Art in the Loft's summer show to end

MILLBROOK — The summer show of regional artists in the Millbrook Winery’s converted hayloft gallery will close on Sunday, Sept. 5. Exhibited between salvaged dairy barn windows is a juried art show featuring the works of four artists. The annual exhibition and sale is sponsored by the Millbrook Winery and the Dutchess County Arts Council and is open every day in conjunction with the winery’s tasting room hours.

The second-floor gallery is well lit and provides ample space for each artist to display multiple works. The intensely colored acrylic paintings of flowers, trees and houses by Scott Taylor, a self-taught Berkshire artist inspired by the hues and brush strokes of Van Gogh, Hopper, Thiebaud and Diebenkorn, complement the rustic ambience of the exposed barn siding.

Taylor’s work contrasts dramatically with the precise photographs printed on canvas by Robert Rodriquez Jr., on the other side of the gallery space. Rodriquez’s photos of a foggy Bear Mountain Bridge, a rocky Maine coast or the Hudson River, express his personal vision and show his passion for conservation and nature. Rodriquez’s images have appeared in numerous publications and many nonprofit groups concerned with preservation rely on his images, including the Audubon Society, Mohonk Preserve and Scenic Hudson.

The works of two female artists face each other at the front of the show, one an expressive painter and the other an evocative photographer. Stacie Flint’s whimsical oil paintings of everyday life with microwaves, cats and telephones are filled with humorous energy. Flint, who studied art at SUNY New Paltz and Empire State, lives and works in the Hudson Valley, where her work is widely exhibited and collected.

Early training as a painter and a love of vintage photography influenced Rebecca Tocci’s mysterious, poetic photos of flowers, reflections in the night and even a Ferris wheel. Tocci works as a portrait and events photographer in the Hudson Valley and has had shows from Oregon to Long Island.

Each of the artists entered one of their works in the second annual Millbrook wine label contest. Visitors to the gallery can vote on their favorite and the winner will be announced at an event after the fall art show goes up.