From intimate sculptures to immersive installations, the Hudson Valley’s art scene is brimming with talent this February. Linda Grigg’s meditative paintings at Front Room Gallery dive into the tension between nostalgia and loss, while Scott Kilgour’s sunflower-filled show at Green Kill radiates pure, joyful energy. If you’re in the mood for something more contemplative, Bard’s Hessel Museum unveils “The Search for Power,” a collaborative look at Lebanon’s fraught relationship with electricity. Whether you’re drawn to the personal or the political, the whimsical or the profound, there’s plenty to explore this month in local galleries.

Linda Grigg’s “Comfort and Loss” at Front Room Gallery in Hudson

February 23-March 9

Linda Griggs has made a career of turning the everyday into the uncanny, and her latest exhibition, “Comfort and Loss” at Front Room Gallery, is no exception. The Kingston-based artist renders domestic objects—lace doilies, vintage linoleum, weathered wood—with obsessive precision, layering them with personal and political narratives. Here, nostalgia curdles, as familiar patterns and textures hint at the passage of time and the fragility of memory. Griggs’s paintings, both tender and unsettling, evoke the tension between what soothes and what haunts. The show is a poignant meditation on what we hold onto—and what slips away.

—Brian K. Mahoney

Scott Kilgour at Green Kill in Kingston

Through February 22

Scott Kilgour’s Pop-inspired patch of radiant sunflower paintings at Green Kill is a delight to behold. Works such as Chasing the Sun (2024) and Duet (2024) extol the raw beauty and non-negotiable power of these verdant creatures. Kilgour’s enraptured beings seem to sing to each other from their various positions around the room, and their expressive biodynamic melody comes to a crescendo in works such as Talking Heads (2024) and Sunrise/Sunset (2024), where these sturdy golden-hued guardians of botanic bravery give us their all. Kilgour’s two largest paper collages, Kansas (2021) and Sunflower Rhapsody (2021), are cacophonies of radiant sunflowers and carry the show with their wildly wonderful pile-on of blossoms. Amid this unabashed blow-out of sunflower glory, we can merely smile and appreciate the cheery magnitude of their charm. The moody essence conjured by Kilgour’s rampant flora is one of utter jubilation.

—Taliesin Thomas

“The Search for Power” at Bard’s Hessel Museum

February 1-23

“The Search for Power” is an innovative collaboration between artist Tania El Khoury and historian Ziad Abu-Rish. This immersive experience delves into Lebanon’s complex relationship with electricity, unearthing narratives that intertwine colonial legacies, political machinations, and everyday resilience.
The genesis of this project is as compelling as its execution. One evening in Beirut, amidst an unexpected power outage, El Khoury and Abu-Rish found themselves reflecting on the persistent energy crises that have long plagued their homeland. El Khoury, having grown up during the Lebanese Civil War, perceived these blackouts as a byproduct of wartime turmoil. Abu-Rish, however, recalled a 1952 government document detailing scheduled electricity outages in Beirut, predating the war. This revelation sparked a collaborative investigation into the historical intricacies of Lebanon’s power infrastructure.

Live performances featuring El Khoury and Abu-Rish will take place on February 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9 at 6pm in which the audience will be guided through their investigative journey, blending artistic expression with historical analysis.

—Brian K. Mahoney

“The Art of Joy Brown” at the Tremaine Gallery of the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut

February 15-April 5

Joy Brown’s sculptures radiate a quiet, almost cosmic serenity. Her signature bronze figures—rounded, weighty, and imbued with an elemental stillness—feel both ancient and entirely of the moment. In “The Art of Joy Brown” at the Tremaine Gallery, the Kent-based artist presents works that bridge East and West, drawing on her upbringing in Japan and her mastery of traditional wood-firing techniques. These figures, with their closed eyes and gentle gestures, aren’t just forms but vessels of presence, exuding a warmth that transcends their materiality. Brown’s work is a reminder: Simplicity isn’t emptiness—it’s an invitation to stillness, connection, and wonder.

—Brian K. Mahoney

“Winter Garden” at Ruthann in Catskill

February 7-April 20

The newly minted Ruthann gallery in Catskill wastes no time making its mark with Winter Garden, an inaugural exhibition as lush and unruly as its name suggests. Gathering 17 artists from the Hudson Valley and New York City, the show sprawls across media—textiles, ceramics, paintings, and sculpture—mirroring the organic, networked growth of a winter garden in dormancy. From the visceral materiality of Elisa Soliven’s sculptures to the chromatic intensity of Lisa Corinne Davis’s paintings, Winter Garden is an assertion of life in the quiet season. With community and inclusivity at its core, Ruthann plants its roots deep from the start.

—Brian K. Mahoney

“Mary Ellen Mark: Ward 81” at Center for Photography at Woodstock in Kingtson

Through May 4

One of three inaugural exhibitions currently on view in the newly renovated CPW building (and all three showcasing women photographers), “Mary Ellen Mark: Ward 81” is a superior presentation. To understand the backdrop for this show, rewind to 1975 when Mark was working at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, the chosen set for the iconic movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. During that gig she met several of the women living in the all-female wing of that high-security facility. A year later, she and Dr. Karen Folger Jacobs (a therapist and writer) returned to the ward for 36 days to immerse themselves among the women and document their lives at the hospital.

Consisting of salon-style clusters of black and white photographs arranged around the space, the exhibition takes us through a nonlinear narrative of moments that reveal personal psychologies. From one cluster to the next, there are several recurring motifs: a woman staring intensely straight into Mark’s camera or staring off woefully into outer space; a woman bathing in the tub; a woman in bed; a woman whose mouth hangs ajar, she with no place to go.

—Taliesin Thomas

“Landmines” at the Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz

February 8-July 13

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Hudson River School of art, the Dorsky Museum has assembled works by four contemporary photographers, Dawoud Bey, Christina Fernandez, Richard Mosse, and Rick Silva in “Landmines.” But these photographers are doing a lot more than wielding cell phones. In fact, they deploy some of the newest innovations in art photography. Irish artist Richard Mosse uses multispectral satellite imagery to show the environmental devastation in and around the Amazon Basin. It’s like seeing through a machine’s eyes, though the pastel colors are surprisingly gentle. Slaughterhouse, Rondonia (2021) recalls the abstract canvases of Richard Diebenkorn. Burnt Eucalyptus Plantation, Rondonia (2020) looks like a worn piece of Victorian embroidery.

The art most closely linked to the show’s title is Rick Silva’s. “Landmines” is, in part, a pun referencing mines extracting subterranean minerals. In his video Western Fronts (2018), Silva presents drone footage of four remote areas that lost their status as National Monuments under the first Trump administration, superimposing images of minerals lying beneath the soil. Elections have consequences, even for the innocent Earth.

—Sparrow

“Wild Wonders” at Bernay Fine Art in Great Barrington

Through March 2

Bernay Fine Art goes on safari with “Wild Wonders,” a playful, creature-filled romp through the imaginations of Stephanie Anderson, Alyssa Fanning, Zohar Lazar, and Phil Knoll. Knoll’s Odysseus Tempted by the Sirens is featured on the cover of the February issue of Chronogram. Anderson’s meticulous illustrations evoke the naturalist’s eye, while Fanning’s bold compositions channel the untamed spirit of the wild. Knoll and Lazar inject surrealism and wit, pushing the boundaries between reality and fantasy. Whether conjuring exotic beasts or reimagining familiar fauna, “Wild Wonders” revels in the sheer joy of artistic exploration. A fitting tribute to nature’s boundless eccentricity, this show reminds us that the animal kingdom—and the human imagination—are never short on surprises.

—Brian K. Mahoney

“Maria Lai: A Journey to America” at Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring

Through July 28

Magazzino Italian Art opens a window into the singular world of Maria Lai with “A Journey to America,” a sweeping retrospective of the Sardinian artist’s six-decade career. Lai’s work—deeply rooted in myth, memory, and materiality—ranges from early abstract paintings to later textile-based pieces that weave personal and cultural narratives. Highlights include her 1981 community project Legarsi alla montagna, in which an entire village bound itself together with fabric, and her whimsical cloth fairytale “Holding the Shadow by the Hand.” Thoughtfully curated, this exhibition cements Lai’s legacy as a visionary whose art transcends time, place, and convention.

—Taliesin Thomas

“Paper” at Garner Arts Center in Garnerville

Through February 23

Garner Arts Center’s “Paper” exhibition presents a fascinating exploration of the medium through the eyes of Sharon Falk, Anna Fine Foer, and James McElhinney. Falk’s suspended rice-paper paintings create an immersive, introspective experience, where figures engage in silent, emotive gestures that reflect universal human truths. Foer’s collage works juxtapose the natural world with imagined mythologies, commenting on the human impact on biology and extinction. McElhinney, meanwhile, brings a topographical focus to the Hudson Valley, blending history, nature, and environmentalism through his sketchbooks and digital presentations. The show highlights a rich diversity of approach, while celebrating the power and possibility of paper.

—Brian K. Mahoney

“The Intersection Between Dining and Photography” at the International Museum of Dinnerware Design in Kingston

Through February 9

At the International Museum of Dinnerware Design, “The Intersection Between Dining and Photography” serves up a thoughtful exploration of the intersection between dining and visual culture. Highlights include Sandy Skoglund’s The Cocktail Party, a whimsical yet critical commentary on consumerism, with figures and furniture draped in Cheez Doodles. Meanwhile, iconic photographers like Piero Fornasetti, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Cindy Sherman reimagine dinnerware, transforming functional plates into thought-provoking art pieces. The exhibition also delves into the process of image creation through altered ceramics and photosensitive glass, making this show a fascinating blend of photography, design, and the social rituals of eating.

—Brian K. Mahoney