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The following is a republished press release from a community organization or member and NOT written by the Ithaca Voice … to submit community announcements to The Voice, contact us at jstein@ithacavoice.com.
BROOKTONDALE, N.Y. — Builder Bruno Schickel and his wife, writer Amy Dickinson are announcing the opening of a permanent exhibit featuring the work of Adolph Kazlauskas at the Boiceville Meetinghouse, at the Boiceville Cottage community in Brooktondale.
Adolph Kazlauskas was born in 1920, and started painting as a teenager. He studied at the Art Students League in New York City and bought a remote plot of land on a deeply wooded hillside in Berkshire, NY in 1955. There, he built his house and studio completely by hand and without the use of any power tools. He and his family lived there without electricity or a telephone until his death in 2005. Kazlauskas worked at Morse Chain and NCR in Ithaca, saving every spare hour for painting. During his long career he painted hundreds of canvases and had shows at local and regional galleries.
Amy Dickinson and Bruno Schickel stumbled upon the artist’s work when Dickinson went to the local Brookton Market for a cup of coffee.
“I looked on the wall and there were about 8 beautiful paintings – all local landscapes – and I fell in love with them immediately. I purchased four of them to hang in our home. A couple of weeks later I received a note from Adolph’s wife Trudie (the painter died in 2005). She invited me to visit his studio, deep in the woods of Berkshire. I was astounded by the range of his work – from portraits painted in the 1950’s when he studied at the Art Students League in New York City – to abstracts he made near the end of his life. I was so excited, I called my husband to come over and he was similarly astounded. Right away we started to strategize ways to bring this beautiful work into the public sphere so that more people could enjoy and appreciate them,” Dickinson said.
Eventually, through an arrangement with the artist’s family, Schickel and Dickinson went through the collection and chose 100 paintings, which they felt represented the artist’s finest work. The collection was installed at the Meetinghouse at Boiceville Cottages, a community of 140 rental cottages in Brooktondale, which Schickel designed and built.
“The meetinghouse was specifically designed to be a place of inspiration, and I built it with the intention of displaying a permanent collection of paintings,” said Bruno Schickel, who has several artists in his family. “When we discovered Adolph’s incredible work, I knew right away that I could provide the perfect space to bring his beautiful paintings to an appreciative community. “
The Kazlauskas collection features portraits, landscapes (many done locally), urbanscapes of New York City, and still lifes.
The public is invited to an opening celebration on Sunday, November 22nd, 2015 from 3-7pm at the Meetinghouse at Boiceville Cottages, 301 Boiceville Road, Brooktondale. Refreshments will be served.
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