Main Street Pops Kick Off Pop-Up Arts Program With “Powerful Women” Series By Brittany Vogel

Pilsener Haus and Main Street Pops will launch their new Pop-Up Arts Program this November with an art show celebrating extraordinary women in history entitled, “Powerful Women”, by local award-winning artist, Brittany Vogel. Main Street Pops @ Pilsener is a series of curated events designed to help bring more Arts Programming to Hoboken while creating a stronger sense of community.

The theme of this first show could not be more timely, as the featured subjects are Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Nancy Pelosi, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony and a salute to the female Coronavirus Hero.

In Powerful Women, each figure is placed in the forefront as an expressive drawing with the background providing the context of her history in a patchwork collage format.

The 40×30” mixed media on canvas original pieces will be available for purchase for $3995.00, and unframed 18×24” open edition prints on archival paper hand signed by the artist of all pieces are for sale by special order for $175.00. Just in time for the Holidays for your own “powerful woman”!

We had a chance to chat with Brittany about this impactful and relevant series:

What inspired you to create this series?

With the centennial of suffrage approaching, I wanted to honor the hard work and sacrifice of the women before me, but I found that education on the subject, as well as most issues of women’s history was generally lacking.  The Powerful Women series is a way for me to amplify the stories, lessons, and achievements of amazing women. By placing a spotlight on extraordinary women, my hope is that there will be an example by which others can follow.

What is your process when creating these pieces?

I research the woman who is the hero of the piece, then I find images that describe major moments in her life or obstacles she’s had to overcome.  I glue those down into a patchwork collage and then I draw her portrait in B&W in my signature drawing style and paint over the collage using acrylic paint.

As both a mom and artist, the space limitations due to the COVID pandemic must be challenging for you- where and how do you work on your art ?

I had to bring my NYC studio home and create a workspace in a glorified hallway in my apartment with no door and two kids who are remotely learning. I haven’t been as productive as normal!

There are so many powerful women to choose from.. How did you decide on which subjects to include?

I get inspired by what I happen to be reading or watching at the time. You never know when inspiration strikes.

Do you have a favorite “powerful woman”?

I don’t. There’s different things that I love in each of the pieces and as I keep going in the series, I keep adding more details to them so there’s elements I like in all of them.  It could be the drawing itself or the intricacies of the cutting of images that make me happy.

Do you plan to add to this series?

I do! Stay tuned…

What’s next for you?

I’m currently working on a huge 60×80 piece that is part of my layered acrylic series.  The bright color palate of my work provides a focal point to any room and is meant to inspire joy.  I’m also working on prints to make more of my work accessible.

We can’t wait!!

The show will be open to the public from November 4-30th.  Opening Night is Wednesday, November 4th, and there will be a live artist sketch demonstration on Wednesday, November 18th, both from 6-8pm at Pilsener Haus Biergarten at 1422 Grand Street.

For more information on the series, go to www.mainstreetpops.com

For more information on the artist, go to www.BrittanyVogelArt.com

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