Liron Sissman and Susan Cottle in JOURNEYSCAPES - Landscapes in oil Representing Life's Physical and Metaphorical Journeys, November 29, 2007 through January 6, 2008

Liron Sissman's landscapes in oil are not merely intended to reflect nature but rather to project an inner reflection, a metaphorical journey. She strives for subtlety in the expression of the intense. "In life we catch glimpses of our ideal. At times it is right behind the corner, so visible it is believable, almost reachable. Our proximity translates into a sweet promise." Sissman's landscapes are dominated by a body of water seen through trees. She uses water is a symbol of life, serenity, and that promise; the artist's trees may either represent a barrier or they may yield to define a path. Most often they partially obscure, connoting a hurdle as they provide a glimpse.
Featured in more than 40 shows in New York City and throughout the Northeast, Liron Sissman's oil paintings have won multiple awards, been written about extensively, and are widely collected by corporate and individual collectors in the US and abroad. Sissman's work was recently the subject of a 40 minute TV interview.

In recent oil paintings Susan Cottle seeks to evoke interiors in the landscape - enclosed spaces that resemble home and offer the shelter and security of the hideouts children build with sticks and bed sheets. These paintings are escapes to alpine meadows, ancient worlds, and New York hideaways. Most are painted on location, in archaeological sites in Central and Southern Italy, Northern Italian Alps, Coney Island and Central Park. Most panels were painted on a small scale for portability in difficult terrain and to stay true to rapidly changing light. The small scale reinforces the intimacy of the secret clearing.
Susan Cottle received her B.F.A. from Montserrat College of Art, and her M.F.A. cum laude from The NYAcademy of Art Graduate School of Figurative Art. Currently Adj. Asst. Professor of Art at St. John's University, she has taught painting and figure drawing at The New School and The NY Academy of Art. Cottle has guest lectured and taught at various institutions in Italy, including St.John's University in Rome. Her work has been exhibited in New York City, on the East Coast and abroad.