Art exhibit celebrates the tango

Highland — A new art exhibit captures the sensuality and excitement of tango music and dance. Twenty-eight visual artists were selected for the show, which opens with a reception from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 4, at the Pritzker Gallery in the Casa del Arte, located at 257 South Riverside Rd. in Highland. The reception will include tango music, from traditional to modern, performed by Astor Piazzola. Dance demonstrations will feature Ilene Marder from Woodstock Tango, Debora Perkins, and Jan LaSalle and their partners. Argentina-born artist and gallery director Elisa Pritzker said she got the inspiration for the exhibit after visiting her native land after 16 years of absence. “It is said that the arts, like music and dance, don’t know frontiers and in fact bridge communities all over the world,” she said. Pritzker and Iain Machell selected paintings, photography, and mixed media related from submissions from around the world. Machell is the co-cordinator of the Visual Arts Program at the State University of New York in Stone Ridge and president of the board of directors of the Ulster County Arts Council. For photographer Lauren Piperno, the attraction to tango started at a very young age. “When I was very young, mom and dad loved to dance,” she said. “They even took Arthur Murray dance lessons and would literally roll-up the living room rug for weekend dance parties.” Yolanda Tooley connected to the passion of the dance and music. “There is something about music that reaches deep down into me,” she said. “And there is no music like the tango. Envision Rudolf Valentino, Antonio Bandaras — sultry, sexy eyes half closed, trancelike, as they sway, swirl, dip, and ensnare their woman to the sensual rhythmic Latino beat. This primordial feeling, this arousing movement and sound compels me like no other.” The exhibit will continue at the gallery through March 31. Gallery hours are Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m., and by appointment by calling at 691-5506 or e-mailing PritzkerGallery@aol.com. RIGHT: “Saturday Night” by Hudson Valley artist Stacie Flint. Oil on canvas.