The Greenwich Art Society presents “Time in Place” – a selection of acrylic and gouache paintings by member Lina Morielli, from September 1st to September 30th. An artist reception will be held on September 7th from 5 to 7:30 pm in the Gallery.
At the start of the pandemic, most of us who weren’t essential workers spent our time staying put, and artist Lina Morielli’s latest series “Time in Place” is a reflection and catalyzed by the artist’s lived experience of being stuck during COVID -19. Morielli began the series in March 2020, creating 250 works – a substantial output of drawings, paintings, monoprints and collages. Exhibition curated by Anna Patalano, Director of the Greenwich Art Society Time in place (taken from the series name) includes a selection of acrylic and gouache paintings from the series.
Unconsciously driven, “Time in the Country” is both a reflection and an elaboration of Morielli’s emotional states caused by the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the turbulent and polarized US political climate.
Similar to jazz music, the abstract compositions in “Time and Place” are both frantic and structured. Anna Patalano has said: “Lina Morielli’s magical ability to combine complex visual elements with a multitude of painting and drawing materials rises above the merely decorative and ‘beautiful’. Her works create wonderful tensions between the beauty of ordered chaos, whimsy doomed and balanced frenzy. Take a look and think.”
While Morielli’s compositions have included a mix of allegorical symbols, patterns and improvisational use of materials for many years, the artist’s sense of urgency translates into her most dynamic, layered and varied play of line and color to date. While there is great variety in her imagery, the series as a whole demonstrates the ability of abstraction to communicate internal states that imply reactions to our individual and collective environment, especially during difficult times.
Lina Morielli was born in Montreal, Canada and raised in Darien, Connecticut. Her background in art and design includes studies at Parsons School of Design and three decades in New York City designing and editing artwork for Womens Day AND Family circle magazines among others. This background in craft informs the tactile nature of her studio practice, where Morielli explains “the immediacy of the materials … help me access and express my ideas quickly.”
After twenty years of living and working in New York City, she moved to Stamford, Connecticut in 1987, where she is an active member of that city’s creative community. President of the Loft Artists Association of Stamford for three years and a board member of nearly a dozen Stamford nonprofits over the past four decades, Morielli has enriched the city’s cultural and educational landscape. In addition to her nonprofit contributions, Morielli has taught after-school and summer art programs, including classes at the I Have a Dream Foundation of Stamford and the Yerwood Center. She has also curated exhibitions in the area, including fifteen years of exhibitions at Stamford Town Hall Gallery.
Morielli’s work has been exhibited widely in Fairfield County, Connecticut, but has also been featured in solo exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles. Her art is in over a hundred private collections and has been exhibited in public spaces as part of the Connecticut Artists Collection, as well as at area hospitals and universities, including: Yale Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT; Stamford Hospital; and Sacred Heart University, College of Education and Health Care.
Morielli maintains a studio in Stamford and is represented by the Contemporary Art Network. See more of her work on IG @linamorielli and FB Lina Morielli Art
All works can be purchased by contacting the Greenwich Art Society at 203-629-1533 between 9:30am and 3:30pm Monday through Friday or by emailing [email protected]
The Greenwich Art Society Gallery is located at 299 Greenwich Avenue. Gallery hours are: Mon-Fri 10-4pm, Sat & Sun 12-4pm.