Sperlak to Close Chatauqua Program

AVALON – Commonly recognized as the shore’s “most respected and collected painter/teacher,” Stan Sperlak will provide an illustrated presentation, “An Art Adventure in Shore Impressionism,” Aug. 6, in the assembly hall of the First United Methodist Church, 34th and Dune Drive, at 7 p.m.
The program will conclude the five-part, Chatauqua-influenced series of presentations for “The New Avalon Assembly of Seven Mile Isle” designed to support wholeness and personal growth.
Many know something of the emergence and importance of Impressionism in the world of art. Probably fewer know much about The Pennsylvania (Bucks County) Impressionists. But almost no one has thought much about the Jersey Shore Impressionism, that is until recently.
The publication of Roy Pedersen’s, “Jersey Shore Impressionists: The Fascination of Sun and Sea” and the exhibit being featured, through September, at Morven, in Princeton, have changed all that. With the June opening of the three-floor exhibition of Jersey Shore Impressionism and the major coverage in the arts section of the Sunday edition of The New York Times, both the art world and the general public have begun to take note of this important work. It all began as young American artists summered in then sparsely developed, shore villages along the Manasquan River, but also in Cape May, Woodbine and yes, Avalon during the last two decades of the 19th century.
When Rev. Wayne Conrad first approached Sperlak about the artist’s willingness to close out the New Summer Assembly, Chatauqua program, Conrad mentioned that the design committee for the program had discovered that a central element of the first, 1893 Avalon Assembly was the plein-air work and classes taught by the soon to become important artist, Robert Henri.
Sperlak’s immediate response was, “Wayne, there are only two books that I display and sell at my exhibit space at Cape Shore Gardens/Crow Creek Studio. The first is, the collection of my own paintings, “The View from My Easel; Paintings of South Jersey,” and the second is the reprint of Henri’s classic, “The Art Spirit.” Sperlak went on to explain that Henri’s work has been a major influence in his own development as an artist and that he has read and reread the book many times. Each of the books will be available for examination or purchase after the lecture.
Sperlak began his work as a landscape designer and still owns Cape Shore Gardens. As he matured, Sperlak felt that his inner spirit was leading him to capture and record more permanently the often fleeting beauty of the natural world along the shore.
Observers within art world have noted that Sperlak’s, “intensely pigmented work is the result of {his} handmade soft pastels on rough and smooth papers and boards that he prepares. Many of the passages are accomplished with a light blending by hand, while some of the heavier tones are built through layers of pastel that are blended by hand. Sperlak himself has indicates that, “pastels on permanent surfaces will hold their color for centuries and not fade, crack or yellow as other mediums often do.”
During the evening’s presentation, Sperlak will link his work to the long progression of impressionist painting along the Jersey Shore. Whether a longtime admirer of Sperlak’s work or simply someone wanting to experience his vibrant work for the first time, all are invited to the presentation, as well as the formal and informal discussions which go on into the night.