Kathleen Liao of West Windsor is one of the artists to meet at the Art Station Studios’ open house on Saturday, May 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The historic Hightstown building is filled with the works of painters, sculptors, potters, and mixed-media artists. There will be art for sale, entertainment, refreshments, and prizes.
A mixed-media artist, Liao credits classes at West Windsor Arts Center for her re-emergence as an artist after a 25-year break. “It’s great to get back in touch with art,” she says. “Keep pursuing your dreams.”
She opened her studio at the Art Station in January, 2013, and has been on a roll since. She has several pieces in Trenton Museum Society’s Ellarslie Open XXXI. The opening reception is Friday, May 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., and there is a public reception on Saturday, May 3, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Liao also has several works in Core Collaborations’ group show at Thomas Sweet Cafe in Skillman. The artists have worked together since last May to construct individual works centered around a single theme. The opening reception is Thursday, May 8, and the exhibit is on view through May 31.
Liao has been inspired by African, Asian, Celtic, European, and Mexican art. Geometric shapes, bright colors, and symbolic references can be found in her art. In both figurative and abstract work, Liao expresses sensations of consciousness and dream fragments through the universal languages of color and movement. Her portfolio includes mixed media through monotype, collage, pastel, and watercolor.
“My work is informed by movement and music,” says Liao on her website. “In particular, the harmony, dissonance, and resolution in jazz music inspire me. My studio contains paints, brushes, and a large collection of jazz and world music CDs.”
Liao was born in Belleville and raised in Belle Mead. She received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Columbia University’s Barnard College. “I kept a hand in art by taking art history and studio art classes,” she says.
Her husband, Frank, moved to West Windsor in 1977 and graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in 1981. A patent attorney, he is a partner at Meagher Emanuel Laks Goldberg & Liao LLP, an intellectual property law firm in Princeton.
Their daughter, Johanna, graduated from High School South in 2013 and studies fashion design in Drexel University’s honors program. Their son, Sammy, is a freshman at South. He is active in video production and writing.
Liao’s artwork was awarded Best in Show, Printmaking, at the Ellarslie Open XXX 2013, and People’s Choice Best in Show in the exhibit “A View From Above, A View From Below,” at the Plainsboro Library Gallery in 2012. Liao’s work has been displayed in the Monmouth Museum and the Mercer County Artists 2011 and 2013 exhibits, as well as in New Jersey and Philadelphia galleries. CG Gallery on Chambers Street in Princeton is currently exhibiting four of her works.
“Abstract art is a great venue for expression without words,” she says. Visit www.KathleenLiao.com or E-mail katliao@comcast.net for information.
#b#The Music#/b#
Gabriel Yoder Shenk of West Windsor will perform original music on the keyboard during the open house. A junior at High School North, he is active in cross country and track. “I run distance during each season; the 5k during cross country, the mile and 2-mile during track,” he says. “I prefer cross country because I have more speed over longer distances than shorter ones.”
Shenk is taking AP Language Arts and Spanish courses this year as well as journalism. “They take up a substantial amount of my time, not to mention the three hours of my evening that track takes up,” he says. “I have struggled to find the energy or the motivation to dive into my music and excel in that field. It’s really hard to prioritize with all the pressure from the many aspects of academics. But I do find time here and there.”
Shenk was born in New York City to parents Cynthia Yoder, author of “Crazy Quilt: Pieces of a Mennonite Life” and “Divine Purpose: Find the Passion Within”; and Jonathan Shenk, owner of Greenleaf Painting. “My mom plays guitar and my dad plays the djembe,” says Gabe. “I’m not convinced that they inspired me to start writing, but my talent is probably just a genetic thing.”
“I started playing violin when I was maybe five, but I hated it because it was difficult and tedious,” says Shenk. “Then I started taking guitar lessons at the Music Box because I thought guitar was cool, but I quickly found out that guitar was essentially the same as the violin.” He had already started playing piano by then.
“My parents had endeavored to provide me with all the necessary means to discover my talents and passions and had bought a Yamaha keyboard that I had in my room,” he says. “I loved it and started experimenting with it and writing all of the really obvious tunes encompassed by 50 percent of the pop songs on the radio.”
“I forgot to bring my guitar to practice one day, and so my mom suggested that I play a little piano for my guitar teacher,” says Gabe. “I played one of my songs and he was blown away. That was the first time that an adult besides my parents had reacted to my music, and it inspired me to make a shift and start focusing on piano.”
He moved around from teacher to teacher before he discovered Ryan Brechmacher of Princeton. “I studied with him for two or more years and he really taught me to expand my horizons and develop as a composer instead of the straitlaced music-book-restricted curriculum of my previous teachers,” says Shenk. “I ran out of time to study with Ryan because of school and track, and now I am venturing out on my own and have begun to write lyrics for my songs.”
“I don’t really know how to play the piano,” he says. “I just put my hands on the keys, play around until something sounds good, and then keep doing that until I have a song.”
Shenk writes lyrics in spurts. “I will go several months with no inspiration, listening to other peoples’ music and feeling jealous,” he says. “I’ll come home one afternoon with an idea in my head, and write a song, music and all, in about 30 minutes.”
Open House and Art Sale, Art Station Studios, 148 Monmouth Street, Hightstown. Saturday, May 3, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Open house and studio tour features artists demonstrating their craft and selling original art. Other WW-P artists include Robert Hummel of Plainsboro, Juanita Yoder, a former WW-P resident, and Robert Cagan of West Windsor. Refreshments. Gabe Yoder Shenk, a junior at High School North, will perform original music on keyboard. Free admission. 609-473-0374. www.artstationstudios.com.
Art Exhibit, Ellarslie, Trenton City Museum, Cadwalader Park. Saturday, May 3, 6 to 9 p.m. Reception for “Ellarslie Open XXXI.” On view to June 22. 609-989-1191. www.ellarslie.org.
Art Exhibit, Thomas Sweet Cafe, 1325 Route 206, Skillman. Thursday, May 8, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Opening reception for an exhibit of works by members of CoRE Collaborations On view to May 31. 609-454-5280. www.thomassweet.com.
Art Exhibit, CG Gallery, 10 Chambers Street, Princeton. New exhibit featuring mixed media works by Kathleen Liao of West Windsor. 609-683-1988. www.nassauplace.com/CGGallery.html.
