Named for the giant Palladian windows at its first address, Jay Susanin’s Palladio at 8532 Germantown Ave., a fixture on the Hill for 23 years now, is widely regarded as one of the region’s top custom framing companies with a growing presence in the art production and interior design arenas.

But now, Susanin – who also runs a coastal lifestyle brand that produces custom maps and artwork for vacation and resort world customers – is also using his space as a gallery of sorts. He is currently running an exhibit of the paintings of vacation coastline scenes by Chestnut Hill artist Cathy Hozack, which will run through the end of December.

The exhibit includes paintings and high-quality giclee prints, which are made using inkjet printers, as well as a few works on canvas.

“Cathy’s work fits right into what we are offering to our customers,” Susanin told us last week. “It’s a more sophisticated series of options for art that celebrates life during holidays and summer months. Cathy’s watercolors capture the beautiful and soft landscapes in places where she and her family have vacationed, such as Bermuda and Maine. 

“I was immediately drawn to her use of color, the fluid movement of her watercolor and the whimsy that almost dances between reality and imagination. She has a great spirit as an artist, and it translates right into what she captures on paper.”

Hozack is a 2006 graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) who also studied at the Burren College of Art in County Clare, Ireland. She has won four awards for her work from PAFA and one in Melbourne, Australia, and has had eight solo shows in the Philadelphia area. She has also been a part of 16 selected group exhibitions and has been a guest lecturer at several Philadelphia institutions.

Hozack grew up in Chestnut Hill and attended Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and later Delaware Valley Friends High School (DVFS) in Paoli. She has enjoyed living in a few Chestnut Hill houses as an adult, she said, although “living downtown was a good experience as a young artist!”

Two years after graduation from DVFS, Hozack decided to pursue art as a career. 

“I had lots of activities to keep up with as a young person, but art class was always a highlight,” she said. “After volunteering at the Morris Arboretum while taking classes at Woodmere and PAFA, I decided to apply to PAFA.” Among her teachers was Paul Duold, an instructor at Woodmere Art Museum and a superb portrait painter who has been called “The Rembrandt of Mt. Airy.” 

After graduating from art school, Hozack had jobs with Philadelphia Orchestra fundraising groups and the Philadelphia Flower Show. She has traveled extensively, painting coastal scenes in watercolor while in Maine, Aspen, Colorado; Umbria in Italy, the Jersey Shore, Alaska, Bermuda and Spain.

“Coastlines are important,” she said. “Those are the places that can be calm and quiet, and then out of nowhere, there is a storm. What draws me there is that when it’s hot and humid here, it’s cooler there.”

She also keeps watercolor journals, she said, to keep her memories about where she’s been fresh in her mind. 

“Watercolor is often considered unruly and difficult, but it makes perfect sense to me,” she said. “I change my speed and style depending on the weather. I thrived on realistic paintings at PAFA, but when I studied in western Ireland, I decided to be more abstract. It’s more interesting to me and captures the moment more strikingly.” 

Before attending PAFA, her portfolio consisted of portraits and landscapes in drawings and watercolor, but no oils. At PAFA, however, she received classical training, which meant working with oils. 

"When I got to choose my medium," she said in an earlier Local interview, “I went straight back to watercolor."

Hozack describes her paintings as a search for harmony between conflicting elements. Red sunsets can be soothing or angry, behind tranquil landscapes or spiky skylines. Through her abstract landscapes, Hozack said, she shows a balance in the battle between cityscapes and the power of nature. 

“Structures are grounded or silhouetted by their surroundings, and I point up the contrasts and balances between them. Storms change tides, waves, beaches and skies,” Hosack said. “I find strong colors even in seemingly bleak locations. These moments encourage travel and understanding the importance of really looking. My clear first impressions of these places record moments that may not last forever, and I want to share them with those who view the paintings.”

For more information, visit cathyhozack.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com