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Ann Arbor artist Adrienne
Kaplan derives inspiration .
from her surroundings.

Tomatoes, in acrylics, features Kaplan's use of strong tones of yellow, red and blue,

I Suzanne Chessler

Special to the Jewish News

Ann Arbor
drienne Kaplan's latest
exhibit, "Current
Paintings in Acrylic and
Watercolor," gives the impression
that home is where her heart is.
The-exhibit, which runs
through March 12 at Ann Arbor's
Washington Street Gallery, is
dominated by many scenes inside
and outside her home, and her
husband, Harold Borkin, is .
included in some of them.
"I like to paint while looking at
things;' says Kaplan, 69, whose
. home windows open up to views
of wooded areas. "I'm trying to
get representational images with
lots of pizzazz. I include my hus-
band because he's a constant part

A

of my life and home."
Using broad brushstrokes,
Kaplan painted July Patio and
October Patio to capture the same
territory at different times of the
year. Although she introduces her
husband in Harold Watching TV,
her image is abstract enough to
make the profile somewhat
ambiguous.
Kaplan showcases 20 paintings
at the Washington Street Gallery,
where she also has views of a
beach in Maine, where the couple
have spent summer holidays. All
the images were completed with
strong shades of red, yellow and
blue to serve as contrast to the
-white tones that also are used.
"My work is representational
without being clearly defined,"
explains Kaplan, who works in a

home studio where her architect
husband constructs the frames
for her paintings.

Lifelong Interest
The artist, who grew up in
California, always displayed an
interest in art. Her father
designed furniture,and she
picked up on his sketching skills.
She especially enjoyed sketching
scenes while babysitting a cousin
who lived on waterfront property.
Kaplan won prizes for her
artistry as an elementary school
student. When she was in high
school, she was awarded a schol-
arship to L.A.'s Chouinard Art
Institute, where she did figure
drawings on Saturday mornings.
"To this day, I thank my ceram-
ics teacher for encouraging me

In July Patio, also in acrylics, Kaplan creates a scene she also has painted at other times of the year.

48

February 16 • 2006

says Kaplan, whose paintings for
another recent show had different
views of pots and pans in her
kitchen. "I feel the scholarship
really made me blossom."
After earning a bachelor's
degree in Studio art and art histo-
ry from the University of
Southern California, Kaplan start-
ed post-degree work at the
University of California at Los
Angeles. She eventually got her
master's degree from Eastern
Michigan University.
Kaplan moved to Ann Arbor in
1970 after her first husband
accepted a job in the city. As her
children grew up, she became a
graphic designer for the
University of Michigan Hillel
Foundation, where she has
designed newsletters, office mate-
rials and posters since 1987.
Kaplan moved into her current
home 10 years ago, and she got
back into serious painting five
years after that. The home, built
in 1929, was chosen in part
because of its setting.
"I like to work on more than
one thing at a time,' says the
artist, whose daughter is a photo-
journalist and whose son process-
es photos applying computer
techniques in new ways.
"The studio space in my home
allows me to .do that. Basically, I
like to work in the morning, but
sometimes I extend the time:'

'Zing' Painting
Kaplan's paintings have had lots
of attention around Ann Arbor.
Last year's projects included the
"All Media Annual" at the Ann
Arbor Art Center, "Pastel Exhibit"

at the Ann Arbor Public Library
and the "Pierpont Commons
Annual Exhibition" at the
University of Michigan.
She was a juror in the Ann
Arbor Street Fair in 2002 and
2003.
"Although I like to paint what is
in my home and what surrounds
my home, I'm really not a home-
body," says Kaplan, whose colors
and strokes are somewhat remi-
niscent of the "zing" she finds in
comic book artistry. "We travel,
and I do drawings as we drive
across the country. I find strength
in subjects that I know"
Kaplan, a member of Hadassah
raised in a Reform household, is
preparing for another Ann Arbor
exhibit. She will have more of her
current theme at the Women's
City Club in April.
"I think of my paintings as per-
sonal interpretations and reflec-
tions of what's around me she
says. "I find it freeing to be able to
communicate through color and
brushstroke and to tell my stories
with immediate expression unen-
cumbered by process:'

❑

Adrienne Kaplan's exhibit,
"Current Paintings in
Acrylic and Watercolor,"
runs through March 12 at
the Washington Street
Gallery, 120 E. Liberty, Ann
Arbor. Gallery hours are
noon-5 p.m. Tuesdays-
Thursdays, noon-9 p.m.
Saturdays and noon-4 p.m.
Sundays. (734) 761-2287.

