Earlville Opera House Art Galleries first-round of 2026 visual artist exhibitions will open from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 21. (Submitted photo)

EARLVILLE - Earlville Opera House Art Galleries are proud to present the first-round of 2026 visual artist exhibitions opening on Saturday, March 21, 1 to 3 p.m.

This series boasts the work of three incredibly talented artists representing diverse and unique forms of artistic media in the areas of illustration, mixed-media painting, and photography. Come join us in celebrating amazing original artwork, also browse in our Artisan Gift Shop and visit the 1892 historic Landmark Theater. This round of exhibits is up through April 25. Gallery openings and visits are always free and open to the public. Any applicable Artist Talks begin at 1:45pm on opening day.

Highlighted in our East Gallery is Joseph Christiana with his exhibit "Incidence and Emergence...", which uses resins, oils and encaustic wax to create mix-media paintings that explore the space between control and surrender, the possibility of meaning and coherence emerging from chance and chaos. Joseph states “I begin these pieces with a clear intention, using a medium that resists that intention. Resin responds to heat, gravity, and time in ways that can’t be fully predicted. I set the conditions and then negotiate with the material as it accepts, resists, and responds to those conditions. Over time, the process begins to suggest form, texture, and composition. Sometimes figures insinuate themselves, and I coax them into emergence—like raising ghosts—with traditional brush-and-oil techniques before returning them to the field from which they emerged.”
  
Joseph is an interdisciplinary visual artist working in mixed-media with works exhibited in galleries and institutions along the East Coast, and his films have screened at independent festivals and received distribution. Joseph earned a BFA in Visual Art and Design from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He began his career in architectural visualization and currently serves as Creative Director for a New York–based design firm, where he leads spatial and experiential projects. Currently living in Hubbardsville, NY, he is converting a historic barn into Barnstorm Studios, soon to be an open working studio and exhibition space. For more information, visit https://josephchristiana.com 

Our West Gallery boasts the talents of Bernie Freytag with his exhibit "Seeing The Voices". As a freelance illustrator and author Bernie “believes creativity can connect us to a world just beyond our everyday one; a space not unlike the space between sleep and awake, or even life and death. Children seem to connect to this place with ease, while adults often long to return. How often do we say, ‘Wow, that made me feel like a kid again!’? My illustrations aim to recapture that space, that mystical, dreamy place where we long to revisit. A life-altering event years ago unexpectedly reconnected me with that child within. It took years to see that my art was the silver lining—an invitation back to wonder and a way to give that experience form. In this visual adaptation there is a pause for the viewer, a spark of curiosity, and at times a smile. This place can be playful, reflective, reactive, and carry depth well beyond just a whimsical representation. Through this work, I’ve always tried to bridge ages and perspectives and create a shared experience within our imagination. Many of these drawings first took shape within my second book, The Curious Reality in Imagination: A Creative Odyssey, and a few are for a book yet to be completed.”

Bernie is currently Creative Director at Colgate University. His art is hand-drawn on an iPad using a program called Procreate, nothing is AI generated, it is all produced from his hands. Bernie has been drawing for most of his life and his earliest childhood memory of doing so is six years old. For more information, visit https://berniefreytag.com 

Showing in our Arts Café is "Strange, But Mine", an exhibit by Courtney Ann Riggs, a self-portrait artist originally from rural Pennsylvania, now living in Upstate New York with her family. Courtney holds a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Photography, with her work most deeply shaped by her lived experiences. Courtney uses fine art self-portraiture as a form of emotional expression and storytelling. Her work explores themes of healing, feminism, identity, and personal history. Raised in an environment marked by exposure to addiction, instability, and trauma, Courtney transforms pain into image—creating honest, often raw reflections of inner life. For her, photography is not about being seen, but about saying what words often cannot. 

Courtney’s work is influenced by artists such as Cindy Sherman, Lindsay Adler, Brooke Shaden, Ben Zank, Annie Leibovitz, Cig Harvey, and Stacy Kranitz. Her photographs are a visual language for the misunderstood and unseen, space for honesty, resilience, and release. Courtney’s work has been exhibited internationally at Boomer Gallery (London), Holy Art (Barcelona), Loosen Art (Rome), Chateau Gallery (Louisville), and Treat Gallery (New York City). She is currently working on  Midlife Dawn, a new series exploring the beauty, challenge, and transformation of midlife.  
  
As stated by Courtney, “I create self-portraits because they speak when I cannot. I grew up in chaos—teen parents, addiction, abuse—a childhood marked by silence and survival. For much of my life, I felt misunderstood, unseen, and out of place. Photography became the place where I could finally breathe. A mirror. A canvas. A release. My work isn’t about being in front of the camera, it’s about finding the courage to exist in full view. Each portrait is a conversation I was never able to have. I explore what it means to heal, to resist, to be a woman with a voice in a world that often prefers you be quiet. Through these self-portraits, I untangle themes of feminism, identity, memory, and the expectations we inherit and outgrow. This is how I process what’s inside—when the words aren’t enough. I’ve been shaped by artists who weren’t afraid to turn the lens on themselves: Cindy Sherman, Brooke Shaden, Cig Harvey, and others who taught me that self-portraiture can be a protest, a poem, and a form of survival. Their work gave me permission. Now, I give it to myself. My current project, Midlife Dawn, explores the strange beauty of this season—the shedding, the reckoning, the light that returns in unexpected ways. I don’t make these portraits to be seen as special, I make them because I have the ability, the will, and the need to show what’s real—even if it’s tender, even if it’s messy. I use my art to say: I’m still here. And this is how it feels.” For more information, visit https://www.instagram.com/whimsy.pulse.soul 

Earlville Opera House annually presents 12-15 solo exhibitions of regional and national contemporary visual artists in all media. Galleries also feature annual group shows highlighting talents of regional artists as well as an annual exhibition of contemporary and traditional quilt artists. Curators may propose group exhibitions. If you would like to submit your proposal, please follow the guidelines on our website. More information on our exhibiting artists can be found at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com or by calling the Opera House. 

This current round of exhibits is on display until April 25. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday 10-4pm and Saturdays 12-2:30pm. 

Earlville Opera House Arts Center is located at 18 East Main Street in the charming Village of Earlville and is wheelchair accessible. The 1892 National Landmark Theater is equipped with a hearing loop provided by Hamilton Hearing LLC. Please check our website for information on our programs and services, also like us on Facebook and Instagram.

EOH events are made possible in part with support from New York State Council on the Arts with support from the Office of the Governor and NYS Legislature,  
Special thanks to Golden Artist Colors for their support of our Visual Artist Program, and to Jewett’s Cheese House, Nazzitto’s Wine & Liquors, Tasteful Temptations, The Local Culture and Hamilton Harvest Winery for being our Hospitality Sponsors!

- Information from th eEOH