Primal Elements Opening

Primal Elements: Works by Natalie Boburka and Leslie Yolen September 11 – October 5, 2025 Artist Reception: Thursday, September 11, 5–7 PM The Gugg Gallery at Hilltown Commons, 63 Huyck Rd., Rensselaerville, NY If you haven’t been to Hilltown Commons to feel the creative energy surging with new leadership and a new vision, here’s your opportunity to engage with this gem in the foothills of the Catskills. Hilltown Commons newly enlarged gallery space “The Gugg”, formerly the Guggenheim Pavillion, will be the setting for its second show of the season, ‘Primal Elements’. Featuring the work of Natalie Boburka and Leslie Yolen, this show will be on view from September 11th through October 5th. There will be an artist’s reception on Thursday, September 11th from 5-7 featuring live music, food, community, and a chance to converse with the artists and commune with this immersive show. Gallery hours are 10-5, 7 days a week with plenty of parking and wheelchair accessibility. Primal Elements celebrates the intrinsic bonds between the work of two local artists, who share a deep relationship with the natural world, utilizing materials as small as seeds and ideas as grand as Quantum Physics. Both artists have a history of formal teaching which is the basis of their use of a multitude of traditional and non-traditional mediums. They have long felt a kinship between their work prior to meeting each other and are delighted to invite the public to experience the natural world they have created together. Natalie Boburka explores the concepts of space, human existence, archeology, and moments of natural glory in new large scale works paying homage to the ethereal within our view, and beyond. She creates her own plant-based inks from her immediate surroundings as an initial layer before applying a variety of inks, paints, and pastels to wood or canvas. She shuns the use of traditional tools, layering rich metallics highlighting the contrast between dark and light spaces using a range of objects, both discarded and natural. She seeks to draw out unique textures and light that create a sense of reverence in the viewer. Leslie Yolen, a master of encaustics and sculptural form using natural and nostalgic objects, combines materials into cultural statements of presence. Her large totems, tiny worlds, and encaustic environments invite the viewer to muse upon the overlooked, the movement and cycle of nature, and delight in the unexpected combinations within. Her work has strength in the binding of natural objects with grasses, twigs, and fibers supporting and framing small nostalgic pieces of culture that create intimate altars of nature, moments of time frozen in stillness to be pondered upon. With her use of fire to create images of moving water, she plays with the elements at her fingertips, moving us into currents and suspending us in breathless wonder. Together, Boburka and Yolen create a world in which we pay homage to the elements, rejoicing in the interplay of the natural world and the tiny treasures which inspire us to look deeper at the cycles around us. These artist’s distinctive works have been exhibited nationally in both solo and group shows. About Hilltown Commons Hilltown Commons fosters artistic dialogue and cultural exchange through exhibitions, workshops, and community-centered events. The Gugg Gallery is dedicated to presenting innovative work by regional and national artists, offering a platform for exploring contemporary practices within a rural setting. For more information: email: [email protected] [email protected] Visit the artists’ websites www.boburkastudios.com www.leslieyolen.com

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