IT’S A SCREAM
They had something to shout about at the Skidmore Gallery the other night as locals lauded artist France D. Janov and admired an exhibit of her colorful creations.
Janov and her husband, Arthur, are best known for their work in psychotherapy as well as the ’70s bestseller “The Primal Scream.”
While she has long labored to free folks from personal demons and childhood pain, Janov’s paintings are anything but dark. In fact, they are just the opposite. Her swirling crimson meadows, flowing turquoise rivers and dancing flowers look more like Matisse and Bonnard than Bacon or Shiller, and the collection seemed to be a real crowd pleaser.
“This is my favorite,” said gallery guest Tim Chelling as he admired an exotic effort called La Femme et l’Oiseaux. The painting depicts a young woman with flaming lemon yellow locks positioned under a tangerine sun and a lime green sky. “The vines on her face are mesmerizing and the hair is almost like a hydra,” Chelling noted. “Almost reminds me of one of my dates.”
Other fanciful paintings had languid ladies reclining against magical landscapes of lilies, buttercups, African violets and orchids.
As for inspiration, Janov says her work as a clinical psychologist is the key to her creativity. “It is a release of the past,” she explains. “When I started, there was a lot of black in my paintings. Now that’s changed. People tell me they see something joyful and peaceful in the paintings and that’s just the little world I have created for myself.”
The one-woman show runs through March 31.
GOOD MORNING
STARSHINE!
Jason Alexander looked like a long-lost member of The Jefferson Starship on stage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel at the annual “Night at Sardi’s.” J. A. brought Woodstock back to life with his long, curly locks, eye-catching headband and fringe vest as he belted out his very own version of “Let the Sunshine In.” Alexander clearly got a ’60s-style kick out of the event. “Who needs ‘The Producers?'” he mused, referring to his upcoming Broadway show.
Joining him onstage was an all-star cast with David Hyde Pierce, Eric McCormack and Megan Mullally paying homage to the Age of Aquarius. They had lots of glamorous groupies with beauty Brooke Shields and funny guy Billy Crystal cheering from the sidelines. Chairwoman Laurie Burrows Grad reminded the high-spirited crowd that a few things have indeed changed since The Summer of Love starting with the food at this fest. “Alice B. Toklas won’t be baking the brownies,” she explained. “There’s no chicken in the pot or vice versa.”
All the fun was in support of the Alzheimer’s Association, which walked away with a groovy fundraising take of one million bucks.