English’s Pattern Play Exhibit Appears at the Carrie Haddad Gallery
Marist professor and artist Donise English recently featured her art collection in the Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, New York. Her work will be displayed at the gallery until Oct. 11.
“The show is about patterns. For me, it’s about this grid-like repetitive pattern, whether it’s sculpture or 2-D work,” English said. She explained that this exhibition contained a lot of different creations. However, the main focus for her collection consisted of repetitive shapes and patterns.
Donise English's Snakish Art Piece. Source: Professor Donise English
“I started working on the series called ‘Cities of Italy’ and that's what some of the drawings are about,” English said. The colors and forms in her grid-like drawings represent things that she recalled from visiting different cities in Italy.
“The sculptures [Carrie Haddad] has there are all made from paper. It's paper that’s hand-stitched to make individual shapes. They’re repetitive shapes, and so they’re assembled into a larger sculpture made out of similar shapes that are repetitive,” English said.
Despite the upsetting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, English has been able to find positivity within the isolation. She explained that this has given her more time to work in her art studio and she feels grateful.
“That’s something you don’t always get. In a way, it’s kind of a gift to have this very quiet and continuous work time,” English said.
Amidst COVID-19, museums had been shut down and some are just recently starting to open up again. English explained that the presence of art online has been wildly impacted since the pandemic: “People want to look at things that are expressive, emotional. There’s more time to think and feel and art reaches all of those things.”
English has already sold four pieces at the Carrie Haddad Gallery. She said her other shows –– displayed at Albany Institute and SUNY New Paltz –– have been successful, as well.
Currently, English is still expanding her “Cities of Italy” collection and is working on a large Rome piece. “I follow wherever my head and feelings are at the time,” she said. She explained that she works in the moment and doesn’t think about what she’s going to do next. Working on a lot of pieces at once gives her the ability to move from one piece to another, in case she loses her inspiration for the piece at the moment.
“I'm not afraid to make mistakes. I'm not afraid to try something new. I'm not afraid to ruin something that I'm working on. I think that's how you as an artist stay open and able to move through your work ... just be willing to try things and really blow it,” English said.
As a studio art professor at Marist, English offered a piece of advice for her students: “You've got to enjoy the process and you've got to just work and keep at it. Have confidence and don't be worried about making a mistake.”