2019 Summer Artists of the Month in the Attleboro Arts Museum’s Community Gallery
July 3rd – 31st: Susanne Riette-Keith, mixed media collage
August 2nd – 30th: Joe Rattie, photography
Attleboro Arts Museum
86 Park Street, Attleboro, MA
Free and open to all
The Community Gallery is in the lobby of the Attleboro Arts Museum’s Emory Street entrance. For over a decade the Museum has been pleased to offer this prominent gallery space as an exhibition opportunity for both promising and professional artist members.
By showcasing one or more member artists per month, the Community Gallery is able to maximize exposure of unique art and contact with Museum viewers within its a high traffic exhibition space that is open to the public during Museum hours of operation. Artworks on display are new works that are currently being produced within the exhibiting artists portfolios.
July Artist of the Month – Susanne Riette-Keith of South Easton, MA “These mixed media collages were created with a little humor and visual fun in mind. Combining different patterns of paper and colors together to form an interesting composition that appeals to the eye is truly a challenge but a lot of fun! I love the idea that patterns, in a variety of colors , whether they are polka dots, plaids or florals, can reside next to each other in certain harmony and become a scene or still life, looking visually confusing but still having content,” comments Susanne Riette-Keith.
Susanne is always searching for interesting patterns to use. She may find them in magazines, wallpaper books, catalogues or scrapbook paper. Before starting a piece she likes to paint abstract shapes in different colors for the background to create an ambience and feeling for the scene that has yet to be created. When that is finished, she paints more layers to define the composition until she is satisfied.
Susanne Riette-Keith has always been interested in creating art, whether it was her own personal artwork or designing for the commercial art world. She graduated from Mass College of Art and Design as an Illustration and Painting major. Many years were devoted to making a living by illustrating for greeting card companies and designing for the toy industry. She has her own freelance home studio in Easton, MA where she designs for a variety of clients, which include the gift and toy industries, juvenile products and fabric surface design. Creating her own personal artwork has always been therapeutic and rewarding, making self-expression a wonderful outlet and a good balance from her commercial work.
August Artist of the Month – Joe Rattie of Lincoln, RI Cities are in a state of constant change as buildings are rehabbed and repurposed. The beast of burden of the construction industry is the dumpster. Its sole purpose is to hold and transport demolition debris to the dump. Over time the inside walls develop a patina of scrapes, scratches, gouges, rust and a buildup of various construction residues.
“As I peer into a dumpster, I observe this mystique of happenstance and see in it abstract patterns forming ‘Dumpster Art.’ I interpreted these patterns and produced the images presented in this exhibition,” remarks Joe Rattie.
Joe Rattie is a digital abstract photographer working primarily on the streets of Providence, RI. Upon retiring in 2017, from a 40-year career as an Operating Room Nurse, Rattie rekindled his passion for photography. His close focus images have a resemblance to impressionistic paintings. Rattie embraces the hands-on approach that digital photography affords the artist and finds the new tools and techniques coupled with a fast computer and a high-quality digital printer give him total control of his images.
To learn more about exhibition opportunities in the Attleboro Arts Museum’s Community Gallery contact office@attleboroartsmuseum.org or 508-222-2644 x 15.
Attleboro Arts Museum The Attleboro Arts Museum involves audiences of all ages and backgrounds in the visual arts through diverse educational programs and engaging arts experiences. We work to support the creative and artistic development of both promising and professional artists. The Museum is a privately supported, non-profit arts institution whose core commitment to Arts for Everyone guides the Museum’s programs and operations.
Admission to the Attleboro Arts Museum is free; donations are always appreciated. Wheelchair & stroller accessible.