New exhibition for Culbertson’s ‘Endangered’ drawings

Shelter Island artist Janet Culbertson has been raising awareness about endangered animals and their shrinking habitat for more than 40 years.  Ms. Culbertson creates drawings and paintings that revolve around the devastating effects of widespread pollution and human encroachment on the environment. 

“Endangered,” an exhibit of her large-scale drawings will run from March 6 through April 8 at Suffolk County Community College’s Lyceum Gallery on the Eastern Campus in Riverhead. A reception will be held on Thursday, March 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. and is open to the general public. Light refreshments will be served.

“Endangered” displays Ms. Culbertson’s ink and charcoal drawings of endangered animals such as the gray wolf, the Galapagos tortoise, and the African elephant.

In a release provided by the gallery, Ms. Culbertson shared the details of her encounter with a Galapagos tortoise which became a seminal moment in her artistic development.

“While visiting the Galapagos Islands, a giant tortoise came lumbering through our camp, uprooting my tent stakes. She stole my heart and took center stage in many of my works,” Ms. Culbertson said. “The tortoise inspired me to do a series of mural-size drawings of animals in which I honor them as creatures of dignity with the right to exist beyond serving humans.”

This ‘larger-than-life’ experience is reflected in the monumental scale of Ms. Culbertson’s majestic drawings, many up to 8 feet high.

Ms. Culbertson has exhibited her work in museums and galleries throughout the U.S. and internationally. Her work is in the collections of The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., The Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University in Cambridge, The Telfair Museum in Savannah, and The National Museo de Los Ninos in San Jose, Costa Rica. Ms. Culbertson has had many solo exhibits including Future Tense at the Islip Museum and Paradise Gone? at the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, New York. She is the recipient of a 2008 Pollock Krasner Grant and two 2003 New York State Council of the Arts Grants.

For more information on her work, visit janetculbertson.net.

Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Sundays and holidays (Spring Break hours: from March 13 to 17 the gallery will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed on March 18). For more information, call (631) 548-2536.