NEW ROCHELLE ARTIST VALERI LARKO
TO EXHIBIT AT THE COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE


NEW ROCHELLE, NY, January 22, 2008 -- A solo exhibit by artist Valeri Larko will be on display at The College of New Rochelle’s (CNR) Mooney Center Exhibit Hall from Saturday, February 2, through Monday, February 25, 2008, with an opening reception to take place on Sunday, February 3, from 2 to 4 pm.  The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

In 2004, Larko moved from New Jersey to New Rochelle, and began exploring the landscape closer to her new home, drawn to the many urban canals and rivers that crisscross the area.

Her art reflects an ongoing fascination with the landscape where urban culture and nature collide, most often found in the fringes of our cities. “It is in these often-overlooked areas,” says the artist, “that I find both beauty & pathos, bizarre juxtapositions that reflect how we, as a society, have altered and continue to alter the environment.”

Educated at the Du Cret School of the Arts, Plainfield, NJ, and the Arts Students League, New York City, Larko has had numerous solo and group exhibitions of her work, including those at The New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, Safe-T-Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, Bronx River Art Center, The Jersey City Museum, The National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, and MB Modern in New York City.  She has also exhibited in England at London’s Bruton Street Gallery in London.

In the fall of 2000 she was awarded a major mural commission from New Jersey Transit and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for the Secaucus Transfer Station where she painted four murals for their north mezzanine. In December 2006, Larko was awarded a George Sugarman Foundation Grant to help further expand on her current series of New York scenes.

Houseboats, Bronx, 2007, 0il/linen, 22" x 52"

The Mooney Center Exhibit Hall is located at The College of New Rochelle, 29 Castle Place in New Rochelle, NY  10805.  Hours:  Monday-Thursday from 9:30 am to 9 pm, Friday, Saturday and Sundays from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm.  For directions or information, please call (914) 654-5423 or click here. Images available upon request.