CO to host Oct. 13 exhibit opening for Rhinebeck artist N.J. Wheelock

RHINEBECK — CO is pleased to announce an art exhibit opening, “Harmony and Piece” by artist and Rhinebeck resident N.J. Wheelock from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13.

Wheelock is a multimedia artist who specializes in micro-mosaics. A communications graduate of Syracuse University, she worked on commercial and public-service announcements for radio before settling into a career as a counselor for emotionally disturbed youth.

During this time, she created recycled glass mosaic and garden art for specialty shops in Rhinebeck and Woodstock. An unexpected diagnosis of advanced cancer and a year of treatment resulted in job loss and prompted the development and fine-tuning of her artistic talent.

Her passion for intricate detail and meticulous work sparked her to create a new mosaic medium. These “micro-mosaics” are intended to astound and amaze with the complexity of interrelated tiny pieces — silver-lined glass bugle beads — always hundreds, most often thousands, to complete one larger-scale sculpture. The raw forms are base-painted and a design rough-sketched with beads glued on one by one. Completed pieces are sprayed with a UV protectant clear-coat sealant.

Wheelock has received recognition from a number of public-arts projects in the Hudson Valley, Hudson and the Catskills, leading to an invitation to have her work was displayed at CO. Photographs of her work have been used to promote the arts and tourism in numerous magazines and brochures as well as a commercial shown in Greene, Dutchess and Columbia counties. Since 2019, her art has been featured in two five-star galleries in Provincetown, MA, where she is well-known for her interpretation of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” reinvented as micro-mosaic in sculpture and framed pieces alike.

“I’m excited to present new work at this reception at CO. It’s actually a series of framed wall pieces titled, ‘An Evening Through the Eyes of the Asylum.’ The idea is that Van Gogh was one of 41 residents in the asylum in France, and that he painted ‘The Starry Night’ from his view of the countryside as seen from his window hours before sunrise,” Wheelock said. “Other residents also saw the star-filled view from their windows as well, and my work is imagining what that same night sky might have looked like from their perspectives. The pieces invoke the same feeling and recognizable image, but with spatial differences, and even one with a time twist using color. I think it’s a fun and unique new way of looking at a well-known masterpiece.”

CO co-owner Dugan Radwin said she was excited to have CO hosting the event.

“We are so thrilled to have another talented artist showing at CO,” she said. “N.J.’s mosaic work is unique, and I understand she has a very special themed opening celebration planned for the 13th. We’re hoping for an excellent turnout.”

About CO

CO, located at 6571 Spring Brook Ave. (Route 9) across from the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, opened in 2018 after a two-year re-design and renovation led by local architect Frank Mazzarella. Since its inception, CO has co-hosted numerous innovation sessions and community-related events, ranging from professional meetings, workshops and training, to parties, mixers and nonprofit galas. Local businesses and organizations that have utilized the space include Corcoran Real Estate, Data Stories, Hudson Community Incubator, Hudson Valley Women in Business, Rhinebeck Area Chamber of Commerce, Rhinebeck Rotary Club, Stockade Works and Winnakee Land Trust. It has served as a meeting space for student groups such as Rhinebeck Interact Club and the 4H Club as well as a space for local artists to share their work, including Tom Cale, Dan Goldman Helena Palazzi, Kelli Bickman, Ryan Cronin, Shea Lord and Janine Gentile.