GALLERY 1 BAU Open First Prize Exhibition: Briana Babani

GALLERY 2 BAU Open Awardees: Irja Bodén and Choro Leslie Meyers

BEACON ROOM Reframing Memory, Pamela Vlahakis with guest artist Síle Marrinan

Opening Reception Second Saturday, February 8th, OPEN from 12-6 pm, with artists’ reception from 3-5 pm. Exhibition ends Sunday, March 2nd, at 506 Main Street, Beacon, NY. Saturdays and Sundays 12-6 pm or by appointment.

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Gallery 1 BAU Open First Prize Exhibition

Briana Babani: Stuff and Nonsense

Babani’s work is rooted in rigorous material exploration and labor-intensive technique. Repetitive

gestures and motifs are a recurring theme, as are dualities between graphic and textural, playful

and restrained, familiar and strange. She is interested in toying with notions of familiarity,

functionality, and value — to that end, ubiquitous materials and forms provide a critical point of

departure.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Briana Babani is an award-winning artist and designer currently living and working in New York’s

Hudson Valley. She grew up in the Midwest, received her BA in painting from Yale University, and

then lived and worked in New York City’s fashion district before earning her Masters Degree in

Interior Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design.

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Gallery 2: BAU Open Awardees Exhibition

Irja Bodén and Choro Leslie Meyers: Elemental Terrain

Elemental Terrain is an exhibit of ceramic sculptures by Irja Bodén and ink drawings by Choro

Leslie Meyers. The artworks beckon viewers to engage with its colors, lines, and textures while

also encouraging reflection on the urgent issues of climate change and environment

destruction.

Choro Leslie Meyers

Elemental. Meditation in art form. This body of work brings nature to the page. Mountain is here.

Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Space are here. Seasons and Time are here. Magic and the Goddess

are here. Reflecting the interconnection of all beings, I invite you to look deeper, to touch in

presence, and to find peace and freedom in the color and the line

Irja Bodén

Irja Bodén's ceramic sculptures feature stacked forms that are both embossed and layered,

complemented by a multi-colored glaze surface. Her creative process begins on the wheel, where

she transforms clay into abstract sculptures that tell a narrative. These works draw on "chthonic"

references—connecting to the earth—and weave together themes of place, memory, and loss,

reflecting personal and universal experiences. Bodén's art challenges the distinctions betwe

craft and fine art. Many of her sculptures also comment on the consequences of climate chang

an urgent issue we face today.

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Beacon Room: Reframing Memory, Pamela Vlahakis with guest artist Síle

Marrinan

In this exhibition, two photographers have joined together to use visual storytelling to reimagine

the memories of their mothers through the lens of their own family lives today. The photographers

use light, space and material to add new layers to the memories of their mothers, who have

passed, and to explore an inter-generational bond that transcends time and loss.

Through their work, they investigate how photography, as a bridge between past and present,

can help us reconnect with our histories and shape our sense of self in the here and now.

Pamela Zaremba

Pamela Zaremba is a photographer who lives and works in Westport CT, and is a member of the

Beacon Artists Union Gallery in Beacon, NY. The driving force behind her work is her desire to

help others to see the beauty in subjects that might otherwise seem ordinary. Her photos serve as

snapshots of a memory, and allow the viewer into an intimate conversation with the photographer

and subject.

Síle Marrinan

Síle Marrinan is a photographic artist drawn to the subtle, ethereal qualities of light. Her work is

an intuitive exploration, capturing the moods that light creates as it shifts and transforms the

world around her.

Through her camera, Síle observes how light—ever-changing—renders familiar subjects in new

ways. This practice allows her to find beauty in the ordinary, uncovering moments that mig

otherwise go unnoticed, while simultaneously preserving time—as if attempting to hold onto a

precious moment that has already passed.