This online exhibition is named (Spooky) Entanglements because I became fascinated with the idea of two things moving towards each other or being connected, no matter where located, and Albert Einstein’s description of this as “Spooky action at a distance,”   responding to what he felt was a troublesome notion in quantum physics.

Not being a physicist, I’m intrigued by the pursuit of a theory of everything and the divergent elements clashing in this project. I gather that most physicists have moved away from Einstein’s skepticism and accepted quantum entanglement: “the ability of separated objects to share a condition or state,” as science writer Gabriel Popkin explains.  

The pursuit of a Grand Theory reminds me of the quest in the Middle Ages (Europe) to  contain all meaning simultaneously within structures of morality, religion, metaphor, and daily life. It is part of a human wish for an explanation of our world, ourselves.

The concept of entanglement belongs to us all since it refers to a state of affairs among us.  An entanglement may be a descriptor of our daily passage, a condition that ensnares us with a degree of bewilderment or impatience.

In the arts, entanglements imply those feelings that rise when an artwork moves us, asks us questions, or baffles us, perhaps immediately or as it lingers. We may be besotted by it.  In the visual arts, entanglements lead collectors to want objects by their side; these feelings may give birth to new collectors and followers.

In this exhibition with five artists, some components of quantum entanglement are present. In Willie Marlowe’s paintings,  we can see that we are made up not just of particles, but of all kinds of fields. We appreciate the spin found in some of her images, an axiom of quantum physics.  With Anne Hohenstein’s assemblages, we encounter encoded information and wonder what is knowable. We perceive why information is important.

In Joyce Chan’s installations, we intuit that we not looking at separate objects but at parts of the same things, the properties entangled in one. Altin Stoja’s paintings show us that our knowledge of the world changes when we intervene in it and do away with presumed boundaries.  In Gary Shankman’s landscape paintings, we understand why observation and interaction are the same thing.

I invite you to become entangled in these artworks.

Introduction by Laudelina Martinez, Curator

Hannah Davis, Curatorial Assistant

Willie Marlowe

In my paintings, entanglements could refer to the application of paint, linear elements that make a thatch, thicket, or a tangle of lines or shapes expressing multi-layered complexity and the content of each painting.

Altin Stoja

The painter Altin Stoja finds inspiration in nature and its rich color, in the beauty of the waters, the banks of rivers, lakes, and near the seas and oceans. Landscapes full of light and positive energy stand out in the reflections of his brush. The sunlight penetrates and is reflected in the crystal clear water, touches the bright surface of the pebbles and goes to the bottom of the shore. The natural reflections, the ripples of the surrounding waters, where the colors, the nuances and the details flare in harmony, convey to the admirers the exquisite taste of his art.

Anne Hohenstein

Entanglement: an intricate jumble, in which the parts cannot be adequately explained except in relation to each other. In my sculptures, the viewer recognizes each part on its own, and then grasps the additional meaning of each part from its relation to the whole work. My work can seem random or impenetrable; yet, it is created with intention, to be taken in viscerally first and thoughtfully next. What does not seem to go together, by age or material or genre or purpose, transforms from puzzling to wonderfully unsettling. The viewer in recognizing the contrasts (between old and new, kind and cruel, alive and dead, shabby and lush) becomes part of the entanglement.

Joyce Chan

I am interested in examining the unintentional contradictions that exist in navigating race and cultural identity as a Chinese-American female. Combining sculpture, drawing, and conceptual practices, I seek to investigate history, form and chance; manipulating everyday non-precious materials and paper cutting. Ideas are sourced from my personal interactions and memory, ones that are charged, surprising and at times odd. 

The pieces presented in "Entanglements" come from two series of works. One is based on my parents' Chinese restaurant, the first one of its kind in Scotia, NY, since 1977. High court golden yellow colors, illustrations of a folktale fairy intertwine with industrial tablecloths and take-out aluminum-lined bags for spare ribs, creating an environment and narrative of Chinese culture that only exists inside a Chinese American restaurant. The second series "Bricklayer," are sculptures that can be installed in various formations depending on the space, creating a wall. The individual "bricks" are flora foam bricks with indentations of my nose (cast, creating a "tool") pressed into each one with varying pressure. This piece was based on an interaction when I was on the school bus in the 5th-grade. Both positive and negative attention, an insult disguised as a compliment, a violent action (if one were to get slammed with a brick on their nose) and a violent racial question is what I still continue to navigate daily. 

Gary Shankman

My landscapes are full of entanglements. Flowers, trees, and buildings embrace each other. In my work, patterns of light brings these connections to life. I paint these scenes directly from life and find myself immersed by what I see. My goal is to draw the viewer into landscape and they become entangled as well.

WILLIE MARLOWE is visual artist who was born in North Carolina but has been a long-time resident of New York. She has an active exhibition schedule internationally and nationally. Marlowe is Professor Emerita at the Sage Colleges, where she was Chair of the Art Department. 

ALTIN STOJA was born and raised in the coastal town of Pogradec, Albania. He spent 12 years studying in Greece after his education in Albania. After immigrating to the U.S., he has been working on murals and iconography for private commissions. Stoja’s personal work also shows an interest in landscapes and portraiture. He has a studio in Upstate New York.

ANNE HOHENSTEIN is an artist who paints and creates sculptural assemblages. She’s also a published poet, a nurturer of living things, including animals, a woman of commerce, and a lawyer. Hohenstein obtained degrees from Brown University and UC Berkeley School of Law. She lives in Troy, NY.

JOYCE CHAN is an artist, who was born in Schenectady, NY, and arts administrator, currently at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York City. She has a strong record of solo and group shows, arts education, and curatorial experiences. She received a BFA from Manhattanville College and an MFA from CUNY Queens.

GARY SHANKMAN is a landscape and still life painter who has exhibited widely in the United States and Europe, and has an award-winning record. Most summers he teaches at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. He has held the rank of full professor in painting at the Sage Colleges, New York, where he has taught since 1986.  Shankman earned an MFA at American University. He maintains a studio in Albany, NY.