In Memory Of Anita Lynn Wetzel

May 27, 1949 – March 14, 2021

Anita died peacefully in her sleep at home, surrounded by family and friends after a courageous, four-year battle with cancer. Born in Sauquoit, New York, Anita was a deeply passionate and devoted visual artist. She received a BFA in Painting from SUNY New Paltz and subsequently co-founded the Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) in Rosendale along with artists Barbara Leoff Burge, Ann Kalmbach, and Tatana Kellner. Anita’s love of music, especially jazz, connected her to the Creative Music Studio (CMS) in the late 1970s/early 1980s, where she wrote state and federal grants. There, she met and heard the live music of celebrated jazz greats Ornette Coleman, George Lewis, John Zorn, and Cecil Taylor, among others. Jazz greatly influenced her art — her canvases are striking for their playful rhythms of line and color, and jaunty angular convergences that come alive, eliciting a unique buoyancy. Her work can be viewed at https://anitawetzel.com/.

She worked at WSW until 1980 and then moved to New York City. Anita believed strongly in the mission of benevolent non-profits, working tirelessly for the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, The Trust for Public Land, and the Coalition for the Homeless. She returned to the Women’s Studio Workshop in 1995 and remained there as Director of Development until her retirement in 2017. Anita was often the linchpin between women artists around the world as she continuously networked, connecting artists to one another and encouraging them to develop their art at WSW.

Anita actively exhibited her work at galleries including SUNY Ulster, Donskoj, WSW, KMOCA and at the Galeria Nacionale in San José, Costa Rica. She travelled extensively and was an artist-in-residence in Spain, France, and Costa Rica, and at Blue Mountain Center and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), among other U.S. residencies. 

An avid letter writer, reader, and lover of literature, some of her favorite poets (and there were many) were Louise Glück, Mary Oliver, Wallace Stevens, and W.S. Merwin. For years, she studied writing with writer and performer Steve Clorfeine. As a lover of live dance, she enthusiastically attended performances of the Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, and Martha Graham dance companies, along with many others.

About ten years ago she became a member of the Shambhala meditation path at Sky Lake in Rosendale, a meditation center. This was Anita’s mantra:

May I be happy with myself today

May I be peaceful with things as they are

May I love myself unconditionally here and now,

and may I live with joy and peace

A strong community of friends and fellow artists constantly cared for Anita and were extremely helpful when she was undergoing treatment to control the cancer. During the last two weeks of her life, her long-time friend and former neighbor, Dr. Susan Righi drove from her home in Ohio to care for Anita, and share her caretaking knowledge with others, including Anita’s brother Gary Wetzel. Among those giving selflessly to help her until the end, were Ann Kalmbach, Tatana Kellner, Janice Cragnolin, Susan Shaw, and Dani ReStack.

The opening of an exhibition of Anita’s artwork (video-walkthrough can be viewed here) and a celebration of her life was held at Women’s Studio Workshop on May 22nd 2021, and the Anita Wetzel Fellowship for Visual Artists has been founded in her name, with financial support from the memorial fund below. For the safety of our community, we will be allowing 6 people at a time to enter the gallery in 20 minute intervals, and all will be welcome at a brief outdoor gathering at 5pm. To make an appointment to view the exhibition please call the office at 845-658-9133 or email [email protected]

ANITA WETZEL MEMORIAL FUND