By Merle Exit
Artist Dennis Cady is presently exhibiting his art work, “Endangered Nature,” at the Long Island City branch of the CUNY School of Law.
The exhibit opened Nov. 1 and will be on display until Jan. 1, 2018.
Cady is a landscape painter working in a variety of media: watercolor, oils, monoprints, woodcuts and linocuts.
The exhibition is part of the CUNY Law School’s gallery program for artists who are committed to the Law School’s mission of social justice, which includes the environment.
“Nature without man’s presence is my ideal, because man has exploited nature for profit. In this process, the planet and its inhabitants are suffering Global warming is occurring, people are being forced to live in a toxic and dangerous environment, particularly the most vulnerable,” Cady said. “Racism in our society and injustices in our political and cultural systems and the fear, ignorance, and misunderstanding that accompany them empower polluters, lead to the destruction of our most cherished places and directly threaten our environmental progress. People’s rights are being violated and their safety and dignity are being threatened on a routine basis.”
Cady hopes his artwork can help send a positive message and believes it shows the “possibilities if justice is obtained.”
“All people deserve a healthy planet with clean air and water, a stable climate, and access to the outdoors,” Cady said. “All people deserve equal protection under the law and the right to live their lives free of discrimination and hatred. There is no justice, social, economic, or racial, for those impacted the most, primarily non-western cultures, which have already suffered from exploitation for centuries.”
Curator Amy Winter is very familiar with Cady’s work and believes in the message it sends.
“As a native of Oregon, where he grew up in the great rainforests and mountains of the Cascades and the Columbia River Gorge, and the powerful shores of the Pacific Ocean, Dennis Cady has stayed true to his love of the majesty and marvel of nature,” said Winter. “In its beauty and singularity his art reflects his commitment to the appreciation and preservation of the earth for all people.”
In a career spanning over 40 years, Cady has traveled and painted in all regions of the United States, including the more local Hudson Valley, Long Island, the Catskills and Adirondacks.
For the past 12 years, he has also created natural wood sculptures, the material for which he forages in forests. Cady has recently had his sculptured woodcuts displayed at Queensborough Community College’s Art Gallery and the Rainforest Art Foundation headquarters, located at the Marlene Yu Museum in Shreveport.
“Dennis Cady had the first solo exhibition here of a sculptor using natural materials,” said Stephanie Yu Lusk, director of the museum. “Although he is a man of few words, his artwork speaks of his strong connection with nature. We were honored to exhibit Mr. Cady’s nature-inspired paintings.”
