Press Release
August 2026

Sanctum Gallery, 148 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
August 6-31, 2026
Hours: Friday – Monday 11:00-5:00
Reception: August 7, 4:00-7:00, during Pittsfield’s First Friday

The waterfalls behind Gail Gelburd’s house, on Ed Jones Road, by the Otis Reservoir, and in upstate New York, as well as those in Iceland, South Africa, and Japan, have inspired this local artist to create a body of work that heralds the power and tranquility of water. She turns these images into photography with painting and some into relief and life-sized sculptures. Visit these works in Pittsfield at the Sanctum Gallery August 6-31. Reception will be during Pittsfield’s First Friday, August 7, 4-7 PM.

Water nourishes the world and is necessary for all beings. It can transform into a solid sheet of ice or turn into steam. It purifies rivers and can carve mountains, but it has no form as it runs through your fingers; it dissipates into the ground or evaporates into the sky. Its ephemeral nature and power embody spirituality in all cultures. It is our salvation, resurrection, fear, and solace. It is a gentle pond, a bubbling brook, an endless wave, or a powerful plummeting waterfall.

Gail Gelburd focuses on the power and sublime nature of waterfalls in the Berkshires and across the world. To her, the waterfall is analogous to the rhythm and journey of our lives. The roar and mist is a bridge between our physical and spiritual being. As the water crashes among the rocks and transforms the landscape, the sound and form are mesmerizing. Step into Sanctum gallery for an experiential exhibition of lights, sights, sounds, and images, as well as a place for meditation.

Gelburd is a Berkshires artist, writer, curator and educator. She has exhibited her art extensively throughout Massachusetts, across the United States, as well as in India and Greece. With a PhD in Eastern Philosophy and Contemporary Art, she has published more than a dozen books. Her artwork is as layered as her career. Using a wide range of materials she creates unique forms. Beginning with photographic imagery, she layers the images with encaustic paint. Many are then printed on fabric, put on motion sensor light boxes, or made into scrolls, relief sculptures, or life- size figures that become one with the waterfall. The viewer will quickly see that we are the water and it is us.

Accompanying the art of Gail Gelburd will be some small Tibetan sand painting by Tenzin Wangchuk. Symbolizing the spiritual traditions of Tibetan Buddhism Wangchuk takes the tradition of sand mandalas and butter sculptures and makes them permanent. Wangchuk was a senior monk in the art program for the Dalai Lama. Gelburd and Wangchuk have worked together and shared ideas for almost twenty years and he has lived intermittently in the Berkshires. He is now working on a new monastery in Nepal for the Dalai Lama, but has given his art to Gelburd to be shared with the community.

Sanctum Gallery is located at 148 North Street and is a program of Healing Arts Sanctuary. Its mission is to foster communal gesture, connections, reflection, and healing. There will be programming throughout the exhibition.

Lectures, guided meditation, and musical performances will be held during the exhibition.

Otis Creatives: The Spiritual Essence of Water: The Art of Gail Gelburd and Tenzin Wangchuk

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