Members of vibrant Rochester art collective reunite to show new works at Nazareth College's Colacino Gallery

Exhibit by the Wildroot Group opens Friday, February 14, with a reception February 21!

Related Media

Nancy Holowka's work will be on display in the Colacino Gallery at Nazareth College Arts Center February 14-March 14, 2014

ROCHESTER, NY (01/16/2014)(readMedia)-- The five members of Rochester's Wildroot Group – including Nazareth College alumni Nancy Anne Holowka, '78 (art history and studio art); William Holowka, '78 (studio art); and Robert C. Whiteside, '03 (art therapy) – will display new works in the Nazareth College Department of Art's Colacino Gallery beginning February 14 through March 14, 2014, with an artists' reception on Friday, February 21, 2014, from 5-9 p.m.

RELATED STORY: "Insight: The Inner Nature of Things," curated by artist Elizabeth Lyons and featuring the work of sculptors Francesca Lalanne, Mahine Rattonsey, Kate Roberts, and Jennifer Schinzing, is in the Nazareth College Arts Center Gallery through March 7, 2014. Gallery hours are: Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday, noon-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m.

About the Exhibit

The exhibit by Wildroot Group members features new works by five friends and artists who – along with their partners and spouses – founded the Wildroot Gallery in Rochester's South Wedge neighborhood. On display will be photography by Nancy Anne Holowka; collages by George Wegman; and paintings by William Holowka, Peter Monacelli, and Robert C. Whiteside.

"It is a wonderful reward to say that after the initial creation of the Wildroot Gallery in 1978, each of us has continued with our passion, producing new works for exhibits to share our evolving vision," Whiteside states. "I believe that our original purpose was to support the arts and artists with a community-access gallery. We have all expanded on this support with our choice of careers, through teaching, supporting organizations that reflect our sincere values, as well as our support to the arts and other artists. I hope that you will share our excitement with this group exhibit, and the pleasure we share in being together with our diversities."

The Wildroot Gallery opened in 1978 as a small, non-profit cooperative in a former barbershop on South Avenue (the artists named the gallery after a bottle of Wildroot Quinine Bouquet hair tonic the previous tenant left behind). The gallery flourished for four years, showcasing work by the group, guest artists, and neighborhood children in exhibits that often spilled outdoors onto the sidewalk.

After closing the gallery to tend to families and careers, each of the artists continued to create and show their own work. Nancy Holowka's work has been seen in the prestigious Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition at the Memorial Art Gallery; William Holowka's paintings have also been displayed at the Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition and as part of a group show at the Carborundum Museum of Ceramics; and Whiteside has exhibited his paintings in galleries around the world.

Of his own work, William Holowka says, "In my career as a graphic designer, I am fascinated by immense variations of the limited characters that are used to communicate information. My current paintings are based on my photographs of numbers, reflecting the colors, shapes, and textures that convey a distinct attitude: sophisticated to ordinary, machine manufactured to hand-done, fresh or weathered by time."

Thirty years after closing their gallery, the Wildroot Group mounted a retrospective at the Veteran Outreach Center's OurHouse Gallery – ironically located in the same space as the old Wildroot Gallery. The exhibit at Nazareth College's Colacino Gallery is their third group show since.

About the Artists

NANCY ANNE HOLOWKA received her B.S. in art history and studio art from Nazareth College. A former coordinator of the Visiting Artist Program at the Monroe County Public Library System, she also worked as an exhibition assistant at Ward Gallery and is currently executive assistant to the director at the Memorial Art Gallery. Holowka has exhibited at the Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition and Clothesline Art Festival. She will be exhibiting monochromatic photographs that highlight the unexpected harmony and the unity of design to be found in everyday, yet often overlooked, objects and scenes.

WILLIAM HOLOWKA received his B.S. in studio art from Nazareth College, where he re¬ceived the President's Purchase Award. He has worked as a pictorial artist for Pat¬rick Media Group and as a carousel horse artist at Seabreeze Amusement Park, and is currently senior preparator at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. Holowka's exhibitions include a group show at the Carborundum Museum of Ceramics in Niagara Falls and the Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition. William Holowka's current series of acrylic paintings are based on his recent photographs of numbers, and illustrate the variety, design and graphic qualities of these functional characters.

PETER MONACELLI holds degrees from Monroe Community College and Empire State College. He is an adjunct member of the art department at MCC, where he was recently elected to the Alumni Hall of Fame. He has also served as art director of the Little Theatre Café Gallery and taught high school art in the Rochester City School District. Monacelli's exhibitions include the Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition; For Drawing's Sake: Makers And Mentors at Rochester Contemporary; and a solo show, Social Art Commentary, which traveled to 10 colleges in New York state. Monacelli will be showing a group of oil painting that reflect on the beliefs and spirituality of Thomas Merton, entitled "Seven Stories."

GEORGE WEGMAN received his B.A. from SUNY-Fredonia and M.F.A. from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has exhibited his work widely, including at 696 Gallery, RIT's Bevier Gallery, the Pyramid Art Center, and Warren Phillips Fine Art (solo show). He has received awards at the Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition and Schweinfurth Memorial Art Gallery's Made in New York Exhibition. Wegman will feature a series of collages in diptych format entitled "Second Chances," that will challenge the viewer by juxtaposing found objects with acrylic paintings.

ROBERT C. WHITESIDE received his B.A. from SUNY-Fredonia, his M.F.A. from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a post-graduate certification in art therapy from Nazareth College. He current¬ly serves as a creative arts therapist at the Jewish Home in Rochester and has taught fine arts at Nazareth College, Genesee Community College, and Monroe Community College. Whiteside's other work experience includes pictorial master painter for Patrick Media Group and carousel horse artist at Seabreeze Amusement Park. Whiteside describes his recent group of paintings (oil on canvas) as "Poems in Paint."

About the Nazareth College Department of Art

The Nazareth College Department of Art offers undergraduate programs in studio art, art education, visual communication design, and art history. The College offers graduate programs in art education and art therapy.

In the past decade, Nazareth has built two state-of-the-art galleries to serve the College and the community. Exhibitions in the Arts Center Gallery and Colacino Gallery are free of charge and open to the public. For additional information, please visit www.naz.edu/art.

About the Colacino Gallery

Established through the generous support of Margaret Colacino, artist and art educator, the Colacino Gallery serves as a cultural and educational resource for Nazareth students as well as the greater Rochester community. Its goal is to complement the liberal arts by fostering critical thinking, intellectual diversity, visual literacy, and aesthetic values. In addition to exhibitions generated in-house, artists are invited to submit proposals for solo or small group shows. The Colacino Gallery is located in the Art Department wing of the Arts Center complex on the second floor. Gallery hours are: Wednesday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. For additional information, please visit www.naz.edu/art/colacino-art-gallery or call the automated information line: 585-389-5073.

About Nazareth College

Nazareth is a coeducational, independent college on a suburban campus just outside Rochester, N.Y. The College challenges students to rise to their potential with a liberal arts and sciences foundation, professional programs, experiential learning, and an innovative curriculum that addresses the current and emerging needs of the world - ranging from economics to physical therapy to environmental science. With more than 40 undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs, a vibrant arts center and a variety of athletics, clubs and organizations, Nazareth prepares students to be successful professionals and engaged citizens. For more information, visit www.naz.edu.

# # #