Painting is a family affair for Owings Mills resident Margy Feigelson and her daughter, Laura Kellam.
Their latest joint exhibition, “It’s All Relative: Dual Impressions of Nature,” will be on display at the Meyerhoff Art Gallery at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts through Wednesday, May 1. The paintings draw inspiration from nature while expressing the artists’ unique styles and techniques.
An artists’ reception will be held on Saturday, Apr. 6, at 7 p.m.
Art has been a lifelong passion for Feigelson and Kellam, who believe they inherited their creative talents from their father and grandfather, Leonard Resnick.
“He was an amazing craftsman, a hand engraver who also could sculpt,” says Feigelson, 71. “He would make these very detailed sculptures from pieces of chalk that he then enameled.”
Feigelson’s talent was recognized early in her life and she attended Miss Mary’s School of Fine Arts in Baltimore from age 8 through her teens. In 1974, she earned a bachelor’s degree in design from Adelphi University in Queens, New York.
Though she hoped to become an art educator, Feigelson is deaf and at the time, “deaf people were not being hired in the public school system,” she says.
After she graduated, Feigelson, a devotee of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Pissarro, Monet, Cezanne and Cassatt, continued to study art.
“A class I took at the JCC in Owings Mills on the Serti method of using dyes on silk with one’s own designs really resonated with me. I took the class as long as it was offered and then opened my studio to several women who wanted to pursue this technique,” Feigelson says. “Another new technique was acrylic paint pouring or fluid art. After learning the basics, I began combining some of this loose painting style with my own, more traditional painting.”
After becoming a mother, Feigelson shared her love of artmaking with Kellam, who showed early signs of artistic talent.
“My mom would set out art supplies for me to experiment with as a child, and I would watch her paint as well,” says Kellam, 40. “I was the kid who doodled on all my papers in school and napkins in restaurants.”
Kellam attended the Park School of Baltimore, “a great place to cultivate creativity and self-expression,” and also studied art at the Fink School of Traditional Art in Reisterstown and the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned a bachelor’s degree in studio arts from the University of Maryland, College Park, and went on to receive a master’s in art education from Towson University.
“Later in life, my mom and I both took painting classes at the JCC,” says Kellam. “My aunt, Deena Margolis, was the instructor!”
Last November, Margolis, Kellam and Feigelson had a group show, “Florals in the Family: Three Perspectives,” at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s Hoffberger Gallery.
Since the pandemic, Kellam, whose artistic influences include Matisse, Klimt and Joan Mitchell, has made art a daily practice.
“I started to turn to painting as a therapeutic outlet and eventually decided to take a break from teaching,” she said. “That’s when I realized it was my opportunity to give being an artist a fair shot.”
Feigelson also turned to artistic expression during challenging times.
“For many years I was a caregiver for my mother, and my art was a respite, allowing me time to relax,” she says. “I created a portrait of my father for her that always made her smile when she looked at it.”
Feigelson also brings smiles to others through her pet portraits, as well as the ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) and baby naming certificates she designs.
“Judaism impacts my art in many ways,” Feigelson says. “I feel like my ability to create is a gift from HaShem and should be used to bring joy to others. I do research for each ketubah and meet with the engaged couple to discuss how their custom ketubah will reflect their hopes and aspirations for their life together. The world is full of beauty, and sometimes it takes an artist to bring attention to it.”
Until Oct. 7, 2023, Kellam’s work was almost entirely secular. The brutal terrorist attack against Israel by Hamas changed that.
“I was terrified for my family in Israel, and completely shaken as a Jew,” she recalls. “I immediately turned to my canvas and painted “Kalaniyot” [the Hebrew word for red anemones, Israel’s national flower]. It is a somber painting that helped me work through some of the emotions I was feeling. In the following weeks, I started thinking about why humans still struggle to live together peacefully. Based on an imagined idyllic location, I started painting ‘A Place Where We All Could Live,’ which turned into a series.”
“Kalaniyot” was the painting that inspired the “It’s All Relative” exhibition.
“Laura’s work caught my attention when she shared a painting of the national flower of Israel in memory of Oct. 7,” says Melissa Seltzer, the Gordon Center’s senior director of arts & culture. “Laura’s family had joined us for the past two years at our J Life retreats, and Margy is a longtime art student at the JCC. It was a layered decision to include them as featured artists and showcase their wonderful work in our Meyerhoff Art Gallery that reflected Jewish peoplehood, and we are so glad we could.”
Both Feigelson and Kellam cherish the opportunity to showcase their work together.
“I love that the whole family works together on these shows,” says Kellam. “My dad takes care of framing and wiring, and both he and my husband help to hang the artwork. My daughters are also so encouraging, and I think it’s good for them to see us working hard and supporting each other to achieve a dream!”
Adds Feigelson: “Sharing my passion for painting with Laura is something that I look at as a blessing. This appreciation for art brings us closer and allows us to spend a lot of time together.”
The Gordon Center is located at 3506 Gwynnbrook Avenue in Owings MIlls. For information, visit gordoncenter.com/art-gallery/.
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