The ART on the Rail Trail committee is thrilled to announce the newest addition to the trail's public art collection created by artist Susan Togut. The installation features a series of painted pieces that hang from the trees along the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail between Main Street and Grove Street in Voorheesville. On June 23, Susan began installing her art with help from volunteers from the Village of Voorheesville; the installation will be completed this month.  

These vibrant art pieces pay homage to the village origins in the context of today’s realities and honor Voorheesville at a crossroads in history. The layering of hand-painted, illuminated components in trees or free-standing structures installed at intervals along the Rail Trail, lends beauty, meaning, and joy during challenging times. Lifting the spirits of trail users, Susan's use of symbolic and historic images embodies the cycles of life, metamorphosis, and renewal, helping us positively transform the uncertain conditions of our time.

Artist Bio

Susan Togut

Susan Togut is an educator, therapeutic facilitator, and curator, who works from personal perspectives and community-based, worldly concerns. Her art focuses on cycles of nature and life, including fragility, uncertainty, resilience, and renewal. Susan creates contemplative environments and ecological installations, sculptures, wall pieces, and paintings. Her work is featured in sculpture gardens and walks, historic sites, galleries, hospitals, and private collections. In 2019, Susan received a Gottlieb Fellowship for mature work that led to several transforming uncertainty projects. She earned a BFA from Washington University, St. Louis, and an MFA from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York. To learn more about Susan and her work, visit her website: susantogut.com.

Support from the Community

This installation was made possible in part from a generous grant from the Voorheesville Community and School Foundation. Special thanks to the Village of Voorheesville for their support and assistance making this project a reality. ART would also like to thank these local businesses for their 2020 sponsorship:

Policy Research Associates
Stram Center for Integrative Health
Gabler Realty
McSharry and Associates Realty
Sawyers Screen Printers
Allied Business Partners CorpDelaware Plaza
Cathy Griffin, Realtor
Quality PM

For more information about ART and sponsorship opportunities, click here!

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