Renowned Artist Exhibits Work
at the Joline Arts Center

For much of September, renowned artist Nicole Peskin offers local audiences a glimpse at some of her finest work. The retrospective, on exhibit at Darrow's state-of-the-art Joline Arts Center, features more than 30 of Peskin's pieces, including travel photos, lamps, lithographs, film, and abstract sculpture.

On September 15, Peskin will give an exclusive lecture to Darrow students and faculty on her wide-ranging use of materials, the inspiration she finds in Byzantine and Romanesque art, and her unique artistic perspective. A preview of Peskin's show will be available to attendees of the Tannery Pond Concert on September 12 at 6:30 p.m., and on September 22 at 7:00 p.m., the public is invited to view the collection.

Peskin, who is originally from New York City and now lives in Stephentown, New York, has exhibited her work in Boston, New York City, and the Berkshires; her pieces are private collections in these cities, as well as in Los Angeles. She has received grants from both the Massachusetts and Pittsfield Cultural councils, and has been involved in a variety of local arts organizations, including the Storefront Artist Project and the Zeitgeist Gallery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for which she has curated several shows. Peskin has also been featured in publications such as Berkshire Living and Berkshires Week.

While her formal training is in photography, bronze casting, art and architecture, set design, blacksmithing, and sculpture, Peskin also incorporates graphic arts and crafts into her work. In the Pittsfield area, she has taught sculpture and metal working to high school girls, and has initiated a project using photography to empower children living in shelters. She says, "I would like for my work to generate its own discussion among the students, and for them to ask questions. I would also like to address how art can apply to all students, even if they aren't going on to art school."

For more information on Nicole Peskin's work, visit www.babelinc.com, or e-mail the artist at nicolepeskin@earthlink.net.

For Hermaphroditic Angel (left) and Wing (above), Peskin welded steel for the frame, and used paint, solvents, and/or tar to create a stained-glass effect on glass panels.

These three prints, Medieval City: Plan for a Screen, Raising of Lazarus, and Christ Entering Jerusalem, are part of a series Peskin fashioned with either platinum gilding or silver leaf on varnished Xeroxed drawings.

The Death of the Books of Life showcases Peskin's ability to combine disparate media, in this case, Pittsfield phone books, tar, and steel.