Film Screening: Stretching Boundaries in a Life in Art

In celebration of the artwork exhibit, A Life in Art: Highlights of Women Artists in OHA’s Collection, closing June 5, OHA will be screening the documentary, Stretching Boundaries: The Life Work of Sculptor Arlene Abend. Set in 2010 the film explores Abend’s life and art as she prepares for a retrospective of her work and looks back on a lifetime of artistic output.Friends, art critics, and family weigh in on her artistic contributions resulting in a portrayal of a woman constantly pushing the limits and asking “what if” in both art and in life.The artist will be at the screening to talk to viewers and answer questions.  Stretching Boundaries will be shown in the auditorium of the Onondaga Historical Association Museum on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 1:00pm. A reception will be hosted after the one our documentary.

Abend was educated at both Syracuse University and Cooper Unionlocated in New York City. She worked as a graphic artist in New York prior to marrying and moving back to Syracuse where she raised two children. Today she works as a sculptor, primarily in metal, and her works are part of both public and private collections. In 2011 she completed the 9/11 Memorial that stands on the grounds of DewittTown Hall. At 85 Abend is still actively receiving and completing commissionsat her home studio in Dewitt.

“It’s an excellent film about how an artist works, and an excellent portrait of an artist in our midst who’s now taking stock on what such a lifetime means.”

–Nancy Keefe Rhodes, Film Columnist at The Syracuse City Eagle 2010