liberty with the painted reflection. It is not unusual for the imagery painted in the mirror to be inconsistent with what should be reflected given its angle and to include additional figures, especially self-portraits. Throughout time, mirrors have also carried a number of associations and meanings, from the divine to the demonic and truth to trickery. A fixture in our everyday lives, mirrors can symbolize both physical and spiritual reflection, "Know Thyself". They may also serve as a symbol of beauty, vanity, and the negative values suggested in the Greek myth of Narcissus. It is this myth of Narcissus that I reference in the series of paintings titled The Narcissist is You. In these paintings the mirror is a stand-in for the reflecting pool, the viewer assumes the vantage point of Narcissus, and flowers grow where he once pined away. 
Because mirrors are so commonplace, it is easy to overlook the fact that the images they reflect are not reality but a representation of reality, just as a painted image is. They are both translations of the three dimensional world onto a flat surface. This is what I was thinking about when I created This is Not Really You, a small piece that is simply a mirror bearing that inscription along the borders of the frame. Ultimately, as we contemplate the layers of meaning in these works, we may look into the mirrors within them to check our appearance and perhaps recognize, or not, their inevitable duality as functional object..
Image Information from the top: Catherine Christiano, White Sands Beach #1 (detail), oil over stone lithograph on paper, 11 3/4 x 9 inches, 2015.
Catherine Christiano, The Narcissist is You #3, oil and metal leaf on panels with mirror, 19 1/8 x 32 1/4 inches, 2008. Photo credit: Rick Scanlan.
Catherine Christiano, The Porch, Summer's End, oil on canvas, 24 x 34 inches, 2016. Photo credit Paul Mutino.
Catherine Christiano, Cottages, Hawk's Nest #3, oil on panel, 4 1/4 x 6 inches, 2005.
Catherine Christiano, Sill House, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, graphite on paper, 7 x 11 inches, 2007. Collection of the College.
Catherine Christiano, Chandler Center, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, graphite on paper, 7 x 11 inches, 2007. Collection of the College.
Catherine Christiano, Onlooker, oil on canvas, 60 x 36 inches, 2011. Photo credit: Paul Mutino.
Catherine Christiano, The Narcissist is You,oil on panel with mirror, 48 x 30 inches, 2006. Photo credit: Rick Scanlan,
Catherine Christiano, This is Not Really You, metal leaf on acrylic with mirror, 13 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches, 2005.
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