Created by Eva Tenuto in the aftermath of the death of her wife, Julie Novak, Life After | Afterlife is an intimate body of mixed-media paintings born from a period of profound loss. Through layered surfaces, intuitive mark making, and materials that at times incorporate fragments left behind by Novak, the work traces a path through grief, memory, and new, uncertain terrain. “This body of work has been both a quest and a balm,” Tenuto said.

Many know Tenuto as the co-founder and Executive Director of TMI Project, the internationally recognized storytelling organization she built alongside Novak in 2010. For more than sixteen years, she has helped thousands of people through the art and craft of storytelling. This experience, she says, “is beyond words.”

“The otherworldliness of finding yourself untethered, with life as you knew it always out of reach, cannot be explained away. It can only be explored.” Working with a variety of media—acrylic paint, oil sticks, oil pastels, spray paint, molding paste, gloss medium, fiber, and collage—Tenuto creates richly textured paintings that invite viewers into the exploration alongside her. “Through this work, I am seeking connection to myself and to all that exists that we cannot see.”

A portion of this collection debuted earlier this year in the group exhibition We Will Know More Tomorrow at Lockwood Gallery in Kingston. Guest curator Dorothea Marcus said, “I had closely followed Eva’s extraordinary blossoming as an artist over the last couple of years. I couldn’t wait to invite her to participate in a gallery show. I was able to devote an entire room to her work. Visitors were deeply moved by her paintings and struck by their beauty and originality.”

Tenuto earned her B.A. in Fine Art from Hunter College, where she concentrated in abstract painting under the mentorship of Joanna Pousette-Dart. She has continued her studio practice through the Woodstock School of Art, studying classical oil painting with Hongnian Zhang, mixed media with Ransom, and abstraction with Melanie Delgado. Delgado said, “Tenuto’s paintings grab your attention immediately. Standing in front of her work, one might feel as though they are floating into a whole new world.”

In addition to this opening and artist talk, viewing hours will be held on Sunday October 18 and November 1 from 1:00–4:00 p.m., and private visits may be arranged by emailing [email protected]. For more information, visit evatenuto.com.