Karlyn Benson

I am looking forward to the opening of @solipierce Stillness Speaks in Beacon @baugallery on May 9. I’ve been working with Soli to prepare for her exhibition over the past few months, including a studio visit to discuss her work, press release, installation of the show, and more. Beacon Room at BAU Stillness Speaks May 8 – June 7, 2026 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 9, 6-8 pm 506 Main Street, Beacon, NY Soli Pierce’s exhibitionStillness Speaks brings together long-exposure photography, encaustic painting, and sculpture in in an exploration of the temporal nature of light and time. Across these mediums, Pierce seeks a “still point”—an anchoring presence within a world that often feels fractured and unstable Through works that embrace duration, materiality, and quiet transformation, the exhibition reflects on vulnerability, personal and collective grief, and the enduring possibility of resilience. #solipierce #stillness #photography #sculpture #beaconny

This week I helped install work by @elizabethmlindy at the Linen Factory in Port Chester for an open studio event. I worked with her to prepare for the exhibition by discussing her work, the layout, editing the press release, and more. Elizabeth’s beautiful presentation Tracing Radiance is on view this weekend only. May 8 – 9, 2026 Saturday Hours: 12 – 5 pm The Linen Factory 168A Irving Avenue (5th Floor), Port Chester, NY **Use the Irving Ave entrance and take the elevator up to the 5th floor. The exhibition brings together sculptural installation, photographs, video, and ink drawings that ask: how does a body, a surface, and a trace come into being, hold together, and begin to come apart. #photography ##paperartist #beaconartist #hudsonvalleyartist

Latest post / Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Selected Gallery Guide, May 2026 / Contributed by Karlyn Benson / The Hudson Valley art scene is ramping up for the summer season with some great exhibitions opening this month. Requited Configurations opens at RUTHANN on May 1 with work by Natalie Beall, Charlotte Beckett, Damien Davis, Mark Dion, Shanti Grumbine, Nicholas Hamilton, Peter Hoffmeister, Jessi Li, David Lukowski, Scott Penkava, Monika Zarzeczna, and Steph Zimmerman. On May 2, openings include Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo at SEPTEMBER... Link in Profile, Threads, Bluesky @headstonegalleryny @berty_cohen @artvalleyny @kb_creativeconsulting @twocoatsofpaint

Latest post / Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Selected Gallery Guide, April 2026 / Gallery Guides, Hudson Valley & Vicinity Gallery Guide Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Selected Gallery Guide, April 2026 April 1, 2026 1:45 pm · Edit this post Bernay Fine Art: Phil Knoll, Poly Nation, 2022, watercolor and graphite on paper, 44 × 44 inches Contributed by Karlyn Benson / Every month, it seems there is one day when there are so many openings and events in the Hudson Valley that it is physically impossible to attend them all. For upstate art lovers, this challenging experience is happening twice, on both Saturday, April 4 and Saturday, April 11. The first Saturday in April brings new exhibitions at SEPTEMBER, Philip Douglas Fine Art, Front Room Gallery... Link in Profile, Threads, Bluesky @kb_creativeconsulting @bernayfineartgallery @philknollstudio @raphael__moser @karloscarcamo @jenniferterziangallery @jennythewu @alanpraz @gearycontemporary @hollandtunnelnewburgh @alison__owen

Latest post / Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Selected Gallery Guide, March 2026 / Contributed by Karlyn Benson / Hudson Valley residents have been eagerly awaiting March and it’s promise of milder weather. With longer days come exciting new exhibitions throughout the region. On March 7, SPIRIT IN THE FLESH: Courtney Puckett, Ben Pederson, and Saul Chernick opens at Utopia in Kingston, The Dark Abyss of Time opens at Holland Tunnel Revisited... Link in Profile, Threads, Bluesky @kb_creativeconsulting @artvalleyny @twocoatsofpaint

Latest post / Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Selected Gallery Guide, February 2026 / Contributed by Karlyn Benson / February’s highlights include the opening of Geary’s new location in Salisbury, Connecticut with a solo show of paintings by Alan Prazniak. On February 6, Souvenir, a group exhibition curated by Jeff Bailey opens at RUTHANN in Catskill. Numerous exhibitions are opening on February 7, including Terrestrial Extra at the Dorsky Museum, guest-curated by Alta Buden and Craig Monteith of Roundabouts Now. The same evening there are openings at Headstone (Above Board Ceramics), 68 Prince Street (Sharon Butler, Jason Travers, Kieran Kinsella, Murray Hochman, and Eileen Power), Distortion Society (Spaces Between Color) the Garrison Art Center (Stephanie Garmey and Michael Prettyman) and Buster Levi’s final show Open Ending. Another recommended exhibition is Martha Friedman, Mika Taga, and Alina Tenser, opening February 14 at SEMPTEMBER. Unfortunately, two galleries have closed: Turley in Hudson and Elijah Wheat Showroom in Newburgh, and Monument and Buster Levi are closing in March. On a more positive note, there is a new gallery in Hudson at Creative Legion featuring the show Tethered with work by Johannah Herr, Steph Zimmerman, CJ Matherne, and Eric Ehrnschwender and curated by Tara Foley.... Links in Profile, Bluesky, Threads @artvalleyny @kb_creativeconsulting @kbeacon @twocoatsofpaint @garrisonartcenter @gearycontemporary @busterlevi_gallery @hawkandhive @mattatuck_museum @gtownarts

Latest post / Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Selected Gallery Guide, January 2026 / Contributed by Karlyn Benson / Happy New Year! January is a quieter month in the Hudson Valley, but there is still plenty of great art to see around the region. From north to south, Barbara Todd: Undoings opens at Opalka Gallery in Albany on January 20. Three solo shows open at Catskill Art Space... Link in Profile, Threads, Bluesky Images are tagged. Happy New Year to all of our readers and contributors! Thanks for supporting Two Coats of Paint!

Sunday, November 23, at 2pm, join us for an illuminating Artist Talk with Soli Pierce who will be discussing her solo exhibition unEARTHED! She’ll be joined by curator and consultant Karlyn Benson. @solipierce @kb_creativeconsulting Inspired by the natural world’s inherent balance and mystery, Pierce’s work bridges personal and environmental narratives and invites viewers to contemplate the interplay of origins, connectivity, and spiritual introspection. The exhibition includes sculptures created with reclaimed industrial materials, extracted petrified wood, and encaustics, as well as long-exposure landscape photographs and monoprints on handmade paper. Overall, her choice of materials and subject reflects her commitment to bring awareness to the disappearing natural world and climate issues. Soli Pierce is an interdisciplinary artist whose work merges the exploration of light, time, and nature through a diverse range of media. Pierce was a 2025 artist-in-residence at KinoSaito Arts Center. Her recent Sound Forest installation series, in collaboration with sonic artist Bruce Odland, was supported by multiple grants and presented at the Hammond Museum, ArtsWestchester, and KinoSaito. Pierce was recently awarded a 2025 Jentel Artist Residency in Wyoming. She has exhibited widely in the U.S., and internationally in London and Venice, and was awarded a stipend for large installations in Germany, including Saatchi and Arts Electronica. Karlyn Benson is a curator and consultant who provides marketing, administrative services, and exhibition management to artists and arts organizations. She was previously Interim Curator and Exhibitions Manager at The Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz; Director at Fridman Gallery, Beacon, NY; and the owner and director of Matteawan Gallery, Beacon from 2013 to 2018. Karlyn is the editor of Two Coats of Paint’s monthly Hudson Valley (+ Vicinity) Gallery Guide. She has an MA in Art History from the University of Texas, Austin and a BA in Art History from Purchase College, Purchase, NY. #artisttalk #soloexhibition #baugallery #installationart #beaconny #beaconarts #hudsonvalley #hudsonvalleyny

Join me this Sunday @baugallery in Beacon for an artist talk with @solipierce SOLI PIERCE: unEARTHED ARTIST TALK Moderated by Karlyn Benson Sunday, November 23, 2:00pm BAU Gallery, 506 Main Street, Beacon, NY I will be talking with Soli about her solo show and her artistic practice. Inspired by the natural world’s inherent balance and mystery, Soli Pierce’s work bridges personal and environmental narratives and invites viewers to contemplate the interplay of origins, connectivity, and spiritual introspection. The exhibition includes sculptures created with reclaimed industrial materials, extracted petrified wood, and encaustics, as well as long-exposure landscape photographs and monoprints on handmade paper. Overall, her choice of materials and subject reflects her commitment to bring awareness to the disappearing natural world and climate issues.  #solipierce #artisttalk #bau #beaconny #hudsonvalleyart

Opening this weekend: SOLI PIERCE: unEARTHED @baugallery 506 Main Street, Beacon, NY Opening reception November 8, 6-8pm I helped @solipierce prepare for her solo show by visiting her studio and discussing her work, assisting with the exhibition press release, and helping to lay out and install the show. unEARTHED is an exhibition of new work inspired by the natural world’s inherent balance and mystery. Soli’s work bridges personal and environmental narratives and invites viewers to contemplate the interplay of origins, connectivity, and spiritual introspection. She presents sculptures created with reclaimed industrial materials, extracted petrified wood, and encaustics, as well as long-exposure landscape photographs, and monoprints on handmade paper beautifully framed by @meghitchcockartist Special event on Sunday, November 9, 11-11:30am, FREE Join Lawrence Tan for a special movement meditation.  The Shaman’s Circle, made up of gathered stones, is a space for spiritual movement and contemplative stillness. Movement, meditation and breathing connect us with the realms of Heaven and Earth. Learn this 3-minute practice that you can take home. Also opening at BAU Gallery: George Kimmerling and Linda Lauro-Lazin: Trace Element Beacon Room: Daniel Berlin and Friends: Intermediaries #beacon #bau #solipierce #sculpture #photography #monoprint #hudsonvalleyart #hudsonvalleyartist #circle

Join me today in Beacon for @soon_isnow I will be checking in visitors for free tours this afternoon, and I helped install an exhibition of work by Bill Burns in the River Center. Soon is Now, a climate and eco live performance & arts festival October 19th, 1pm-5pm  Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park, Beacon, NY. Free.  Parking at the Metro North Train Station  Participating artists: Davalois Fearon Dance, jill sigman/thinkdance, Bill Burns, Edwin Torres, Stephen Vitiello, Mollie McKinley, Lori Merhige, Emilie Houssart, Bill Burns, Sibyl Kempson, Dee Beasnael, Sarah Willis, Lex Powell, Tom King,Pippa Brehm, Matthew Mottel, Nicole Lattuca, Twinkle Burke, Jojo Gonzalez, Climate Change Theatre Action. Come to the park to sign up for an immersive walking tour of site specific works throughout the landscape at 2/2:30/3/3:30.   See an exhibition in The River Center by artist Bill Burns, participate in ‘Scribble Scores’ an art and music workshop in a Geodesic Dome for children & adults led by artists Matthew Mottel and Nicole Lattuca at 2pm, and join a special workshop  “Mugwort Walk: Radical Kinship for a Future Earth,” by Amy White Eyes at 1pm or 2pm before your tour (free). For more info @soon_isnow

Last day for Ellen Jouret-Epstein: SPACE/PLACE @waamart in Woodstock March 14–May 4, 2025
 This solo presentation of work by artist Ellen Jouret-Epstein includes a selection of the artist’s two most recent series of abstract collages. Her work combines layering, contrast, texture, mystery, and movement. I worked with @ejestudioart to prepare for her show and installed her work. Don’t miss this wonderful show if you are in the Woodstock area! #ellenjouretepsteinart #ellenjouretepstein #waam #woodstock #collage