The Cooperative Gallery presents art works of two of its artists September 3- 25, 2021: Jean Luongo “Hardware” and Kit Burnham-Ashman’s “Past Reflections.” Both artists are experienced painters and exhibiting members of the gallery. These exhibits, and the member gallery, will be open to the public First Friday 5- 9 pm, other Fridays 5-8 pm, Saturdays 11 am- 3 pm, and by appointment.
“I will be exhibiting work that is an expansion of my series, Oggetti di Mio Padre which I started about 2005,” explained Luongo. “Each piece incorporates some object from my father’s toolbox or leftover hardware. These are randomly shaped, sometimes rusty objects, whose shapes I find compelling. The objects are reminiscent of my father, his special talents, and the relationship I had with him.” One piece from this series was shown at the Islip Museum in 2009.
“With aging issues, health issues, and being isolated around Covid, I find myself reflecting about people and events in my life,” said Burnham-Ashman, “hence the title Past Reflections. This could be yesterday or many years ago. It could be 10 minutes ago.” During the past year she has been experimenting with new techniques and media. “I find cold wax really fun. I think this will be the future of my painting with oil. As a result of this adventure, some of my work is more abstract, since cold wax lends itself to many transparent layers and textures. I have also continued my printmaking, drawing, painting with ink, and using glue and other materials for texture.”
The Cooperative Gallery has been presenting local artists for 21 years and has been open, with precautions, since August 2020. “It’s been a difficult year, obviously, but we are committed to restoring the 
arts community that was so strong prior to the COVID pandemic,” observed Karen Kuff-Demicco. The gallery recently re-opened Friday hours from 5- 8 pm as well as its regular hours on Saturdays 11 am- 3 pm. It is a popular stop on the Broome Co Arts Council Art Walk on First Friday. For more information, visit www.cooperativegallery.com, Facebook and Instagram pages.