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Arts & Entertainment

Exhibit Brings Cinematic Art to Port Chester

Artist Kristen Schiele will debut her solo exhibit this Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at Nelson Macker Fine Art.

Unlike her peers, artist Kristen Schiele won't draw creative inspiration from that grassy knoll in the corner of her backyard.

She will instead focus on man-made creations closer to home—like dartboards and swimming pools—as she disjoints them to create new identities.

The Brooklyn resident and national oil painting sensation will bring her expressionist collection, CinemaScope, out of the city and into Port Chester this Friday night at . And on her journey she'll bring viewers into a stage-like world of electric hues.

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Folks a bit wary of contemporary art may be wondering: How will I know what the artist is trying to say?

But this is not an abstract slew of squiggly lines, it's scene-setting.

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Pieces like "Pool House" use familair objects like white plastic chairs and low-hanging branches to frame the deep blues of an empty swimming pool, suggesting a place you wouldn't want to be alone after dark.

New York Magazine compared the 2008 piece to M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Lady in the Water. Like the movie, the piece is intended to inspire shivers.

“Schiele’s spooky playground, part painting, part collage, is reminiscent of [the film] in which a pasty woman called a 'narf' emerges from Paul Giamatti's pool on a mission to save the world (or something) — except better, thankfully, in every conceivable way,” joked a blogger.

Spectators looking closely may also find bits of nostalgia while combing the work, as if looking through a photo album.

But instead of those reminders of the past drifting back into a distant memory, their discombobulated elements are suddenly transformed.

This is the case with "Game Room," which depicts a house at nightfall. While the upstairs windows seem to reveal nothing out of the ordinary, the lower deck gives way to a lit up basement packed with a dartboard and other backdrops of entertainment.

The blue and pink hues light up the canvas, leaving viewers' ears ringing with familiar sounds of excited noise.

According to Schiele, the realistic tone of the work shouldn't come as a surprise based on her interests.

"I’m not a nature girl. I am fascinated by structures, building and architecture and I feel a secret love of seeing the world from a structure, on a bike or in a car," she said. "I am the person in the pool next to the ocean, but I love that ocean no less."

The opening reception for CinemaScope will be held Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will be on display until June 15 at Nelson Macker Fine Art.

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