Pittsburgh artist Ellen Chisdes Neuberg mulls life in Westmoreland exhibit

Are you puzzled by the state of the world? You’re not the only one.

Artist Ellen Chisdes Neuberg turned her “lack of understanding about what’s going on in the world” into an exhibition opening Friday in The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg.

“Living a Life … A Puzzlement,” with 10 large acrylic abstract-surrealist paintings and one sculptural piece, originally was to have shown in May, but was delayed by the museum’s pandemic-related shutdown. In the meantime, the works have been available for viewing on The Westmoreland’s website.

“While trying to conjure up a title for this show, the word ‘puzzlement’ came to mind. It is the title of a spoken song from the musical, ‘The King and I,’ originally performed on Broadway, with both utter confusion and humor, by Yul Brynner, playing the role of the King of Siam,” Neuberg said in her artist statement.

“The paintings that I have created for this exhibition … deal with the ways our lives and our world seem to be in constant and sometimes complex states of change,” she said.

“I saw the show in my youth on Broadway in New York,” Neuberg said from her home in Shadyside. “It’s a funny song, but it’s deep, and it reflected how I was feeling. It felt relevant to the times now.”

In the song, the character muses on the contradictions found in every aspect of life, from being a student to a parent and then to a ruler, declaring, “There are times I almost think/Nobody sure of what he absolutely know.”

“A lot of people will remember that movie,” said The Westmoreland’s chief curator, Barbara Jones, noting that the lyrics will be posted next to the exhibition in the museum’s Robertshaw Gallery.

Storytelling

“The pieces are a little bit of a puzzle, leaving room for the viewer to interpret them through their own thoughts and feelings,” Jones said. “It’s very colorful and gives you a real boost when you walk in. There’s a soft color palette with injections of vibrant colors that draw you in and swirl around the various components of the paintings.”

“All my work tells stories,” Neuberg said. “I let out a lot of my feelings about life in my work.”

As an example, she said, a 48-by-48-inch painting entitled “Living Together” illustrates how people live together in different settings — a home, a city, a country and the world.

“There are things that don’t necessarily go together, but that’s how we live,” she said.

The pieces she created for “Puzzlement” are visually different from her larger body of work in that they concentrate more on specific shapes.

“All my work is abstract, but my other abstracts are more expressionistic,” she said. “These are a little more specific with the items I’ve placed on them — hands, figures of birds and women.”

Neuberg owned and operated Gallerie Chiz in Shadyside for 22 years. Since closing the gallery in October 2017, she has continued to paint six days a week in the gallery-turned-studio. An award-winning painter, she is a member of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Society of Artists and Group A.

While The Westmoreland “did a wonderful job” in presenting her work virtually, Neuberg said she is excited that museum-goers now have an opportunity to view them in person.

“Seeing them online is just a different experience, especially because of the size of my pieces,” she said.

“Living a Life … A Puzzlement” will remain on view through Dec. 20.

Details: 724-837-1500 or thewestmoreland.org