Rick Silberberg

Art Education
M.A., Herbert H. Lehman College, The City University of New York, 1972

Selected Solo Exhibitions
"The Gallery" Herbert H. Lehman College, New York, 1972
Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, CT, 1981
L'Atelier Gallery of Fine Art, Essex, CT, 1985
"Painted Universe" Gallery 24 CPTV, Hartford, CT., 1986
"The Painted Path" Rose Farm Gallery, East Haddam, CT., 1989
Partition 942, Office of Cultural Affairs, Hartford, CT., 1990
"The Center's Edge" Buttonwood Tree Gallery, Middletown, CT., 1992
"Unseen Way" Buttonwood Tree Gallery, Middletown, CT., 1999
"Recent Paintings" The Mad Hatter, Chester, CT., 1999
Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art, University of CT at Avery Point, Groton, CT., 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2012
"Before the Fall" The Gallery at Riverside Press, Essex, CT., 2001
Pfizer Corporate Gallery, Groton, CT., 2002-2003
"Steeping Beauty" Artisan Teas, Chester, CT., 2005
"Varnished Truths" Mill Gallery, Chester, CT., 2006
"Wishful Thinkings" Artworks Gallery, Hartford, CT., 2006
"More Wishful Thinkings" Brick Gallery, Essex, CT., 2006
CL Pfeiffer Studio, Chester, CT, 2008
"Up Against the Wall" Art Gallery at the Mill House, Chester CT., 2010
"A Re- Visible Man" Buttonwood Tree Gallery and Performing Art Center, Middletown Ct., 2017

To go to Rick’s website click here

Gallery One Featured Artist Interview with Rick Silberberg

G1: Your paintings have an element of mystery. Many seem to explore the intersection between the physical landscape and psychological terrain. How do you choose the subject matter for your paintings?

Rick: I agree my work is mysterious in some ways. Viewers can identify and find meaning based on their own experiences and backgrounds.  My references to places and time are ambiguous. Oftentimes, I will start a new painting without a particular theme in mind. I gravitate toward painting in a spontaneous way and will paradoxically work until it looks that way.  It is a process of following my eyes and staying open to making changes or taking a new direction while the work is in progress.

G1: How has your work evolved over the years?

Rick: I’ve been painting for a long time and have seen my work develop and expand over the years. Each part of my artistic journey reflects inspirations and challenges of the times. As I look back at my work from the early days to more current times, I can see where I’ve encountered some periods of creative blockage and those experiences always seemed to jump start the creativity and helped me keep the momentum going.  

G1: Can you tell us about the role of hand-made substrates and boards that you use for many of your paintings?

Rick: I’ve tried a lot of different painting surfaces. Each surface has its own characteristics that help determine how the final artwork looks. Canvas is absorbent and yielding with bounce.  Wood is resistant and nonporous and lends itself to finer more detailed images. It is exciting to explore how surfaces interact with paint in creating each work.

G1: Recently you have been experimenting with digitized altered photographs. What led you to try this new medium?

Rick: The pandemic changed the way I worked. Suddenly I was up at night again. With an iPad and Apple Pencil, I discovered that I could relate to the “new normal” by integrating my daily iPhone photos with my thoughts and feelings about the turn that life was taking.  It was a great escape and has become a vital part of my creative journey.

Selected Group Exhibitions

"Annual Showcase of the Arts" Bronx Council of the Arts, New York, 1970 Museum, West Broadway, New York, 1971
"Things of the Future" Bronx Community College, New York, 1972
"Art of the Bay Area" San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA., 1974
Berkeley Art Co-op, Berkeley, CA., 1974-1976
Connecticut Union of Visual Artists, New Haven, CT., 1976-1980
"Artists Speak for Peace" Miami, FL., 1984
"Water in Watercolor" New Britain Museum, New Britain, CT., 1984
"Contemporary Mandala 2000" The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, CT., 2000
"12 Connecticut Artists" The Pump House Gallery, Hartford, CT., 2002
"New Members Show" Artworks Gallery, Hartford, CT., 2004
Guilford Art League Annual Juried Shows, Guilford, CT., 2005-2008
Gallery One, Old Saybrook, CT 2007-2012
"Artists of Gallery One" Liebig Gallery, Mystic Art Association, Mystic, CT., Fall 2015
"The Artists of Gallery One" Mill Gallery, Guilford Art Center, Guilford, CT., Spring 2016 , 2017
"Transformation" The Artists of Gallery One" The Mary C. Daly, RSM Gallery, Mercy by the Sea, Madison CT.,Summer 2016
​"Visual Consensus" artists of G1, Valentine H. Zahn Gallery, Shoreline Medical Center, Westbrook CT., Fall 2016
"Follow the Line" at the Spectrum Gallery , Main St. Centerbrook CT. 2017
"Unintended Conversations" Gallery One Artist, River Street Gallery at Fairhaven Furniture, New Haven, CT., Winter 2017
"Revive/Reset/Respond" The Artists of Gallery One at Marquee Gallery, New London CT. Fall 2017
"Beyond the Horizon" Ashby Carlisle and Rick Silberberg at The Gallery at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, Chester CT. Nov. 2017 - April 2018

Co-Gallery Director of the Essex Art Association in Essex, CT 2003-2009
Art Therapist at Whiting Forensic Institute in Middletown, CT. 1987- 2003