1999-2000 Retrospective - Painting, Page 2 |
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Vinnie Dark
is a native of New York City. He always kept a sketch book and pencil
at hand throughout his childhood and while serving in the U.S. Marine
Corps, yet it wasn't until after his discharge that he first attended
an art exhibition. Dark found himself fascinated by the work of the French
Surrealists, whose work he saw at the Museum of Modern Art. He was later
exposed to other artists and styles during art courses he attended while
a student at Ulster College.
Dark describes his painting as an intermingling of real life experiences with imagination, a combining of Romantic, Surrealist, and Dadaist influences. "When I get an impulse, I take a moment so I can see the thought through my mind's eye," he writes. "Examine the thought longer than a moment and it can become a work of art." Dark's work has been exhibited at many galleries and colleges in the New York and New Jersey areas. |
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William Borley is a participant in the San Francisco VA Medical Center's Day Treatment program. |
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John Coffiel: "People with a disability are sometimes looked at as frail or not fit to be used (like a square peg in a round hole). But my disability is what gives me the advantage. Who is to say who is disabled? If Steve Wonder wasn't blind, he wouldn't be able to create such great music. Blind -- what a gift!" John Coffiel began his career about twenty-three years ago while living in Okinawa, Japan as a member of the United States Marine Corps. Prior to serving in the Marine Corps, he had trained in painting, sculpting, and woodcarving at the New Muse School of Art. His training had earned him the duties of illustration and graphic arts. During his service, he received a commission for a family portrait from his company commander, a venture that launched his artistic career. Coffiel soon became well regarded for his work, was given high rank, and was awarded an honorable discharge in 1980. Coffiel has since worked as a freelance artist and is currently an outpatient at the Manhattan VA Medical Center. Though diagnosed as schizophrenic, his career as an artist does not suffer. He attributes his talent and success to the Lord, and signs all of his work "Done By God's Grace." In addition to Nexus Gallery, Coffiel has exhibited around the New York City area at the Cork Gallery in Lincoln Center, at the NY Veterans Administration Headquarters, and at the Times Square Building, as well as in Queens, NY, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin. |
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Theodore Flue has nurtured an interest in fine arts since he was a young boy. Born and raised in a military family, he joined the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18, where he served for five years. After moving around the country with various jobs in the electronics field, he married and settled in Mississippi. Flue now participates and teaches in the G.V. Montgomery VA Center's VA/VSA arts program. He works in oils, pastels, acrylics, and clay, but he favors acrylics. Acrylic paint, as he points out, is easy to apply and clean up. |
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