Meet Abbe Kalman Snyder | Artist – Mixed Media/Collage

We had the good fortune of connecting with Abbe Kalman Snyder and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abbe, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

People are often asked how old they were when they decided their future endeavor, their passion for one of the arts. It often happens during an interview with stars, those that are known for their talent on stage or screen. Most people who were smitten with acting, music, art, or dance were smitten at an early age. It came with the territory, a built-in desire, I am no exception. By the age of ten I knew just what I wanted to do and be, I wanted to be a collagist! What was the impetus for that decision? At that young age, one of my collages was chosen for a children’s show in honor of the building of Lincoln Center in New York City. That first award told me that I could be successful at what I loved to create. Throughout my life I continued with my love of collage and mixed media and entered many gallery shows in the New Jersey/New York area. My work was displayed at the John Harms Art Center, The Sidney Rothman Gallery, The Nathan’s Gallery, and Custom Touch Gallery in New Jersey. I also started displaying and selling my work at art festivals. Showing my work at the Greenwich Village Art Show as a dream come true, as I remembered walking through the show as a teenager and thinking “Someday I will be here”. I also participated in the Scituate, RI, Westport CT, Manayunk, PA shows,
just to mention a few. Upon moving to Florida, I exhibited and sold my work at the various street festivals in the area, including Los Olas, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Jupiter and Stuart. My art has been juried and exhibited at the Armory Art Center, JCC Schuman Gallery, Bailey’s Contemporary Arts Center, Lighthouse Art Center Gallery, and the Southside Cultural Arts Center. Currently, I am a featured artist at the Mountain Mist Gallery in Cashiers, NC. Having people enjoy and experience emotions while viewing my work enables me to continue painting and being creative.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a collage-mixed media painter. I have been inspired by the colors of Miro, the shapes of Kandinsky and the forms of Mondrian. I use textures, layers, and colors to portray the things I see and feel in my life. Through the use of acrylics, pastels, and a variety of papers to add layers to my paintings I am able to concentrate my attention to form, color, and movement. Starting with an idea, I lay in a color wash to form shapes. I then build up a pattern of texture to create interest by alternating papers and paint. Applying an enamel glaze over some areas brings up the background colors and defines the textures. The collage begins to have the flow and rhythm I am looking for to communicate to the viewer. I try to communicate my feelings through my art. The bright colors utilized in many of my paintings hope to evoke the happiness I feel when I am in my studio doing what I love the most. Happiness is not a gift other people give or things give us, it’s something we create from within. Creating art allows me to bring forth this emotion and share it with others. In other pieces I utilize collage with softer, earthy colors. I am able to unleash multi-hued vortexes of shape, form, and texture, to give expression to my vision of the search for understanding of one’s environment. I see in my work the harmonious interplay of nature’s cosmic forces at once harnessed and released, allowed to burst forth upon the senses in celebration of each new discovery of self.
Ever growing, learning, experimenting and pushing myself I have found that my work is constantly changing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The South Florida area has many exciting, cultural venues. There is so much to do and see to keep our creative juices flowing. I would start out down South in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale areas. Going to Lincoln Road where there are so many restaurants, sidewalk cafes, shops, and galleries so close to the beach would be a good place to start our week. We could then continue with a visit to the Wynwood Art District, where there are brilliant large scale outdoor murals, many converted warehouses with cafes, restaurants and galleries. Out next stop could be The Bonnet House Museum and Gardens which is dedicated to historic and environmental preservation along with learning and creative expression. What would a trip to Fort Lauderdale be without seeing a show at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts? Being a Palm Beacher I am more familiar with all the cultural venues available to us. The beautiful beaches, the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens with the thousands of spectacular orchids, and the Green Cay Nature Center are a few of the outdoor activities available to us. Of course, watching glass blowing at the Benzaiten Center for the Creative Arts in Lake Worth Beach would be on our itinerary. Dining at Prime Catch in Boynton Beach or Chris’ Taverna would certainly complete the day. As we move further North in Palm Beach County we would surely spend time at the newly renovated Norton Museum of Art and the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens. Perhaps catching at show at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach could end our week of cultural and exciting adventures.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
While still living up North, I became a member of the Morristown, NJ Art Association. Through this group I met Dolores Ziegler, a mixed media artist. She became my mentor as we pursued our love of mixed media painting. We spent many hours painting together, visiting art exhibits, and showing our work at galleries and street festivals. She pushed me to be my best. Upon moving to Florida, I became a member of WITVA (Women in the Visual Arts), a group of artists who have given thousands of dollars in scholarships to High School and Graduate School art students to help them with pursing their artistic endeavors. I became a board member and enjoy working with this group to help them with their charitable work. I find working with these other artists gives me the support and assistance I need to stay creative and keep learning new techniques. I am also a member of the Palm Beach Watercolor Society. These two groups have enabled me to show my work at various galleries and art venues.

Facebook: Abbe Kalman Snyder or Kalman Originals