Spring Eternal: Paintings by ST Gately

**Spring Eternal: Local Artist Provides a Fresh Perspective of the Natural World**

Local artist S.T. Gately will present her exhibit “Spring Eternal” in Sunderland Public Library’s Lane Family Reading Room Gallery in January & February.  Spring Eternal is a visual celebration of representing and preserving the natural world both literally and figuratively. For Spring Eternal, Gately has produced abstract landscapes, visual representations of flora and fauna as well as actual dried and pressed flowers adhered to canvas and painted. Spring Eternal is intended to imbue the viewer with a feeling of a fresh perspective.

This exhibition is a tribute to Gately's appreciation for the natural world, and especially the beauty of our local region. This area’s vibrant natural landscape is one of the primary reasons the artist moved to the town of Sunderland. Spring Eternal is a celebration of this wonderful town and all of its natural splendor.

S.T. Gately is a Massachusetts based 2D Visual Artist and K-8 Visual Arts Educator. She has been practicing the Visual Arts for over ten years and has exhibited in group and solo shows throughout the New England area. Gately attended Hampshire College where she received a B.A. in Comparative Religion and Visual Art in 2003. In 2008, Gately received her M.Ed for Teaching Visual Arts PreK-8 from Lesley University. Gately’s visual style is influenced by the juxtaposition between graffiti or street art and the art of religiously narrated stained glass. Gately creates pieces that are abstract and figurative, as well as cartoon based. Gately has a wide-reaching style that can be both serious and whimsical. Gately is both a traditionalist as well as rebellious in her use of subject matter, medium and style.

As an immunocompromised individual, Gately used art during the pandemic to shed joy on a difficult reality. Katherine Umstot, Director of Sunderland Public Library, believes that many people who struggled during the pandemic turned to both art and nature to cope. “I have noticed a great increase since the pandemic in patrons who are yearning for connection. Whether it is a connection to another person or a connection to place, both art and nature are accessible avenues for forging these connections.” Gately’s work, while vibrant and unique, manages to convey the nearly universal yearning for closeness within the individual experience. 

Spring Eternal can be viewed during any of Sunderland Public Library’s open hours in the months of January and February 2023.