PCCA kicks off 2023 exhibition season with ‘Fresh Pasture’

ROCHESTER — A new exhibit recently opened at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts, moo-ving audiences with its unique and lovable subject matter.

Through March 4, “Fresh Pasture” — a show featuring more than 30 pieces of work in a variety of artistic mediums all focused on dairy cattle and dairy farms — is on display at the PCCA, 407 Pine St. in Rochester.

Select pieces in the exhibition have joined the herd at PCCA following a successful run in “The Cow Show” at Black Box Gallery in Dearborn.

“The Cow Show” was conceptualized by local artists Carlo Vitale and Gary Mayer, inspired by Vitale’s experiences working in dairy farms throughout his youth.

“Starting from real little, I was going up for a couple of weeks at my great aunt’s farm,” Carlo Vitale said. “My relatives had farms from Imlay City all the way to Sandusky, Michigan … and I said, ‘My relatives have cows. I should be painting cows.’ So it was on the agenda.”

Vitale decided to paint a cow as a tribute, which he said a fellow artist friend of his, Mayer, found hilarious, as Vitale’s style is primarily abstract.

Mayer found inspiration to paint his own cow, which in turn inspired others to create their own cow art for the exhibition.

“I had never made one before, and I said, ‘We should have a show where we have all these artists paint paintings of cows,’” Mayer explained.

“Of course, Gary wanted to paint one after Carlo did, and then we kept asking other people and it became huge. It’s exciting,” added Shelley Malec Vitale, Carlo’s wife, who is a faculty member at the PCCA teaching multiple mediums, including watercolor and acrylic painting.

Malec Vitale said the exhibition is a bit unusual because she said artists typically don’t do themed shows.

“They have their own story they want to tell,” she said. “But if people want to buy art to collect, or to have the best art in Michigan, I would have to say this is a great way to actually add to your collection, because a lot of these people have been doing this for their profession for years and are really well known in the area.”

The show also boasts work from Nancy Mitchnick and other local artists, including Daniel Rosbury, Kris Shaedig, Deborah Sukenic, Ray Katz and more.

“There are a bunch of approaches to cows — which I think are kinda loveable animals — some of them humorous, some of them more serious, some of them abstract,” Mayer said. “It’s kind of entertaining and a little bit fun.”

The exhibition is free and open to the public for viewing during PCCA’s regular business hours through March 4. Most pieces on display are available for purchase throughout the show’s run.

For more information, including a full list of exhibiting artists, visit www.pccart.org or call (248) 651-4119.