Zach Teplin Presents Artwork at Show
Zach Teplin is starting the new school year with a flourish. This week the talented Huntington High School senior opened a show featuring his original artwork at the Courtroom Gallery in the Village of Great Neck Plaza.
The month-long show kicked-off at an opening night reception with the artist as art lovers viewed Mr. Teplin’s work, munched on cheese and crackers and sipped refreshments. It’s quite an honor for the teenager.
A member of the National Art Honor Society, Mr. Teplin recently returned from a summer pre-college program at the Rhode Island School of Design. There he studied painting, drawing and graphic design. Last year he attended a similar pre-college program at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston.
Mr. Teplin’s current work is a collection of portraiture reflecting evolution of the artist. His subjects include writers and musicians. “Zachary Teplin is an extraordinary young man,” said Kristin Haacke Singer, an art teacher at Huntington High School. “In order to achieve the highest grades and my deepest respect, he maintains a clear sense of purpose and has an outstanding personal initiative. On a typical day in my class, Zach enters my room and without any instruction, sets up his art project in a private corner. He works throughout the entire period, falling into a trance-like state that only a true artist can fully understand. Zach is a creative thinker who embodies the rare combination of thoughtfulness and spontaneity.”
The up-and-coming Huntington artist has won his share of awards for his work. Mr. Teplin has taken first place honors in the “Long Island’s Best” juried show, which attracts artists from Nassau and Suffolk high schools, This past spring’s competition had over 700 entries and only 60 artists were chosen to be displayed at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington.
At last year’s Long Island’s Best show, the 17-year old grabbed first place honors in the “new media” category and in the process took three separate scholarships. This year’s show recognized him for an oil painting that was part of his concentration sequence in AP Studio Art.
“Zach has been more than the ideal student,” Mrs. Singer said. “He is a wildly motivated, energetic and fearless artist. As his art teacher, I have seen many examples of his talent and have truly been impressed by his endless creativity.”
In addition to his work at Huntington High School, Mr. Teplin has studied at the Huntington School of Fine Art. He hopes to be accepted to study at The Cooper Union in Manhattan for the fall 2010 semester. Mr. Teplin is going to be a student-intern with Mrs. Singer this year. He recently learned that he garnered a score of 5 on the AP Studio Art drawing exam. It’s the highest score possible.
Just having your own show as a high school senior is an impressive honor, but Mr. Teplin’s art has been acclaimed by a diverse audience. “Without a doubt, Zach is the most imaginative and innovative student I have had in all my years of teaching,” Mrs. Singer said. “He is an authentic creative thinker. I am certain he will succeed in any of his ambitions in art. Zach’s skills and ideas have grown so much over the past two years of working with him. I am eager to see what Zach’s future holds for him.”
All graphics, photographs, and text appearing on the Huntington Public Schools home page and subsequent official web pages are protected by copyright. Redistribution or commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office