A collaborative exhibition Paintings by Ann Schaumburger and Paintings and Prints by Michael Pellettieri will be on view at the Mulberry Street Library from April 7–21, 2016. The works can be viewed on the Ground Floor and Lower Level 2 of the library.

There will be an opening reception on April 7, 2016 from 5:30-6:45 PM. Both Schaumburger and Pellettieri have had professional careers exhibiting in New York for several decades. Pellettieri is known for images of New York City. Schaumburger is a colorist.

I spoke with the artists recently about their work:

Have you and Michael ever exhibited together before? What is it like exhibiting with a spouse?

Ann Schaumburger: This is our first time exhibiting together before. It is fun.

Michael Pellettieri: We worked together in planning the selection of each other’s work. I feel we were both deferential to each other in making sure this would work well for both of us. We thought this was an unusual space to hang work in. So we made several trips to the library to look at the space and photograph the exhibition areas. We thought this would be difficult to hang. So we enlisted the assistance of two artists from the Arts Students League. When it came time to install the work we worked together with them to make the final determination as to location of the pieces. Ann’s work needed good lighting because of the color. Because of the detail in my work it seemed desirable to have them at eye level but the lighting was not as critical because several pieces were in black and white.

Ann and Michael—can you tell me a little about your background and training as artists?

AS: I was born and grew up in New York City. I went to the High School of Music and Art and Skidmore College where I studied color and drawing with Arnold Bittleman and Arthur Anderson. I took classes in printmaking at the Arts Students League and Columbia. I maintain a studio in Long Island City and have shown regularly in New York since the seventies.

MP: I am a native New Yorker. I also went to Music and Art High School where Ann and I first met. I attended the Arts Students League for painting, drawing and printmaking where I studied with Harry Sternberg, Edwin Dickinson and Joseph Hirsch. I received a BA from City College and an MA from Hunter College in fine arts. I’ve exhibited in New York since the seventies and have maintained a studio here since that time.

What are some of your artistic inspirations?

AS: I like the work of Joseph Albers, Giorgio Morandi, Edouard Vuillard, Bill Traylor, George Orhr and early American embroideries.

MP: I always been drawn to the work of Edouard Manet and admire the work of Edward Hopper, Joseph Hirsch and Will Barnet. West coast artists Wayne Thiebaud and Richard Diebenkorn are also artists I like.

Ann—you’ve exhibited in the NYC subways before—why did you want to exhibit in a public library space? How are these spaces similar and/or different?

AS: Having my mosaics, “Urban Oasis” in the subway meant that I could bring my work to the public as opposed to people having to come to my gallery to see it. Exhibiting in the library gives me the same opportunity. Both spaces are very different from a gallery where the walls are flat panels. In the case of the Fifth Avenue, R, N and Q subway station, the work had to be made permanent and safe with glass mosaics. It had to be site specific in relationship to the configurations of the mezzanine, platforms, stairwells and floor. In the case of the library, the placement of the artwork depended on available panels and lighting. To this end we found ourselves hanging work in unexpected places.

Both of your work in the show deal with houses on a micro level and landscape on a macro level—what made you choose these subjects?

AS: When I first started teaching I became intrigued with how children use the iconic form of the house and embarked on creating a series of ceramic houses. At a residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and at Brisons Veor, England, I began to make work reflecting the simple houses I was seeing from my studio window. This imagery has evolved to where it now provides me with a structure that allows me to explore color and pattern relationships.

MP: For several decades a body of my work has dealt with images of New York City. These images are in a sense autobiographical as they are based on scenes that I pass on my way to and from work or studio and are views from places where I have lived or worked. The city offers it’s geometry, order and chaos only waiting to be seen. While abstraction has always been an element in my work, in recent paintings it has become more obvious. While I was working on “Take the N Train,” Frances Hynes, an artist friend, saw a relationship between our work in terms of abstraction and color and spontaneously said “You and Ann should exhibit together.” And so we did.