RAUL SERRANO: Upstairs/Downstairs

SANDRA NYSTROM: Ongoing Conversations with Nature

​June 27–July 26, 2026

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 27, 5–7 PM​

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​RAUL SERRANO

Upstairs/Downstairs

Hudson Valley artist Raul Serrano presents Upstairs/Downstairs, a collection of paintings that explores divisions in society and within the human psyche. Originally from Mexico City and a resident of Accord since 1997, Serrano has spent more than five decades developing a distinctive visual language informed by symbolism, social observation, and imaginative storytelling. His paintings often feature unexpected juxtapositions and surrealist overtones, transforming familiar objects into evocative symbols that invite viewers to construct their own narratives.

The works in this exhibition examine contrasts between wealth and poverty, desire and fulfillment, need and want, revealing the tensions that shape both society and the human psyche.

Educated at Academia San Carlos in Mexico City, Occidental College in Los Angeles, and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Serrano has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts, among others.

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SANDRA NYSTROM

Ongoing Conversations with Nature

In Ongoing Conversations with Nature, Sandra Nystrom presents a body of abstract landscape paintings inspired by the natural world that surrounds her Woodstock home. A graduate of Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, Nystrom first established a successful career in textile design before dedicating herself fully to painting. Today, the fields, streams, ponds, mountains, and shifting light of the Hudson Valley serve as a continual source of inspiration.

Working with spontaneous brushwork, layered color, and intuitive composition, Nystrom transforms observed landscapes into richly atmospheric abstractions. Her paintings capture not specific places but rather the emotional impressions left by nature—moments of reflection, movement, stillness, and wonder. Through abstraction, collage, and nuanced color relationships, she creates works that invite contemplation and celebrate an enduring connection to the landscape.