RIVERDALE, NY.- Elisa Contemporary Art presents Icebergs and Glaciers. The exhibit opened February 1, 2013. It will run through April 28, 2013. In the wake of 2012's extreme weather and new record lows set by the Arctic sea ice, the gallery pays tribute to these stunning natural formations. These earthly beauties are captured in three distinct creative styles – mixed media, oil on canvas, and photography.

Icebergs and Glaciers includes the Alaskan Journey series by mixed media pioneer, Rosalind Schneider. Rosalind uses imagery shot from a small plane, a boat and while hiking on the surface of glacier located in Prince William Sound and Wrangel St. Elias, Alaska. The series began in late 2010 and will debut several new works.

It also features a contemporary view of nature by internationally acclaimed artist, Elaine Galen. According to Elaine, "In a world of eroding values and environmental concerns, my effort is to affirm beauty’s morale order in nature. I am deeply moved by the presence of and the power of nature to penetrate deep into the soul — through painting I seek to preserve nature – the heavens, seas, skies, mountains, and our past”.

The gallery is also featuring the photography of John Conn, who spent 45 days in 2010 in Antarctica and Patagonia. travelling and hiking to capture the land and seascapes. He spent over 20 days journeying over 3,200 nautical miles in Antarctica before heading to Patagonia for the second part of his expedition. Throughout his journey, he referenced the stories of Antarctic explorers, Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott. Like them, he saw his surroundings to be dangerous, inhospitable and forbidding. According to John, "There's menace here and the feel of it stays with you…it towers over you. And when you've left the continent, it's still in your memory."

John Conn
John Conn got his start as a Marine Combat photographer, and later earned his BFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

As a freelance photographer, he has captured a range of subjects photojournalism, landscapes, architecture, underwater images and he has been published in The New York Times, American Photographer, Nikon World (just to name a few). His iconic New York City Subway series photography is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

Elaine Galen
Internationally-recognized as a painter, sculptor, and educator, Elaine Galen has created an intimate dialogue with nature, using the painting process to explore its mystical, surreal and the spiritual aspects. Though her early work began in the style of Abstract Expressionism, she quickly developed her own distinctive style and evocative visual language.

Elaine’s landscapes are both perfectly abstract and wildly expressionistic. Her landscapes capture the emotional intensity and ever-changing moods of nature where light and color are in constant transition. Paint in her hands is fluid and swift, streaks of brilliant color alternating with open passages. Her work has been acclaimed by art critics and curators as “hauntingly beautiful” and “powerful” …”bordering on the visionary and surreal” and a “mystical realization of place”.

Galen artwork is in the permanent collections of the Neuberger Museum of Art; the James A. Michener Museum, Tampa Museum of Art; Mississippi Museum of Art; Brooklyn Museum; University Museum of Arizona Museum of Art; Musee Rigaud, France; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Wellsley College, Yale University, Smith College; Concordia College and some of her largest works can be viewed locally at the Hudson Valley Hospital Gallery in Cortlandt Manor, NY where they were selected for their special “Art for Healing” program.

Her works are in numerous private collections. Corporate collections include AT&T, Pfizer, Metromedia, and Continental Grain.

Rosalind Schneider
Rosalind Schneider has been at the forefront of innovative landscapes since the 1970’s. She was the first artist to show "Film as Art" at the Hirshhorn museum at the Smithsonian in 1974. Her work has continued to evolve while always staying focused on nature, water and natural phenomena. According to Rosalind “I have been interested in the translation, abstraction and restructuring of natural phenomena since the beginning of my artistic voyage as a painter”.

Her recent body of work, Digital Fusion paintings, derive images from her video work and uses drawing, painting and the sculptural use of glass beads to create moving two-dimensional works.

Rosalind's work has been exhibited throughout the world including the Whitney Museum (NY), Museum of Modern Art (France) and Museum of Graz (Austria). In 2010, her video Parallax, became part of the Museum of Modern Art archives.