Art Huntington Village Walk

FALL 2023
thomas benincase
tom.benincase@gmail.com / hardtackarts.com / @hardtackarts

This exhibit is intended to show a representation of the varied facets of Thomas’ array of art-making styles.
The collages presented are based on public domain and self-made images that are intentionally stripped of identification, mixed together and altered with cut and paste techniques and painted and drawn over.  Conceptually, the images are constructed using an improvisational method where the resulting content displays a composition of images, seemingly unrelated, having the effect of imbuing a faint recollection or a familiarity that cannot be placed.
The graphic images presented, or “Yield” Series, is a long-term study of interchangeable graphic components; A vocabulary if you will, where the parts can be assembled and re-assembled to form several different compositions. They portray a modular, sentient being that is a factory for tears, influenced by circuit and diagram design and orthographic technical drawing. 

SPRING 2023
jeanine marie aufiero
jeaninemarieart.com / @jeaninemarieart

Jeanine is a painter who lives in New York. She highlights the beauty of the world by trusting herself to move from intuition to a finished canvas. With an array of harmonious and contrasting colors, seascapes, landscapes, and fantasy are all brought to life.
Jeanine has had a career as a psychotherapist for many years and states that “painting is her therapy”.
She has exhibited her work in galleries and virtual exhibits. She recently won first place in an art competition and now has one of her sailboat paintings chosen for the label of a beverage can. Three of Jeanine’s paintings are part of the “Mural Mosaic Global Roots Project”. Jeanine continues to paint ambitiously, as she is gaining wider recognition both locally and internationally.

FALL 2022
patty elijaiek
linktr.ee/Pattemade / eljaiekart@gmail.com / @pattemade

Patty’s exhibit showcases her continued exploration with texture, repurposed materials and the theme of magic realism. The works incorporate traditional materials and found objects as wall art and wearable art.
I am distracted by many things. Words, nature, emotions, a great face! All of these have inspired me at one time or another. They are wrapped up in the magical realism that is genetic when you are born on the coast in Colombia, along with the pop culture seduction of my new country. But mostly, it’s the joy of using any materials I have on hand and rising to the challenge of making something tangible from what pops into my head.
My work is rooted in the symbolic passing of knowledge from one generation to the next and in the traditions originating from my Hispanic-Arab heritage. In 18th century England, embroidery was a skill that marked a young girl’s passage into womanhood. My abuela’s insistence that I have even a rudimentary knowledge of sewing, embroidery and crochet was her way of making me a well-rounded young woman, able to provide for my future family, as well as preserve what seemed to her, a fading tradition. It created a strong bond between generations that I still miss today. During quarantine in 2020, I took up embroidery again as a way to feel connected to my family, my heritage and to channel my anxiety, also a genetic trait. The techniques and stitches mami and abuela taught me I have now learned were based on the Spanish tradition that was taught by the Vincente sisters in 1890 and later on adapted by mestizo women who established small businesses and evolved the original Spanish embroidery style in Colombia. Once I began stitching again, I felt my abuela and my mami and those long-ago ancestors guiding me as I instinctively used the bite stitch, running stitch and French knot used in Cartago embroidery. As I became more confident, I started to find more inspiration from the new community of fiber artists using thread and mixed media materials to take this traditional art into new territory. It was a natural evolution from canvas to fabric to continue creating mixed media pieces using these old and new techniques. Now I am once again learning as a member of a community that uses manualidades to make a statement, share my voice and evolve as an artist.
My motto of “work with what you have” is not just about encouraging sustainability and reducing waste but also about incorporating the memories and prior lives of the objects I use. It also comes from not always having the money to invest in my practice. My embroidery work encompasses all of those ideas. The fabric, ephemera, 3 dimensional pieces and even the hoops were once used for a different purpose and are now connected by new threads.

SPRING 2022
jennifer salta
jsalta.com / Jen@jsalta.com / @j.salta_

I learned from a young age that a way to quiet a busy and anxious mind was through creating. Growing up, I would often escape into wild elaborate daydreams to help regulate myself.
This body of work is an ongoing compilation of windows into those dreamscapes. Each piece is unique but shares a common theme, suspending reality and evoking the feeling that anything is possible.
Here you’re invited to disappear into my world and seek refuge in the nostalgia of imagination. Use this imagery as a tool to calm your mind at the end of a busy day. Allow yourself to indulge in your daydreams.

FALL 2021
sage cotignola
SageCotignola.com / SageKCotignola@gmail.com / @sagecotignola

Sage is a Brooklyn-based Illustrator originally from the East End of Long Island. Since graduating from Pratt Institute in 2014, Sage has been showing paintings throughout Long Island and NYC, creating album covers, custom illustrations, comics and more.
Sage works mainly in gouache on paper or wood rounds, creating intricate, narrative paintings that feature folkloric creatures and the cyclic harmonies found in nature. Inspired by fairy tales, urban legends, contemporary cartooning and animation and more, each image presents characters for the viewer to connect with and a story to interpret.
The framed paintings on view here are part of an ongoing series on cryptids (creatures that are mentioned in folklore and modern myth, with evidence of their existence passed down anecdotally). The paintings explore the characterization of these singular creatures and what their stories reveal about the storytellers.
Also on view are works on birch and basswood rounds that celebrate the peculiarities of the naturalistic world. Inspired by existing flora and fauna, the paintings veer into the otherworldly through color, pattern and symbolic narrative elements. 

FALL 2019
lydia rivera
lydmrivera@gmail.com / www.lydiarivera.com / @lyd_stagram

By hand mixing chemistry and exposing film in the same way photographers have been since the 19th century to make contemporary art, the images continue a timeless narrative. As an artist I am drawn to the tactical nature of these processes.  Combining these antique methods with modern technology, layering techniques and materials, I bring depth to the story each image tells.
This exhibition showcases my ongoing practice of visual storytelling through antique and digital photographic processes.
Lydia Rivera is an artist and exhibition professional living and making art here in Huntington. After earning a BFA with a concentration in photography from Purchase College and an MPS from Pratt Institute in Arts and Cultural Management, she continues to create and exhibit her own artwork in addition to assisting other artists, curators, galleries, museums and foundations with exhibitions, events and collections in the NYC area and internationally. 

SPRING 2019
elizabeth cassidy
www.elizabethcassidystudioworks.com / elizabethcassidyart@gmail.com / @elizabethcassidystudioworks

In 2010, I got back into my art on a dare.  Before that  I  toiled in the NYC advertising field,  performed as  a standup comic, shared my opinions as a national blogger and then  wasn’t sure what else I wanted. But my art knew.
I am an award winning artist who believes that the world is imperfect. I am imperfect. My art is imperfect.  But my messages are clear and precise. I am the creator of  Little Love Letters: A Peaceful Revolution, A Peaceful Revolution greeting cards and The Odd Sisters greeting cards.
Little Love Letters: A Peaceful Revolution was created after the Orlando Night Club massacre in June 2016.  The business card size cards feature my art and messages of hope or empathy on the other side .  My little cards  have had a positive impact on many people worldwide (70,000 and counting).  That is then that I knew it was time to create A Peaceful Revolution greeting cards.
The Odd Sisters showed up one day during an art workshop on faces.  I am not a conventional painter so I was amazed when these whimsical and soulful faces showed up. I feel each one represents a time in a woman’s life – from childhood memories to #Me Too. “Mother and Child Reunion” and “The Lady No Longer Sings the Blues” were winners in a Expo 37 curated art show at BJ Spoke Gallery in March 2018. 

SPRING 2018

elizabeth villacres
www.elizabethvillacres.com / @elizabethavillacres

Elizabeth is an Artist & Surface Designer on Long Island, NY. Her love of travel, fine art, color, nature, & her trusty Supervisor, Momo the Shiba Inu, inspire her to design pattern collections for home decor, stationery, fashion, & accessories. Her vision is to bring color, patterns, & spirit to ignite your passions. Elizabeth’s work is fueled by the desire to leave an emotional connection to the soul. Her philosophy is to design with emotion, tenacity, and practicality.

wolfgand vann 

Bios almost always sound clichéd or they simply list the accolades and achievements of the subject. I’d like people to know that I am not a cliché, nor have I ever cared about a list. I can write and paint with either hand.
I use both sides of my brain. Science, math, painting and music are all passions. On one hand, I create, live, love and work with exuberance. On the other, I am cautious, measured and a detailed planner. Mediocre is lazy, achieving greatness takes sacrifice, skill, and organization.
My bio? I’m truly alive. Always have been. As for my art, I hope it speaks for itself.