Robert Seyffert – Water Works: Paintings of the Hudson River and Other Views

On View June 11–October 11, 2009

 

In Water Works: Paintings of the Hudson River and Other Views, featuring the work of Bronx artist Robert Seyffert, the paintings on view reflect Seyffert’s ongoing interest in the shorelines and rivers of New York, Maine, Nova Scotia and California and the fragile ecosystems they contain. An artist’s talk will take place on July 21, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the Winter Garden of the Jacob Reingold Pavilion on the Hebrew Home’s campus where Seyffert will discuss the work in more detail. Visitors from the general public are invited to attend.

Seyffert, whose studio is located in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx, is a painter of multiple subjects. He finds in the objects that inspire him “equal statements of how light brings forth an emotional sensation,” he has stated. The paintings are intended to represent a period of time. In addition to the wondrous play of light and color, the works refer to the water as a place of rest and solace. Seyffert has described them as “travel paintings.” Taken all together, they form a varied body of work inspired by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the many watercourses in between, such as the vast and majestic Hudson.

Robert Seyffert was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania to a family of prominent artists. He earned his B.F.A. from the Maryland Institute and an M.F.A. from Parsons School of Design. He has taught drawing and painting at the Art Students League in New York as well as in other institutions along the East Coast such as the Washington Studio School, Baltimore School for the Arts and Johns Hopkins University. His work has been exhibited nationally in both solo and group shows. Seyffert is known for both his landscapes and cityscapes. In a profile in American Artist magazine, he explained the appeal of both natural and urban scenes. “Whether it’s a big tree or a 1965 Pontiac,” Seyffert said, “there’s something about the light hitting the subject that excites me, and that’s what I paint. . . . I’m trying to get the sensation created by the thing I’m looking at, and not just copying it.”

As a member of the American Association of Museums, The Hebrew Home at Riverdale is  committed to publicly exhibiting its art collection throughout its 32-acre campus including the Derfner Judaica Museum and a sculpture garden overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades. The Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collection provide educational and cultural programming for residents of the Hebrew Home, their families and the general public from throughout New York City, its surrounding suburbs and visitors from elsewhere. The Home is a nonprofit, non-sectarian geriatric organization serving more than 11,000 elderly persons in greater New York through its resources and community service programs. Museum hours: Sunday – Thursday, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Art Collection and grounds open daily, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Call 718 581-1596 for holiday hours and to schedule group tours, or for further information please visit our website at http://www.hebrewhome.org/art

This exhibition is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.