Walking Through My Thoughts

Walking Through My Thoughts
Guest-curated by Bill Scott 

Beverly S. Benson · Stanley Bielen · Mark Bockrath · Deborah Deichler
Abigail Dudley · Paul Dusold · Timothy Gierschick II · Myke Karlowski
Howard Neifeld · E. J. O'Hara · James Rapone · Chris Schmidt 

October 26 – November 20, 2022  

Walking Through My Thoughts Exhibition Film by John Thornton 
Walking Through My Thoughts Virtual Tour & Talk 

At the start of the pandemic, I started taking long walks. I never go out walking with a destination in mind and, if I do think I’m headed somewhere specific, en-route I might change my mind and end up going somewhere else. In this way, taking a walk is a lot like painting. I put on my shoes and go out. Or I head into my studio and begin to work. The process of organizing a group exhibition feels parallel to this. Whether or not I know where I am going or what I am going to do, being outside or in my studio is what is important. In group shows, when juxtaposing works by different artists, I sometimes learn artists who admire one another’s art often have never met. So, organizing an exhibition additionally serves to foster a community, which is important to me. 

While outside walking, I often notice unusual shapes and spaces I later try to include in my own paintings. Trees and objects I see also appear as tailor made to be painted by my artist friends. During recent walks while planning this exhibition, the imagery made by these twelve artists lingered recurrently in my thoughts. The death of my friend and colleague, Patrick Connors, prompted me to reach out to several of his friends whose still lifes and landscapes I’ve admired since we all were students. I’d originally thought this exhibition would unfold to focus only on abstractionists. Forty years ago, I made four or five paintings collaboratively with another artist. During the pandemic I visited him and fell in love with everything he’s now painting. The exhibition became whole when I visited another artist’s studio and he showed me work by his friend who I did not know. On my walks I found myself contemplating their artworks. Now when looking at their artworks, I feel able to silently walk through their imagery in my thoughts. I hope you’ll share a similar experience. 

I am grateful to Tina Rocha and Michael Kowbuz who, beginning in 2013, have invited me to organize six group shows in which works by 136 different artists have been presented. 

Beverly S. Benson, Lambertville Canal, NJ, pastel, 18" x 27"  SOLD 


Beverly S. Benson, Griffith Park Trail, Los Angeles, pastel, 18" x 27" 


Beverly S. Benson, Sunflowers from the Sugartown Farm, oil on canvas, 30" x 24"  


Stanley Bielen, Marigold, oil on paper / mounted, 8 5/8" x 6 5/8"  


Stanley Bielen, and the White Cup, oil on paper / mounted, 7 3/4" x 5 5/8"  


Stanley Bielen, Delft Cup, oil on paper / mounted, 8 1/8" x 5 3/8"  SOLD 


Stanley Bielen, Favored Marigolds, oil on paper / mounted, 8 1/2" x 7 1/8"  


Mark Bockrath, Little Deer Isle, pastel, 15" x 15"  SOLD 


Mark Bockrath, Okehocking Preserve, pastel, 13.5" x 20.75"  


Deborah Deichler, Moonrise with Violets, oil on alucobond panel, 11 15/16" x 9 7/16" 


Deborah Deichler, A Jar of Late Summer, oil on alucobond panel, 10.25" x 8.5"  


Deborah Deichler, August Afternoon, pastel on textured paperboard, 19" tondo  


Abigail Dudley, Kelly Reading, oil on aluminum, 21" x 22" 


Abigail Dudley, Corridor III, oil on panel, 8" x 8"  SOLD 


Abigail Dudley, Spring Passage, oil on linen on panel, 16" x 20" 


Paul Dusold, Perfect, Whole and Complete, oil on canvas, 26" x 28"  


Paul Dusold, Concerto, oil on canvas, 22" x 22"  


Timothy Gierschick II, Nosegay (for Keith Haring), house paint on rag paper, 30" x 22"  


Timothy Gierschick II, Strawberry Nautilus, house paint on rag paper, 22" x 30"  


Myke Karlowski, Junebug, oil and aqua resin on canvas, 13" x 12" 


Myke Karlowski, Morning Glory, oil on panel, 24" x 24"  


Howard Neifeld, Whirlwind, oil on masonite, 13" x 16"  Available 


Howard Neifeld, Shadow Games, oil on masonite, 9" x 10"  SOLD 


E. J. O'Hara, Your Mother Should Know, acrylic on paper, 11" x 15"  Available 


E. J. O'Hara, Hyacinth Wasteland, acrylic on paper, 11" x 15"  


E. J. O'Hara, Four Carnations or Five, colored pencil and acrylic on paper, 15" x 11"  SOLD 


E. J. O'Hara, Bull and Black Star, acrylic, oil and graphite on paper, 11" x 15"  Available 


James Rapone, Impoverished Forms, collage, 11" x 14"  SOLD 


James Rapone, Landscape of Artifice, collage, 10" x 16"  


James Rapone, The Violent Bear It Away, collage, 10" x 16"  SOLD 


Chris Schmidt, In the Blood / Self-Portrait in 2060 (Homage to Ensor), ink on paper, 12" x 9" 


Chris Schmidt, In the Blood / Death of an Evangelical, ink on paper, 9" x 12.75" 


Chris Schmidt, In the Blood / Walking Through My Thoughts, ink on paper, 9" x 12"