Photography, Including Images By One

Newtown Shutterbug, On View At Danbury City Hall

DANBURY — Three local artists have been selected to display their creative talents in the first of four venues as part of the 2012 Accessible Art Project initiative sponsored by The Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance (HVCA). Kateleen Foy, Deanne Komlo and Aparna Phadnis each bring their talents to the forefront in a collection of photography and art that can be viewed at “The Gallery” at Danbury City Hall, on view until February 16.

A reception will be held on Wednesday, January 18, from 4 to 6 pm. The public is invited and light refreshments will be served.

Kateleen Foy, 20, of Newtown, has been taking pictures since she was in the fourth grade.

“As an artist, I have always been drawn towards the things people leave behind,” said Ms Foy. “The remains of old broken down building, bits and pieces of castles and mysterious places are just a few examples of places where I love to shoot. I try to find new angles to transform an abandoned building into something new, interesting and unusual.

“My favorite part of photography is the transformation of something ordinary to something extraordinary,” she continued. “Changing a dilapidated old building into something people enjoy looking at is my favorite part of the photography process. With the way things decay the colors of everyday objects change creating a new spectrum of colors. I particularly enjoy photographing these mysterious places because they have been left behind and forgotten about and I bring them back to life.”

Ms Foy attends Hofstra University and is dual majoring in photography and psychology. She has also done internships with local photographers Cynthia McIntyre and Laurie Klein.

Deanne Komlo, a photographer from Brookfield, has been taking pictures since she was a young girl.

“I remember my first ‘real’ camera,” she said. “My initial inspirations came when I took that camera and traveled throughout Europe, taking pictures.  To this day, my camera is a constant companion on any trip that I take, whether it is a walk in the park or a longer journey.”

Deanne’s interests include travel, history, and nature, elements she seeks to combine in her photography. She has worked in the Newtown public  school system, holds master’s degrees in theology and Holocaust studies. She has also shown her work at a photography show at Plain Jane’s Restaurant in Bethel as part of a show that was a collaboration of photographers and artists under the directorship of New Yorker cartoonist Dana Fradon.

Aparna Phadnis, a licensed professional engineer, was introduced early to art by her mother, who would set her off outdoors to behold nature accompanied by her sketch pad and pencils. As a result, Ms Phadnis’s love for nature and her passion for art is evident in her artwork.

“Every change of season brings to my heart a poignant awareness of how ephemeral are the colors of the sunset in the sky or how short-lived are the autumn leaves,” said Ms Phadnis. “My art is born from my desire to capture, to preserve this transient beauty and to prolong and share their memory.

“When I moved to Connecticut, my yard provided the perfect stage on which to witness the enthralling and captivating annual spectacle of the Northeast’s four seasons. It also provided me with a wonderful opportunity to study, observe and learn something new about nature every day, an antidote to daily stress. I spent endless hours picking summer flowers or fall leaves from the yard and researching ways to press and preserve the collected specimens,” she added.

Ms Phadnis has experimented with UV sealants, digital art, graphics and scannography, but has returned to mixed media. She now adds acrylics, oils and other different mediums to her botanical specimens, which offers a flexibility in capturing color, depth and texture while retaining the shape, pattern and detail of each specimen.

Ms Aparna, who lives in Brookfield with her husband and two children, has a private gallery at her residence where she hosts exhibits for other artists, friends and family.

The artists were jury selected by a panel of representatives from the local arts community to display their work at City Hall, the first of four venues through the 2012 Accessible Art Project sponsored by HVCA. The alliance has partnered with Danbury City Hall, CityCenter Danbury, Danbury Museum & Historical Society and Frame Works in Newtown as part of an initiative that provides an opportunity for local artists to show their work in spaces that are accessible to the general public and to celebrate culture and art within the community.

“The Gallery” at Danbury City Hall is on the third floor at 155 Deer Hill Avenue. Works may be viewed during normal business hours: Monday through Wednesday, 7:30 am to 6 pm; and Thursday 7:30 am until 6:30 pm.