Discover Local Artists: Steve Konopacki

(The original article appears at pbpulse.com)

The exhibit, Inner Space – large scale paintings by Steve Konopacki, runs through October 7 at the Jan and Gary Dario Gallery, HU Bldg., Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth campus.

Wellington resident Steve Konopacki teaches college composition at Palm Beach State College, where his classes integrate the techniques of the formal writer with those of the word-painter.

His abstracts are hard to categorize, since he aims for his viewers to go beyond their rational search for meaning and explore the place within themselves that is without language, where color and relationships work together.

“I invite the viewer into the world where thought has passed from thinking, by capturing the latent silence found in the space between hard-edged shapes and scale,” he said. ” The interpreting mind passes from language-based semantic identification (what does it mean?) towards a stillness…towards still ‘life.’

“In the movement from recognizable shapes into the surrounding silence, the constantly churning mind —the mind that demands meaning from all things — calms down and accepts the shape as a shape, not what it should become.”

Palm Beach State College is at 4200 S. Congress Avenue, Lake Worth. Gallery Hours are 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, contact Kristin Miller Hopkins at (561) 868-3909.

Lake Worth Graphic Design Student Sarah Nastri Exhibition: Broken Landscapes

After completing high school, Sarah Nastri began her college education at Palm Beach State. Moving to Los Angeles she expanded her art experience and education until she eventually moved back to Florida to finish her degree at The University of Central Florida, graduating with a BFA specializing in printmaking. Sarah is now continuing her education at Palm Beach State, taking courses in web design classes.

When asked about her work, Sarah states:
"art and creativity are an important part of who I am. I love the challenge in finding new and exciting materials and techniques to add to the diversity of my portfolio. My art has always been a personal experience. I feel a close relationship to my pieces as they develop.

Family is a strong inspiration and consistent theme throughout my developing work. I combine landscape and architecture to portray surreal spaces. The use of imagery from new and old family photographs is incorporated through the use of various media to create balanced compositions.

My use of overlapping images and color create compelling pieces that manly focus on the aesthetics of printmaking. Working with color and creating texture brings the flat surfaces alive."

Sarah's solo exhibition Broken Landscapes is a collection of prints, mixed media and wall sculpture at The Eissey Campus Theatre, 3160 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens. February 24th- April 6th.