At this critical time in history, the inaugural Kingston Annual Art Exhibition is a unique opportunity to feature the work of 26 exceptional Hudson Valley artists. As the curator for this exhibition, I believe from the core of my being that in times of great turmoil art plays a hugely important role in revealing the pathways through which transformation occurs.

As a practicing artist for forty years I have exhibited my work locally and internationally through the Norah Haime Gallery in NYC and Cartegena, Colombia, Europe and Asia. I was born in Canada and have lived in Kingston NY since 1985. It is no accident that the Hudson River School of painters chose to live in the area. Kingston is a magical place with unique light and contrast. I see color and form everywhere and in everything—from blue sky, green grass, red brick, yellow sun, the black universe, to a pink moon. There have been entire years when I have delved into working with just a single color in order to really focus on the complexities and abstraction of that color. Even the name of a color conjures up feelings, tastes, memories, and dreams. There is a formality to my art—No matter how chaotic my process is, I eventually arrive at the stillness, the power and abstraction I’m looking for.

We are living through an extraordinary time—Life and Death, Right and Wrong. There is a reckoning in the world. Look to art, look to artists; they will show the way. To truly understand human history we need only look and listen to the art, music, poetry, and stories of that era. We are here now. The year is 2020: Black words painted on a gray concrete road, simple, powerful, eternal.

I am honored to share the art and vision of the 26 Hudson Valley artists participating in the Kingston Annual.

Julie Hedrick