The Erpf Gallery’s current exhibit, Being There, featuring the plein air paintings of Susan Miiller is on display March 11, 2016. A reception and talk by the artist will be held on Saturday, March 5, from 2-4 PM, at the Erpf Center in Arkville.

At 2:30 the artist will give a talk about her work and artistic process. Ms. Miiller describes one of her distinctive creative techniques as “subtractive.” It achieves its compelling effect by stripping away layers of paint to reveal the abstract form of “classical landscapes." The subtly evocative pastels and oil paintings she calls "cloudscapes" create what she describes as "dramatic modulations of color and space," capturing not only the physical composition of the scene but the psychological impact of its spirit. Susan describes her plein-air paintings as thickly painted, direct observations of nature. Though representational in imagery, they have important abstract qualities that embody a duality between paint and imagery.

Holding degrees in fine art from the State University of New York at New Paltz and the University of North Texas, Susan has received solo exhibitions in museums and galleries across the US. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Samuel Dorsky Museum, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the University of North Texas, the Arts and Science Center of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the Centex Corporation, and other public and corporate collections and has been highly praised in the national press. Susan has received awards from numerous institutions, including Orange Arts Grant, NYFA, SUNY New Paltz,the Susquehanna Art Museum, SOHO Gallery, Women & Their Work, and the Fourth Biennial Arkansas Exhibition. She has served as Artist-in-Residence at the Weir Farm Trust, the Vermont Studio Center and the Catskill Center’s Platte Clove. She has taught drawing, painting, art criticism and the creative process at SUNY New Paltz since 1999.

Being There is on display through March 11, 2016. The artist talk and reception will be held March 5, 2016 from 2-4 pm.

For more information, contact the Catskill Center at 845-586-2611, or kpalm@catskillcenter.org,