New Rochelle Music Teacher to Open Art Exhibit in White Plains

At 3-years old, local artist David Tobey began sharing his work with others long before it would be showcased in any well-known gallery.

Now, decades later, Tobey will have another opportunity to share his work with a broader audience when more than 50 of his paintings and welded steel sculptures go on display in an upcoming solo show at the White Plains Museum Gallery beginning March 30.

The gallery, located at the White Plains Library, will hold an opening reception on March 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. Tobey also will perform on the violin at the reception, accompanied by Kirk Enrenreich on keyboard.

“This gallery is a retrospective of the last nine years of my life and traces an evolution of my work,” said Tobey, 57, who added that he is always trying to experiment with new things and push the boundaries of his creations.

With a talented painter for a father and a pianist for a mother, Tobey was connected to the arts all of his life. Drawing a sketch of his parents at 4-years old and winning his first art competition at 6-years-old, the Julliard-trained artist has grown accustomed to having an audience for his work.

Tobey, who is the orchestra director for 7th and 8th graders at Albert Leonard and Issac E. Young Middle Schools in New Rochelle, said he is just as passionate about teaching as he is about music.

“I always want to engage the students, being right there to question how they feel about a piece of music, what they are thinking, and what they are doing. I am very hands on,” he said.

Tobey’s activities outside the classroom include performing violin concerts for private parties and for celebrities, painting and sculpting in his studio.

Influenced by motion, music and dance, Tobey often attempts to “physically balance the pieces of my sculptures, creating a sense of gravity.”

One of his other hobbies is studying physics, and perhaps this love affair was born out of a chance encounter his father once had with Albert Einstein. When Einstein sat for a portrait sketched by Tobey’s father, he jokingly asked afterward, “So if things don’t work out, do you think I have a future as a chair model?” Tobey recounted.

That story could be a good opener when Tobey welcomes the audience to his exhibit on Wednesday. The event is free and those who attend will be treated to an evening of art, live musical entertainment, refreshments and interesting conversation with people in the arts.

The exhibit will be on display until June 15. For more information on David Tobey, visit his website: http://www.davidtobey.com/.