The Donald Gallery
The well-traveled space between South Church’s sanctuary and Fellowship Hall serves as popular Rivertowns gallery representing local artists. The Donald Gallery is named for its founders, longtime South Church members and artists Robert and Elizabeth Donald. Their first exhibition, in 1982, was of missing children. Since then, local painters, photographers, sculptors, and even a fiber artist have shared their unique views of life, the world, and self.
The Donald Gallery is curated by Nick Herring and Kris Kliemann. It displays approximately six shows each year.
To learn more about the Gallery, or to inquire about a show, please contact the South office at: office@southpres.org. Media inquiries are handled by Katy Gravenor.
Gallery hours are Tuesday 12–6:30pm | Wednesday 2–4pm | Thursday 12–4pm | Sunday 9am–1pm. All other times by appointment only. Contact the South Church office
2024-2025 Season
Between River and Sky | Martin Munroe | Oct 27 - Dec 8
Opening Reception Sunday, October 27, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm.
Sleepy Hollow resident Martin Munroe finds painting to be a spiritual expression as much as, if not more than, a professional creative outlet—and as a self-taught artist, nothing is considered off-limits.
“I don’t always know where the ideas come from,” he said of his work. “I’m more of a passenger than in the driver’s seat. I listen to the world around me, to all of the ideas and possibilities of what could exist, and try to be a channel for them.”
There is a liminality to Munroe’s acrylic works that immediately captures the imagination. Bold applications of light, color, and shadow leap off of the canvas in both natural and geometric subjects. Familiar Hudson River views peek through the darkness of night, illuminated only by the moon and stars, or split down the middle between night and day. Each piece is uniquely accentuated by upcycled and thrifted frame.
Pivotal Moments in Caring for the Earth | Jennifer Madelin Burns and Patrick Burns IV | Sept 8 - Oct 20
Opening Reception Sunday, September 8, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm.
Jennifer Madelin Burns was first inspired to care for the Earth and its waterways while on the Clearwater Sloop for a third-grade field trip. Her work with primed canvas reflects this early spark of passion—vivid oil paintings evoke a sense of natural beauty, childlike wonder and personal accountability.
The Burns family legacy continues with her son Patrick Burns IV. His process involves shooting RAW images, editing and combining photographs to create surrealistic abstractions that include the use of light, natural landscape, architectural structures, repetition and intertwining contrasting patterns.
2023-2024 Season
Small Moments in Life | Ethel Zai | May 12 - June 23
Opening Reception Sunday, May 12, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm.
Rivertowns artist Ethel Zai was born of two worlds colliding in one the world’s most iconic melting pots. Her parents met in Chinatown—him an immigrant from Zhoushan, China, and her a recent arrival from San Antonio, Texas, seeking better medical care for one of her two young sons.
But it’s not just Ethel’s unique heritage that comes to life on her canvas. For Ethel Zai, art is a way to share the small moments that she holds as cherished memories, and an invitation for viewers to remember and treasure their own special moments in space and time.
She began painting only recently in life, but picked up the practice with such ardent fervor that her home now doubles as a live-in painter’s studio.
No Place Like Home Towns | Anne Marie Leone | Mar. 24 – May 5
Opening Reception Sunday, March 24, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Photojournalist and videographer Anne Marie Leone shares her love of the beautiful Hudson River and its communities with No Place Like Home Towns. Her iconic Hudson River photographs and thematically inspired prints have been published in The Rivertowns Enterprise, exhibited at several regional libraries, and hang permanently at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Kisco, New York.
Leone has been director of photography for Women’s News, staff photographer for The Rivertowns Enterprise, and contributing writer/photographer for The Scarsdale Inquirer, Westchester Magazine and Hudson Valley Magazine.
Visit Anne Marie Leone on Facebook to see more of her work.
Back Home | Richard Eagan | February 4 - March 17
Opening reception Sunday, February 4, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm.
His architectural portraits of Coney Island have been shown at the Brooklyn Museum, the WAH Center, La MaMa Galleria and more. Now, see Richard Eagan’s iconic work alongside exciting new pieces from his Croton-on-Hudson studio.
As a Brooklyn native and artist, Richard never expected to fall in love with Westchester. His experience as a community activist and founding member of the Coney Island Hysterical Society—a major influence in the turnaround of Coney Island’s historic amusement beach—defined much of 40 years of experience working in mixed-media constructed painting.
After moving to Croton in 2022, Richard established a new studio and embarked on a series of shadow box works that take an abstract approach to his nostalgic subjects.
Hummelland, or Smalls Acts of Resistance | Rachel Sydlowski | December 17 - January 28
Behind the cheerful uncanniness of these nostalgic collectibles hides a complex history of faith, rebellion, and hope.
Hummelland, or Smalls Acts of Resistance, places Hummel figurines in fantastical places Hummel figurines in fantastical compositions free from their normalized cultural context such as the curio-cabinet, mantlepiece, or as objects of kitsch.
Interested in the mindset of the collector and the historical enthusiasms surrounding porcelain, artist Rachel Sydlowski investigated the origins of Hummel figurines to create this dynamic display. The experiential synthesis of viewing Hummel collections in private homes and the novel Utz by the British writer Bruce Chatwin guided this collection of digital collages that recontextualize porcelain figurines in quixotic dreamscapes with saturated colors, sacred geometry, lush gardens, and forests.
The Creative Hearts Staff Showcase | October 29 - December 10
Meet the artists behind the much-loved children’s art education program located at South Church. The Creative Hearts Staff Showcase runs October 29 through December 10. The opening event is Sunday, October 29, 11:30 – 1:00 pm.
Creative Hearts empowers children through artistic expression.This philosophy is brought to life by a team of passionate teachers, each with their own breadth and diversity of artistic experience that they leverage to nurture their students’ personal voices.
Peer behind the curtain and see what these creative minds have been working on outside of the classroom—from abstract painting and bronze sculptures to the art of hand poke tattooing!
The artists on display:
Emily Gosweiler has been the visionary leader of Creative Hearts for 16 years as part of a lifelong dedication to visual arts and child education. Emily grew up in a family of artists and has a degree in sculpture from SUNY Purchase, where she worked as a teacher’s assistant in bronze casting for a decade. She has served in multiple community art programs, such as Young at Art and the Children’s Center at Suny Purchase, and has directed the RiverArts summer camp for the last 5 years. Her passions come vibrantly to life through Creative Hearts’ art education programming.
Chelsea Michaelis grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson and graduated with a Studio Art degree from Bard College in 2013. Chelsea is an active member of the Rivertown arts community in both music and visual arts, including her own show hosted at the Donald Gallery in 2022.
Isabel Oliveras joined the team in 2021, falling in love with both the kids and the Creative Hearts philosophy. Her art studies span across photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, and custom hand-poke tattoos—any medium where she can freely express her colorful spirit.
Bianca Troppmann is a graduate of the Maine College of Art, specializing in sculpture and vivid illustrative paintings. Her passion is to bridge the gaps through art, leveraging her experience in childcare to create connections and kindle a love for artistic expression.
Celebrated Cells and Personal Mycelium | Ruth Irving | September 10 - October 22
Yonkers resident Ruth Irving explores fungal relationships in a uniquely tangible way.
Visit “Celebrated Cells and Personal Mycelium” September 10 through October 22; the opening reception is Sunday, September 10, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm.
The self-taught artist takes advantage of fibers and mixed media to tell the story of mycelium from the fungi’s perspective. Glass beads become seed sacks; silk threads become a colorful, undulating surface; fiber is pulled, stuffed, and woven to create textures and surfaces until there is a shift into another realm.
For Ruth, her work is about so much more than revealing the unseen underground: it’s about the unseen inside. “In biology, cells are repeated and consistent in all life but inherently individual and alive. In my work, the inner and outer spaces become a metaphor…I create the intimacy I seek for myself.”
2022-2023 Season
Leaf, Petal, Line & Color | Anne Day | April 23 - June 18
Celebrate the colors and shapes of spring in “Leaf, Petal, Line & Color,” a solo show by Dobbs Ferry artist Anne Day. The show runs April 23 – June 18; the opening reception is Sunday, April 23 from 11:30 – 1:00 pm.
“Leaf, Petal, Line & Color” features 22 works in acrylic/collage/mixed media and pastel. Each explores Day’s love of plant forms and her passion for rich color.
“Making art for me is like writing a love letter to Nature, especially the Plant World,” said Day. “She has given me so many gifts, so much beauty and joy, I have to respond with gratitude to Her.”
Beyond being a visual artist, Day is an energy healing practitioner. These dual interests inform her work, leaving the viewer with a heightened sense of well-being.
Day is a former co-curator of The Donald Gallery and a long-time member of South Church, where The Donald Gallery resides. “It’s a pleasure to show Anne’s art,” said Curator Donna Thompson. “Anne’s talent for color and shape has transformed South Church’s spaces many times over for special events. Now her art is bringing beauty and light into The Donald Gallery.”
When she is not painting, Day helps clients find spiritual and emotional balance using energy work informed by studies at The Four Winds Society and the Great River Craniosacral Institute. She is a Board Member at Sacred Spirit Yoga and Healing Arts Center, in Dobbs Ferry, has a BFA in Textile & Ceramic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University and has worked in Product Development/Technical Design at Eileen Fisher.3
Microcosm | Naomi Gilbert | March 5 - April 16
Works on paper inspired by nature and the energies that run throughout the cosmos.
Naomi Gilbert’s work is inspired by the natural world, focusing on the patterns and particles that run throughout the cosmos rather than the distinct forms that make up the material world.
The Irvington resident is a classically trained artist with a BFA in painting from Boston University and an MA in art and art education from Teachers College. After teaching high school art for 28 years, she retired in 2021 to have more time in the studio.
“My foundation in observational drawing informs my art, as do my years of experience teaching refreshingly creative young people,” said Gilbert. “For the past several years, I’ve been interested in drawing imagined realities of the natural world, based on glimpses afforded me through science and technology. I am fascinated by the fundamental oneness of the universe. Nature repeats itself: images of microscopic life resemble galaxies which resemble deep sea environments. Atoms flow through everything. It is these energies, and a sense of connectivity, that inspire me to create.”
Days Like This | Raine Gifford | January 15 - February 26
First solo show for Hastings-on-Hudson artist Raine Gifford—an offering of hopeful reminders that spring will return!
The watercolor and acrylic pieces explore an evolving theme related to found moments in time and space. “These moments represent aspects of strength, solace, reverie, and reprieve,” said Gifford. “They express something of the balance between internal and external space; inside the self, and outside among the natural world, especially the garden. Some of the work is inspired directly by observed still life or prompts; some by memory as well as by surprises of medium and process.”
“Raine’s work is such a delight to the senses on many levels,” said The Donald Gallery Curator Donna Thompson. “Her subtle use of color and mastery of watercolors, her connection to plants and the sacredness of nature is a gift, especially during the long, bleak winter months.”
Kaleidoscopia | Alison Cimmet | December 11 - January 9
Hastings-on-Hudson actress and artist Alison Cimmet’s main focus is mixed-media painted collage, with vibrant colors and curious textures that invite the viewer to always look closer, deeper. She uses a collection of curated papers, vintage ephemera (including old sheet music and literature) and also prints a lot of her own papers using a gelli/acrylic printing process. Final touches are done with acrylics, markers and gold leaf.
The themes that run through much of her work are resilience, renascence, and joy.
Cimmet has performed in numerous television shows, feature films and seven Broadway productions. During the pandemic, when her industry was devastated, she tended to her soul by leaning into another love – visual art.
Cimmet is a proud member of the Collective Art Studio collaborative work space in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Portfolio: www.Fancille.com
She is constantly experimenting with new mediums, styles, and subject matters and hopes that her varied and eclectic collection will make it a fun journey for viewers.
“My art explores what is both brutal and beautiful about being human,” said Cimmet. “Lately my heart has had to hold both joy and grief all at the same time, and that dichotomy has come through my art making. I try to celebrate my wholeness – the light and dark parts of myself – and explore what it means to be alive.” www.AlisonCimmet.com
For Those Who Love the Sea | Charles Green | October 30 - November 27
Opening Reception Sunday October 30, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm.
Charles Green, a self-taught artist and native of Ardsley, exclusively paints seascapes. His work is largely inspired by fellow seascape artists Fred Waugh and Earl Daniels.
“For me the sea is the most beautiful of subjects to paint,” said Green. “Its eternal restlessness, its many moods, the contrast between surf and shoreline where they meet, all combine for a fascinating subject to capture on canvas with endless possibilities. I like to say that ‘I have romanced the sea for so many years, that I know her face by heart.’”
Green has a unique approach to his craft: “I have been a powerlifter since the 1980’s and have my training room and art studio together in the same room. I would often sit painting and then go and do a weight set and then return to the easel and paint, keeping this pace up for a couple of hours, which earned me the moniker ‘the painting powerlifter’ from fellow lifters.”
“We are delighted to welcome Charles Green back to the Donald Gallery for the full experience of showing with us,” said Curator Donna Thompson. “Charles generously agreed to show with us in the fall of 2020 when the South Presbyterian Church campus was largely closed to the public, though his work cheered all those using the building and provided a much needed-sense of normalcy and hope. His sumptuous seascapes deserve to be seen by a much larger audience this time.
If You Are Quiet: An Artistic Journey for Joy, Discover and Nature | Kathleen McCarthy Udoff | September 11 - October 23
Tarrytown resident Kathleen McCarthy Udoff exhibits her work at The Donald Gallery from September 11 through October 23, 2022. Her solo show is entitled If You Are Quiet: An Artistic Journey for Joy, Discovery, and Nature. Her photographs and collages delve into the simple beauty that surrounds us in the natural world.
“I’m a visual artist and educator,” said Udoff. “Painting and photography have provided me an inner peace and allowed me to quiet myself and communicate in a new way in a digital age. My art is driven with a powerful force of curiosity filled with a synergy of freedom.” More on her website.
The Light Is Everything | Kristin Kelly Javier | May 8 - June 19
Opening Reception Sunday, May 15, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
A Mosaic Exhibition by Dobbs Ferry artist Kristin Kelly Javier who creates dimensional visions in glass, stone, precious materials and found treasures.
Javier’s work as a mosaic artist follows a career as a teacher and translator of Spanish and Italian.
“My training began several years ago in Ravenna, Italy with Roman and Byzantine techniques and traditional cutting using hammer and hardie/anvil. I am since discovering my own voice through additional study, exploration, and workshops with fellow Artists. I cut all materials by hand and work in Direct Method, placing tesserae with fingers or tweezers into pigmented cement without grout. My art attempts to express Visceral Emotion, Feminine Experience, and Memory of Place. I have been experimenting with constructing my own three-dimensional substrates as a way of breaking through the two dimensions historically associated with Mosaic into the Sculptural. Positive and Negative Space play together in an organic way and provide this heavy medium with a bit of lightness and breathing room. Color theory reinforces the intuitive energy I have sensed since childhood in the presence of certain hues and values and above all, the dancing of light as it refracts, reflects, or is absorbed by the Mosaic materials. Line and “Andamento”, or the paths along which the human eye travels while viewing a mosaic, provide a fascinating and expressive language.”
“Both American and European Modernists influence my work, (Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, The Blue Group), but the most profound catalyst was my recent eighteen-month journey through a rare neurological illness. In the ancient art of Mosaic, I discover metaphor, meditation, and a means of creating something beautiful from all the broken shards. I am grateful for every step of the journey.”
Instagram: @javierkristint
PAST SHOWS
Dream Layer | Chelsea Michaelis | April 3 - May 4
Hastings musician and artist Chelsea Michaelis’s solo show Dream Layer featuring floral, tropical, abstracted dreamscapes.
Flourishes | Katie Rubright | February 20 - March 27
Hastings-on-Hudson artist Katie Rubright’s solo show is entitled Flourishes. Her paintings and drawings investigate the notion of freedom in anxious times, with a distinct preference for the outdoors.
The show features nine drawings excerpted from “The Inferno We Deserve,” Rubright’s reimagining of Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy,” with nods to similar works by both Robert Rauschenberg and Salvador Dali.
Her painterly energies focus on the liminal spaces created when tired dichotomies are discarded. She draws on her experience living as a nearly six-foot tall queer woman to probe an individual’s shifting relationship to their own body in space and in community.
Paintings and Pastels: Reflections from the Inside Out | Linda Friedlander | Nov 7 - jan 6
“I love painting still life and outdoor settings from life, using vibrant colors and complex imagery. I choose my subjects primarily for their color and pattern, as well as their reflective and transparent qualities. I hope my art conveys a vision of optimism and brightness.”
Friedlander began painting at age 5 alongside her father who was a creative inspiration throughout her life. Her love of color and design led her to study painting and art history at SUNY Albany and NYU. There, she had the opportunity to study with realist painters Mark Greenwald and Idelle Weber, who sparked her passion for realism. After graduation, she worked at OK Harris and Knoedler Gallery in NYC, where she saw Photorealist and Abstract Expressionist work by master artists on a daily basis.
Friedlander took a hiatus from painting to focus on parenting three young children and resumed her work in 2007 upon their urging. Since then, she has exhibited at juried shows at the Rye Arts Center, Dobbs Ferry Women’s Club and the Bronxville Women’s Club, winning many Best in Show and First Place awards for her oil paintings. She has had solo shows at the Irvington Library and West Hampton Library and now the Donald Gallery.
Paint to Book: Watercolor Illustrations from "Meowgellan" by Marie Bourdain | January 9 - February 12
Paint to Book: Watercolor original illustrations from the picture book “Meowgellan” by Bourdain, published by Austin Macauley in 2021.
Marie Bourdain is a French author and illustrator who has traveled a lot and now lives in Hastings-on-Hudson. Her watercolor paintings from “Meowgellan” reflect a peaceful multicultural curiosity–from the Scandinavian tradition to Asian culture, from South American dance to Indian street art, from American BBQ to European paintings.
Bourdain studied painting and illustration at Pratt Institute in New York and has exhibited around the Rivertowns in recent years. “I love nature, I love colors, I adore traveling,” said Bourdain. “I like simple things that feel good and peaceful like the movement of the wind or the stillness of a summer day. This is what I paint, with a touch of naïveté as I am often told.”
When not painting and telling stories, Bourdain teaches French in an international school.
Group Show to Benefit the Donald Gallery | Sept 26 - Oct 31
A benefit to raise funds for needed repairs and upgrades to the beloved Donald Gallery.
Featuring artists Marie Bourdain, Gina Bratter, Linda Friedlander, Nora Galland, Charles Green, Nicole Jones, Kathleen McCarthy, Carol Sommerfield, Donna Thompson and Adnan Yunus.
How do you measure the value of a non-profit gallery that has served the community and artists for 35 years? We think you can, for life in the Rivertowns without the Donald Gallery would be less bright, intriguing, and interesting.
For 35 years this little gallery has tireless delivered on its mission to showcase emerging and established Rivertowns artists. Many artists had their first solo exhibit at the gallery, later to move onto exhibits in grander and more prestigious venues. The Donald Gallery was, for many of us, a wonderful and affirming next step in our artistic careers and, for that reason, we are immensely grateful.
During its long history, the Donald Gallery never asked for much. It just kept going, tirelessly fulfilling its mission and bringing joy to the viewers and artists alike. Age has finally caught up with our beloved gallery and we know it needs some improvements to ensure it can continue to serve its mission.
It seems most fitting that it is artists and the gallery’s volunteer curators who are here to support our first fund raising effort. The ten artists in this exhibit have all made a monetary donation to the gallery, and the commission on sold work will go directly to the gallery’s repairs and improvements. Additionally, some artists are donating work, ensuring that the full sale price is directed to the gallery and its renovations.
We give our immense thanks to South Church, the exhibiting artists, and to you, the viewers, for being here for The Donald Gallery. We hope you enjoy the exhibit and, like us, find it exciting and inspiring.
If you would like to contribute to the fundraising event any amount is most appreciated and will make a difference. Make your check out to South Presbyterian Church with “Donald Gallery” in the memo line and mail to South Presbyterian Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522. We thank you!
