Art in the Library
John Breiner: Exhibit on view from July 1 – August 29
John Breiner grew up during the pre-internet golden era of comic books, garden gnomes, building wooden jump ramps and being home when the street lights came on. Discovering D.I.Y cultures like Skateboarding, HIPHOP, Graffiti & DJ-ing had a giant effect on him and helped craft him into the artist he is today.
In 1999, John attended The School Of Visual Arts in Manhattan which expanded his creative horizons. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 sparked a fascination with old books and discarded paper. This shift led to the evolution of a mixed media style using salvaged materials—faded, water-damaged, and imperfect—which he repurposed to create narrative, texture-rich artworks.
“I began to embrace the book as way to communicate to my current audience. After all I only worked on the end pages where some will go to read the summary of the book. I also removed the pages so there is no width to scare anyone off. And Lastly a picture is worth a thousand words. I updated an ancient form of communication into a modern one. People began to appreciate the book when I reworked it. It was a play on the changing of an era, It also was a commentary on peoples laziness ( myself included ) when it came to reading. When I took the book apart and replaced it with only images, they embraced it again. A modern solution for a modern society. However the biggest draw ( aside from the sporadic nature of finding the surfaces ) was that it was now telling my story.”
John’s art has been shown on almost every continent in countless exhibitions. It also is part of numerous art collections and has been published in a number of publications. Around 2013, John was painting murals and curating public art projects in cities increasingly open to large-scale outdoor work. He played key roles in initiatives like O+ Festival and The Underpass Project, and collaborated with city departments on civic beautification efforts. In 2022, he launched a new chapter as a publisher and archivist with the release of Power Kingdom, a photographic chronicle of Poughkeepsie’s graffiti scene in the 1990s. The book sold out its first printing in a month, and he is currently working on a follow-up documenting graffiti across the Northeast.
Boardman Road Branch Library
Jake Geffner – Quiet Horizons
August 1 – October 8
Jake Geffner is a photographer based in the Hudson Valley, drawn to the world through a curious and imaginative lens. A lifelong explorer at heart, Jake finds beauty not just in the obvious but in the overlooked—the moments and details that reveal themselves when seen differently. His work spans landscapes and astrophotography, reflecting a love of nature, travel, and the quiet intensity of the night sky. Whether through the motion of sport or the stillness of a starry night, Jake’s images invite viewers to pause and see the world not as it is, but as he sees it. Outside of photography, Jake finds inspiration in his family—his wife, young son, and newborn daughter—who remind him daily of the wonder in life’s smallest moments.
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Interested in Exhibiting?
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