Bajo El Sol Gallery in Mongoose Junction, St. John, will open its next exhibit, CURRENT, at 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan 14, featuring new works by painter Ayn Riehle and metalsmith Morgan Rosenberg.
This first exhibition of 2023 features the work of two artists using different mediums – painting and metalsmithing – to communicate their CURRENT moment in this semi-post-pandemic world.
“The transparent turquoise waters of the world around me bring joy and an inspiration to explore a realm hidden beneath the surface,” said painter Ayn Riehle, whose compositional decisions reveal a sense of joyfulness. Each of her latest series of seascapes was studied for long periods of time before finalization — a meditative process that speaks to the healing and peace inherent in the sustained contemplation of the ocean’s steady rhythms and mercurial flows.
The work of metalsmith Morgan Rosenberg incorporates bits of narrative – both sincere and humorous — that comment on the artist’s surroundings and world events. The materials used for her keepsakes are inspired by memory and the contemporary moment, encouraging unusual juxtapositions and intimate connections between each design and its wearer.
There will be complimentary libations, lite bites, and steel pan music by Akiba.
About the Artists:
Ayn Baldwin Riehle is a painter inspired by the movement and patterns of nature and the illusive effects made by light and water. She is attracted to painting for its ability to include the influence of change that occurs while watching, remembering and working over long periods of time. Riehle has been a professional artist, arts activist and arts administrator for the past 30 years. She has exhibited her work in New York, New England and the Virgin Islands. She currently paints in her studio located on Bordeaux Mountain on St. John.
Morgan Rosenberg was born and raised on St. Thomas. She went on to earn a degree in photography and metals. At age 13, she made her first ring in a metals shop and fell in love with the craft. She has been working full-time as a goldsmith for the past 10 years. Her work is a combination of fine silver and high-carat yellow gold. Through jewelry, she aims to create keepsakes by making beautiful pieces that preserve a cherished item. She is inspired by Victorian mourning jewelry and has been fascinated with collecting teeth, bones and gemstones from a young age, which she then uses in her jewelry.
About the Gallery: Located at Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay St. John. Bajo El Sol Gallery & Art Bar is a hybrid art gallery, bookstore, café, and rum and cocktail bar. As a gallery and events space, Bajo El Sol is dedicated to offering the best in Virgin Islands’ fine art and cultural expression.
Bajo el Sol Fine Art Gallery, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (693-7070)
