Flower Hill resident Caroline Kaplowitz is staying busy after retirement, preparing for three art exhibits showcasing her work across Long Island this month.
Kaplowitz, who retired from the Roslyn school district about two years ago after 25 years mostly with the adult education program, has been getting back into art since retiring.
This month, her work will be on view at Gallery North in Setauket, the Art League of Long Island in Dix Hills and the Art Guild of Port Washington in Manhasset.
Kaplowitz said she is showing a piece from her Fusion series, “Fusion II,” during the Art Guild’s member showcase from May 26 to June 24 at 200 Port Washington Blvd. in Manhasset.
In her newest series, Kaplowitz said she wanted to explore the interplay between abstract and figurative work and combined watercolor painting techniques with soft pastels to incorporate abstract color splashes with hidden figures.
“You don’t see them right away, and that’s what I like about it,” Kaplowitz said. “You have to really look, and I think that has to do with any kind of art — that you want to be drawn in and look. It’s not just the figures, but also the colors and composition.”
The gallery will host a reception for the exhibit from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 8.
For the Art League of Long Island show, Kaplowitz is showing a biographical piece about fellow artist Miriam Schapiro, combining photographs Kaplowitz took with color and pattern to make a larger piece.
Schapiro, an artist when feminism started, was instrumental in promoting and developing female artists, Kaplowitz said.
“I went to photograph Miriam and her surroundings in her Hampton studio many years ago,” Kaplowitz said. “The dozens of photos I took of Miriam and her surroundings, along with our conversations, and much research, were in preparation for this portrait I created of her.”
The piece, selected by juror Bruce Lieberman for “The Big Picture” exhibit, will be on display from May 26 through June 30 at 107 E. Deer Park Road in Dix Hills. A reception will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. June 10 at the gallery.
At the Gallery North exhibit, Kaplowitz will show the piece “Turbulence” from her Flow Series II May 24 through June 15 at 90 N. Country Road in Setauket.
A gallery reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. May 24.
Kaplowitz showed pieces from the same series during b.j. spoke gallery’s Artist’s Choice exhibit in February, which depicts realistic figures painted with an abstract feel.
During the process, Kaplowitz said she often pours or drips paint onto the canvas to fill the figure with long, flowing lines of paint.
“I view the resulting ‘paint-trails’ as a natural phenomenon, just as the contours of a beach are the natural result of waves, or ripples on the ocean, of wind,” Kaplowitz said. “Through weaving together these various techniques, I envision my paintings as records of not just their particular visual subject, but also my own changing attitudes throughout the creative process.”
