Lickin’ Cheeto powder at the Berkshire Nasty Women Art Exhibit and Fundraiser

Sometimes, we are lucky enough to find a piece of art that immediately speaks to us, connects to somewhere in our soul, and moves us emotionally. I made that connection to Katherine Giordano’s painting, “Nasty Woman.” I fell in love with this confident, beautiful, topless woman aggressively licking Cheeto powder off her fingers, the bright orange bag casually placed between her legs.

Giordano’s piece was one of many–97 in total–visual art pieces that were available to fall in love with, and purchase, Friday night at the Berkshire Nasty Women Art Exhibit and Fundraiser.

The Berkshires-based sister group to the NYC Nasty Women Exhibition set up in the Garage venue of the Pittsfield, Mass., Colonial Theater for two hours as a fundraiser for the ACLU and the League of Women Voters. This fundraiser was possible due to all 97 pieces being donated by their respective artists to the exhibit, allowing for full-price donation to the buyer’s choice of the two charities.

The event also featured three musical acts throughout the evening: cellist Noah Krauss, flautist Emily Wespiser, and the Moving Arts Exchange (MAX) Choir. The choir was led by Sunhwa Reiner, in collaboration with the female dancers of the Moving Arts Exchange, and performed “Quiet,” the unofficial anthem of the contemporary women’s movement, by singer-songwriter MILCK.

While paintings represented most of the art on display, the idea of the “Nasty Woman” was conveyed in a number of other ways. Caroline Borshoff’s “Grow a Vagina” utilized paper collage to craft a stunningly pink vagina; Anne Kennedy worked with fabric and stitching to create “Our Little Lady of Many Hats,” and weaving, clay, and wire combined in a shadow box for Wendy A. Rabinowitz’s “LILITH: QUEEN OF THE DARK FORCE (Nasty Woman of Yore)”.

Event Organizer Stephanie Cohen was able to notify DWP after the event that 45 of the 97 pieces were sold during the event, and another three in the days following. They had not yet calculated the amount of money they were able to donate to these charities, but noted that the pieces are still available for purchase through the length of the exhibit. The purchases can be made through the Colonial Box Office, during the open hours of the exhibit.

The entire exhibit is on display at the Colonial Theater until May 14. For more information you can find the Berkshire Nasty Women Art Exhibit on Facebook or email them at berkshirenastywomenart@gmail.com.

–Mary Redstone