Troy City Hall hosts art exhibition – troyrecord

Artists

The Transeuntis Mundi Project

An artistic project about the millenial global human migration.

Art Galleries and Museums

Galerie Jumelles is an online Art Gallery founded by Sierra M. Bretz. Inspired by the French language and lifestyle, Sierra closed her business and her life in the US in 2021 to move to France to promote French Artists.

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TROY, N.Y. — Troy City Hall is hosting an art exhibition along its halls leading to the mayor’s office.

The artwork depicts people and places throughout the Collar City, as well as highlighting some of the city’s unique architecture and topography. A show called “City Hall Works,” displays the art of city employees, Senior Economic Development Tech Denee Zeigler, and Building Inspector Kevin Mooney. Plus, there is a show on display titled “Hearts of Troy,” by local artist Ken Rutsky of more than a dozen oil and acrylic works.

Offering some of his thoughts on the art adorning the walls of city hall was Troy Mayor Patrick Madden. The mayor noted how part of the idea behind the display is getting people to slow down and reflect on people, architecture, and topography in the city and the warm feeling the paintings evoke with various colors and angles.

“I always like looking at photographs or paintings of Troy because when you live and work in an area for a really long time you get on autopilot and you just go by things and you don’t stop and look at them but when they are depicted in a photo or a painting, you pause and you look at it and it brings back memories,” Madden commented.

“I’ve been here long enough that I’ve seen these scenes that we see out here in all different lighting conditions, all different weather conditions, with people there, without people there. It’s interesting to see how an artist captures that, what light they’re looking for, whether they’re looking for a busy scene or a deserted scene,” Madden continued.

The artists involved in the showcase also provided their perspectives and what inspired them to capture the city from different views. For Ziegler, it was also about revisiting her art background.

“This drawing particularly is from Peebles Island. I walked there a lot with my dog and take pictures of the tree,” Zeigler remarked.

“It was during the winter months and I was not gonna venture over there so I thought I would try digitally on my tablet and I realized that you could get some really cool results digitally and it actually looks like charcoal so it’s pretty exciting,” Zeigler noted regarding her digital drawing with using the procreate program app and Apple pencil.

Those visiting her piece can also utilize a cool feature where they can scan with their phones and view a time-elapsed video of how the drawing came together.

For Rutsky, much of the inspiration came from capturing different sites and angles. Plus, connecting people with places and personalizing the city. Additionally, according to Rutsky, the art speaks to the spirit and heart of the city, people, and the places where we live.

“These paintings all come from snapshots I take. While I was driving around town I noticed it’s just such a beautiful town, number one, I love the architecture, especially downtown. The City’s situated so perfectly to catch light in the mornings and the evenings and I started taking pictures and they sort of became subjects for paintings,” Rutsky commented on what motivated him to use Troy as the focus for his paintings.

“It became more of an all-consuming subject. I would post paintings on social media and I would get a response, and not just likes or ‘good job’ but it seemed to make people really proud of where they live, like ‘hey, I grew up in that house’ or ‘I grew up on that block,’” Rutsky explained regarding some of the interest and feedback he’s received from people viewing the renderings.

Rutsky noted the importance to have the city and its people and placed captured, considered, and thought about. He added that while the happenings of daily life may not end up in a history book, these scenes perhaps depict monumental moments to the people living them.

For Madden, having the art on display at city hall is a fun way to have the city depicted and to connect with residents.

“I think it’s neat to have it in city hall because a lot of people do come in, whether they’re paying taxes or looking for information or what have you, and for the same reason I have a reaction to it, they’ll have a reaction to it too,” Madden said.

“They’ll look at it with pride and say, ‘oh, this is my city based on a different person’s view’ and maybe they’ll look at their city differently, maybe they’ll recognize their neighborhood or recognize an individual in a piece of artwork and they can relate to it a little bit better,” Madden added.