Every January for the past four years, Matteawan Gallery owner Karlyn Benson has turned her gallery space over to an artist for a guest Winter Residency Program. According to Karlyn, "The goal of the Winter Residency is to give artists the space to create a new body of work or to continue working on an ongoing project in a new environment. The Residency focuses on work that has a social, performative, or participatory component."

To kick off 2017, Beacon-based Zachary Skinner presents his Geo-Co-Lab, a collaborative installation that explores whether art can spark effective social and ecological change. And he's not alone. As with past Residency projects at Matteawan Gallery, the public is invited to come in off the street, to collaborate and participate in making the art.

Handmade chalkboards hang on the gallery walls, where people are invited to come in and write on them about a theme that explores the concept of whether art can spark effective social and ecological change. The result, as Skinner sees it, is a constantly multiplying collection of thoughts in a collective mind.

In addition to an artist talk at the end of the Residency, two free art workshops covering Acrylic Transfer and Handmade Egg Tempura Painting were built into the project. The trade for students was to give their finished work to Skinner, to be included in his exhibit.  

Skinner works in the gallery most days of the week, with regular hours on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5 pm. There will be a closing reception on Sunday, January 22, with a talk by the artist at 3 pm. Past artist residencies in this program include Jean-Marc Superville Sovak’s I Draw & You Talk in 2016, Mollie McKinley’s Cabin Fever in 2015, and Angelika Rhinnhofer’s a priori in 2014.

About Matteawan Gallery

Matteawan Gallery opened in March 2013 at 464 Main Street in Beacon, NY, and moved to a larger space at 436 Main Street in September 2015. The gallery specializes in contemporary art by mid-career and emerging artists, often with a focus on process and materials.

Gallery Director Karlyn Benson has over 20 years of experience working in museums and galleries. For six years she worked in the Registrar Department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Previously, she was the gallery manager at Candace Perich Gallery, a contemporary photography gallery in Katonah, NY. Karlyn received an MA in Art History from the University of Texas, Austin and a BA in Art History from SUNY Purchase. She recently curated the exhibition Chemistry at Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY.