New exhibit: ‘Love in the Time of Covid’

In 2020, our means of connection entered a strange and uncharted territory. We were forced to find new ways to experience intimacy in our lives.

Artists explore these themes in “Love in the Time of Covid-19,” a group exhibit, and “Threadbare,” textiles and prints by Sariah Park, opening at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg, N.Y., on Saturday, Feb. 13.

How does love exist?

“Love in the Time of Covid-19” explores the question: how does love exist during a pandemic? Included are more than two dozen artists working in photography, painting, video, and poetry. New works created in 2020 and works that predate the pandemic but that took on new meaning during this time are included.

‘Unmake’ waste

Can printmaking and weaving be used as tools to “unmake” waste? This is the central question in Sariah Park’s most recent body of work, “Threadbare.”

“The concept of waste is manmade,” says Park. “Even the most damaged materials can be repurposed or reused to bring about something new.”

For this series, Park upcycled and repurposed dead stock and damaged printed textiles, and by printing with waste to create large-scale works on paper.

Raised in a family of artists and makers, Park learned drawing, painting, and weaving at an early age. Her appreciation of art led her to study textiles and fashion and Parsons School of Design in New York and Parsons Paris. While in Paris, Park apprenticed for Mahlia Kent, the weaving company famous for crating Chanel’s wovens. Park’s bachelor of fine arts thesis collection was bought by Barneys New York directly out of school.

Park’s work has been featured and sold around the world with retailers like Neiman Marcus, Louis Boston, Creatures of Comfort, and has been featured in Hyperallergic, the Wall Street Journal, Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar. She is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Fellowship in 2019.

Today, Park is based in New York’s Hudson Valley, and her current research is focused on the development of sustainable printing methods for textiles and fine art practices. She teaches art and design at Parsons.

Register for a time slot

The Delaware Valley Arts Alliance is located at 37 Main St., Narrowsburg, N.Y., on Saturday, Feb. 13.

The shows will be on view through March 27 and are free and open to the public. For the first two weeks of the show, register at delawarevalleyartsalliance.org for a time slot prior to visiting DVAA.

Time slots of 20 minutes will be available and capacity limited to 15 guests per period. Walk-ins are welcome but will be required to register and will be admitted if capacity permits. Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and by appointment.

The activities of the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance are made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

For more information, call 845-252-7576.