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The Art of Recovery: Works by the Men of St. Christopher's Inn on Display at NYC Gallery
Synchronicity Space and Fine Arts, at 106 West 13th Street in Manhattan, will be showcasing the personal works of men in recovery who are facing their emotions and themselves through "art as therapy". Opening January 8 and running through February 2, 2008 is an exhibition of watercolors, pastels charcoal drawings by the men of Saint Christopher's Inn. This exhibition along with numerous other events inaugurates the centennial anniversary of one of America's true miracles. Graymoor/ Saint Christopher's Inn founded in 1909 as a men's shelter continues its mission of sheltering, feeding, clothing, attending to the health and welfare of the homeless and the addicted.
The exhibition is made up of the work of the men that pass through the "art as therapy" program for homeless men in recovery from the disease of addiction to alcohol and drugs. Twenty-five pastels, watercolors and charcoal works on paper, each representing a high level of perception designed to empower the sensual awareness and the methodology therein. Continuity drawing, still life, gesture drawing, working from the masters, work designed to identify and confront impulse vs. instinct, concept vs. percept, feeling vs. emotion, faith in the moment the abstract and the concrete the literal and the metaphor. Each work is specific to the method employed and the results speak for themselves.
The work chosen for this exhibition represents the acute awareness of men fighting for their lives, investing in the reinvention of their spirits, guided by the presence of a higher power and driven by their new awareness of actuality rather than reality (Often mutually exclusive of one another). Each work exhibited identifies a specific application of the methodology in bringing about the new awareness of sensuality and connect ability rather than dependency upon conceptualization and linier logic. Still life, drawing from the model, exploration of the abstract, working from the masters, inverted photographs, continuity drawing, cubism and the effects of light on form and the exploration of color as temperature and the link between color and texture are all part of the process the men examine in their work.
These are The Men of St. Christopher's Inn at Graymoor; most of whom have never held pastel or charcoal, mixed watercolor or endeavored to record personally, moments of their lives, have found the humility, the faith and the spirit to reinvent their circumstances, awakening the world of perception and discovery as they go forward in a process of recovery. The Men of Graymoor was last year's recipient of the Best in Show award at the OASAS sponsored art exhibition of work by people in recovery as a statewide exposition at the State Capital in Albany.
A reception will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2008 from 3-6pm. Board members, staff, friends and family of St. Christopher's Inn will be in attendance to celebrate this special showing. All are welcomed!
Gallery Hours are Tuesday through Saturday: Noon to 6pm.
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