New exhibit “Relatively Speaking” opens at Tupper Arts Center

By Rich Rosentreter

A new exhibit titled “Relatively Speaking, the Burnett/Ketcham Family Art Show,” opened Wednesday at the Tupper Arts Center on Park Street and the four-person art exhibit and sale will run through September 7. The show is free and the gallery is open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

The exhibit contains the artwork of four artists - Matt Burnett, Amy Coddington-Burnett, Melissa Grant and Randy Ketcham - who are all related and “share a love of the Adirondacks and the art it inspires.” In addition to the regular art show, on Thursday, there will be a Meet the Artists reception during the center’s hours of operation and the artists will be on-hand to answer questions and discuss their creations. Masks and social distancing is required at the arts center.

The artists

The Burnetts and Ketchams are members of a creative family as “music, theatre, crafts and the arts were always encouraged, and a do-it-yourself ethic was passed down from our parents and grandparents,” it reads in the artists' biographies page. “From knitting, basket-making, and community theatre to playing organ for the Methodist church, we were always encouraged to work with our hands.”

The following are artist profiles as found on the Tupper Arts Center website:

Matt Burnett is long known for his oil paintings of the Adirondack Wilderness. Fueled by inspiration from his childhood at Whitney Park and his years as an Assistant Forest Ranger in the Western High Peaks, his works recall solitary wilderness experiences in woods, mountains and water from the Adirondacks and other wild places including Maine, Nova Scotia, and the Alps.

Melissa Grant (Burnett) is Matt’s sister and started painting much more recently, around 2010. In her oil compositions, she employs a finely blended photoreal style. She is particularly drawn to sunsets and waterscapes, although she also doesn’t shy away from portraits of animals or people.

Randy V. Ketcham, (a.k.a. uncle weirdo) learned woodcraft and do-it-yourself craft from his parents, Betty and Sam Ketcham. He later attended the Lake Placid Institute of Art (now Lake Placid Center for the Arts) studying painting, photography,  printmaking and writing . The progressive atmosphere there, combined with mis-pent late teen and early adult years would lead to a slightly warped view of the world. A shameless dumpster-diver, he enjoys creating “fringe art” from found discarded objects that speak to him. He currently sells rustic twig and birch frames, mirrors signs, and other Adirondacky stuff at craft fairs in Keene Valley, Westport, Blue Mountain Lake and other places at his booth Lucky Dog Twig Worx.

Amy Coddington-Burnett (Matt’s spouse) also grew up in a creative family, her parents both involved with community theatre, music, and community organizations like the Eastern Star. She first came to the Lake Pleasant area as a child on vacation, then more frequently when her parents moved to Long Lake in the 1980s. Amy studied graphic design at Virginia Tech and worked for many years at the Smithsonian in Washington DC before moving to Saranac Lake with Matt in 2002. Amy’s visual work incorporates collage, drawing, painting, sowing, grommeting and many other processes, mixing styles and motifs with cheek and humor.