Peekskill Office Becomes Pop-up Art Gallery June 2-3

ELEGANT INSURANCE OFFICE ALSO IS A GALLERY OF ART + ARTIFACTS

The riverfront city of Peekskill opens its arms to art lovers the weekend of June 2-3. That’s when local artists open their workspaces for public viewing, in the annual celebration of creativity known as Open Studios.

Roshi Newman is a lifelong Peekskill artist who doesn’t have her own studio. What she does have is a son who happily serves as a de facto promoter of her work. Chuck Newman is a prominent insurance agent whose elegant offices in downtown Peekskill include permanent displays of his mother’s oil paintings. His space also showcases the metal sculptures of another veteran artist in the family, his wife Carol’s father Al Landzberg.

Impressed by the wall-to-wall artistry at The Charles J. Newman Co., the Peekskill Arts Council invited Chuck Newman to add his location at 906 South Street to the other destinations on the walkable, downtown circuit of Open Studios. The result is pop-up “Gallery 906 South,” otherwise known as the day-to-day headquarters of the insurance company owned and operated by Mr. Newman, now in his 26th year as a certified insurance agent.

A PIONEER OF THE PEEKSKILL ART SCENE

Roshi Newman is part of the history of Peekskill’s decades-long evolution as a Hudson Valley mecca for artists. In the mid-20th Century, along with a handful of others, she helped found the city’s first fine arts group. In the latter part of the century, touting its convenient location and affordable living space, Peekskill’s growing art community convinced New York City artists to relocate to the riverfront city in Westchester.

Mrs. Newman has been painting for a half-century. She specializes in landscapes and what she calls “mindscapes” of the Hudson Valley and of Puerto Rico, where she lives part of the year.

Among her works on view at Gallery 906 for Open Studios will be what she considers her favorite work, titled “Rivertown.” She also paints silk scarves and other art wearables, which will be on exhibit, and for sale, at Artisan Boutique, at 925 South Street. Visit Roshi Newman's website here.

ARTISTIC TRIBUTE TO THE MIGHTY HUDSON

In addition to four of his sculptures on permanent display at the Newman insurance offices, Al Landzberg is unveiling for Open Studios a new work, “Raceway,” that he says is the first in a series of three related pieces, forming “The Highlands Trilogy.”

Using aluminum, the sculptor has etched an image of the Hudson River where it narrows at the Highlands, with contours of surrounding mountains that include Breakneck Ridge, Storm King, and Anthony’s Nose.

He said the sculpture “sits in a large metal box and is backlit within the box, illuminating the contour lines of the Hudson River. Many people will view it as they see a painting.” Mr. Landzberg has permanent sculpture installations at Charles Point in Peekskill and at Jack DeVito Veterans Memorial Field in Yorktown Heights. Visit Al Landzberg's website here.

A MULTITUDE OF MEMORABILIA AMONG THE OFFICE FURNITURE

Chuck Newman is an avid collector and exhibitor of early- and mid-20th Century artifacts of workplace culture (“objets d’office”), and of vintage photographs of Peekskill history. Visitors to his insurance company offices always are fascinated by the multitude of his memorabilia, and their pristine condition.

Galleries participating in Open Studios can be viewed from 12 noon-5 p.m. Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June. 3. For more information on Open Studios, visit Peekskill Arts Alliance website here.

Photo A

The landscape paintings of lifelong Peekskill artist Roshi Newman, including the triptych (behind her), are on exhibit at the insurance offices of her son Chuck Newman. Photo by Bruce Apar

Photo B
Veteran local sculptor Al Landzberg’s “Raceway” -- depicting the Hudson River and surrounding mountains in the Highlands -- will be on exhibit for the first time, at 906 South Street in Peekskill, during Peekskill’s Open Studios celebration of artists June 2-3. Photo courtesy Al Landzberg

Photo C

Chuck Newman shows a vintage check machine, one of the numerous artifacts on display in his office at 906 South Street. Photo by Bruce Apar

Photo D

Among the multitude of memorabilia in Chuck Newman's insurance office in downtown Peekskill is a sign from the original Paramount Theater, where he is a longtime patron and past board member. The theater lobby was the site of his grandfather's first business location. Photo by Bruce Apar

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