Artists' reception this Saturday at UConn Stamford Art Gallery

The UConn Stamford Art Gallery
One University Pl., Stamford, (203) 251-8400
Habitat, Fragmentation and Growth: Tracy Walter Ferry & Claudia Mengel
Mar. 1—30, 2011.
Artists' reception: Sat., Mar. 5, 2—4:30 p.m.

Press release

The UConn Stamford Art Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibit of art works by regional artists Tracy Walter Ferry and Claudia Mengel. Habitat, Fragmentation and Growth is a two-person show that combines sculpture and painting to explore the visceral reaction to the synthesis and deconstruction of life. The show is available for viewing at the UConn Stamford Gallery from Tues., Mar. 1 through Wed., Mar. 30. An Artist’s Reception will be held on Sat., Mar. 5, from 2—4:30 p.m. in The Gallery.

The exhibit includes approximately six vibrantly colored paintings by Mengel and a similar number of sculptures by Ferry. Mengel comments, “My work comes from not looking but experiencing the world around me, and then translating these visual and emotional perceptions, with every creation there is a new discovery, a new problem, a new solution. Every time I approach the blank white space, I take a unique journey always unlike the last and never like the next.” This is what keeps her coming back to the canvas.

Of her work, Ferry remarks, “This series is based on my extensive and past experience as a registered nurse which gave me insight into the human body and all types of microbiology in a completely intimate way.” She explores what would happen if the order within these organisms were disrupted. “In creating these newly found objects I combine materials that are not typically put together. I combined baby bottle nipples with nails and plastic soldiers with screws. I create new beings, then deconstruct them and use the parts for new sculptures. It is work similar to that of a scientist in a lab.”

Claudia Mengel received her degree in printmaking from the Brainerd Art School at the State University of New York at Potsdam and is a member of Silvermine Artist Guild and a member of the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, where she also sits on the board. Her work is in many private collections in the tri-state area and she exhibits at several galleries. Tracy Walter Ferry received an MFA in Art at Hartford Art School. Ferry is the recipient of the Ellen Traut Collection Award, Art Works Gallery Hartford, CT.

Paper New England show reception at Artspace in Hartford Saturday evening

Paper New England at Artspace
555 Asylum Ave., Hartford, 06103
MS Redux
Through Mar. 26, 2011.
Opening reception: Sat., Mar. 5, 6—9 p.m.

Press release

Paper New England presents MS Redux. MS Redux is a reunion of 27 artists who formerly showed at The MS Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Hartford, CT.

The MS Gallery exhibited contemporary art from 1982—1989. During those seven years, 80 shows were mounted of which 56 were solo shows. Most of the exhibited artists worked on paper, many were just out of art school or were just beginning to show their work, professionally.

Today, more than two decades later, these mature artists are coming from five New England states and New York to show us where their journey has taken them. Patrons and friends of The MS Gallery as well as the art appreciating public will know and recognize many of these names.

From Connecticut: Robert Dente, Janice LaMotta, Richard Harden, Jonathan Frechette, Ronald Sloan, Beth Williams, Elisa Tenenbaum, Terry Feder, Irene Reed, Chet Kempczynski, John Willis, Kitty Winslow, Jim Lee, Rachel Siporin, John Gintoff, Dan Rosenthal, Gigi Liverant, Cary Smith and Howard Rackliffe.

From Massachusetts: Mary Barringer, Christine Brenner and Christopher Castelli;

From Rhode Island: Stephen Fisher;

From Vermont: Robert Manning;

From Maine: Dennis Pinette and Cathy Melio;

From New York: Diane Brawarsky.

MS Redux will be on view from Feb. 27—Mar. 26, 2011. An opening reception will be held on Mar. 5, 2011 from 6—9 p.m.

Conceptual art and the telephone exhibit reception on Thursday evening at HCC

Housatonic Museum of Art
900 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, (203) 332-5052
It's For You: Conceptual Art and the Telephone
Through Mar. 25, 2011
Show reception: Thurs., Mar. 3, 5—8 p.m.

Press release

From Feb. 24—Mar. 25, 2011, the Housatonic Museum of Art (HMA) at Housatonic Community College will present an exhibit It’s for you: Conceptual Art and the Telephone in the Burt Chernow Galleries and other areas of the HCC campus. The exhibit is, in part, a response to the wide-ranging use of phones in the hallways and other areas on the campus of the college.

The reception for the exhibition is Mar. 3, from 5—8 p.m. at the gallery in Lafayette Hall (900 Lafayette Blvd, Bridgeport, CT).

Each day students text, talk, surf the net, and listen to music on their phones. With this exhibition, artworks that use the phone as an artistic medium or mediator are brought together in an original exhibition curated by Terri C. Smith.

The projects range from the late 1960s to today and include sound pieces, videos, and objects that resonate with the functions, technologies, and physicality of the telephone. Artists in the exhibition include: T. Foley, Lukas Geronimas, Jeremy LeClair, Christian Marclay, Yoko Ono, Rachel Perry Welty, Robert Peters, Pietro Pellini, and Hannah Wilke.

Many of the artists in It’s for you aim to democratize the artist/audience relationship, a quality that is intricately woven into the history of conceptual art. In It’s for you, Yoko Ono might call the gallery as part of her "Telephone Piece," providing direct contact between artist and viewer. Students will work with T. Foley, creating their own ring tones as part of her "Locally Toned" project. Archival materials are also included as a way to represent ephemeral works from the past as with Robert Peters' "Naming Others: Manufacturing Yourself" (1993) where the artist asked people to call an 800 number from pay phones and choose which stereotyping phrase described them best.

It’s for You harnesses the familiarity of the telephone as a way of introducing audiences to a variety of conceptual art practices, which often include a mix of art theory and social critique. The exhibition, consequently, endeavors to connect concerns found in contemporary art with the objects, communication habits, and changing technologies in our daily lives. In that spirit, visitors and students will be encouraged to comment on the exhibition using telephone-friendly interfaces such as Twitter.

Bridgeport Arts and Cultural Council "Paper or Plastic?" show opens Thursday evening

The BACC Gallery in the Historic Arcade Mall
1001-12 Main St., Bridgeport, (203) 552-4154
Paper or Plastic?
Mar. 3—Apr. 8, 2011.
Opening reception, Thurs. Mar. 3, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

When we purchase something it is usually inspired by some combination of need and desire. The ratio between the two shifts depending on our relationship to the object or service. When we buy toilet paper, the needle leans toward need, when we buy a dress the action might be primarily linked to desire. Purchasing a car might fall somewhere in between, perhaps balancing the practical needs of a family car with our yearning for a lifestyle promised in a car company’s ad campaigns.

The artists in Paper or Plastic?, curated for the Bridgeport Arts and Cultural Council by Terri C. Smith and Eileen Walsh, are in tune with the range of activities and motivations surrounding consumer culture. Their works appropriate, reference, and harness materials, branding strategies, symbols, and themes found in the market. Artists in the exhibition include: William Corprew (Web), Mark DeRosa, Diane DiMassa (Web), Jahmane, Richard Killeaney, Marcella Kovac, Philip Lique, Alan Neider, Rita Valley and Kevin Van Aelst (Web).

Everything from a historic figure to an ecosystem can be branded. With Jahmane’s "MLBK JR" and "Malcolm Exxon," images of historic figures (who are often appropriated to brand political causes, campaigns, etc.) are combined with the logos and slogans of Burger King and Exxon, reading “Malcolm Exxon” and “Martin Luther Burger King.” As a graphic designer, Marcella Kovac rebrands found artworks with stenciled letters. In the shoreline community of Connecticut, seaside paintings abound as a reaffirmation of that region’s environmental appeal. With Kovac’s piece, the word “Porn” is spray painted on a reproduced seascape painting. Through this juxtaposition the human desire to capture, possess and objectify beauty—whether the female figure or a picturesque landscape—is highlighted.

Sensitivity to the metaphorical and formal power of materials also weaves its way into Paper or Plastic?. In Rita Valley’s beaded credit cards, a seamstresses craft meets purchasing power – a durable plastic rectangle meant to be swiped, stored and swiped again becomes a fragile tapestry. With the title "Fur: Coat," artist Philip Lique cites a soft luxury item made from animals. Lique’s coat, however, is made out of the synthetic material of mass-produced insulation. It is not luxurious (in texture or look) or rare, creating a tension between naming and the formal qualities of the object itself. Richard Killeaney’s pillows are made of recycled men’s tweed suits. With these household comfort/design objects, public (work) and private (home) are joined through reattribution.

With Paper or Plastic? the signs and symbols of consumer culture are torqued, critiqued, appropriated, and recontextualized, providing new lenses through which to see the everyday activities of consumption. Of course, art is also a consumer product, as are art institutions and exhibitions, making it impossible to fully separate these artworks or this exhibition from the very systems it addresses.

There will be an opening reception for this show on Thurs., Mar. 3, from 5—7 p.m.

Eisenfeld drawing and sculpture show reception this Saturday at City gallery

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Nancy Eisenfeld: A Twist
Mar. 3—27, 2011.
Opening reception, Sat., Mar. 5, 3—6 p.m.

Press release

City Gallery in New Haven presents A Twist, a show of drawing, painting, and sculpture by Nancy Eisenfeld during the month of March. In this selection of recent work, Eisenfeld explores natural forces and growth cycles and the impact of human intervention on our environment. Her drawing and sculpture express chaos and order, exploding energies and natural beauty. The sculptures are made with found wood and man-made objects. Drawings and paintings are composed of mixed media. These works evolve from visual observation and imagination.


The show will on display Mar. 3—27. An artist's reception will be held at the gallery this Saturday, Mar. 5, from 3—6 p.m.

Artists' reception at Master of None LLC. in New Haven Saturday

Master of None LLC.
978 State Street, New Haven, (203) 928-0461
Warpaint
Artists’ Reception: Sat., Feb. 12, 5—9 p.m.

Press release

In celebration of Black History Month.

All artists will be in attendence during the opening reception:

Renaldo Davidson (Web)
Kwest (Web)
Hayward Gatling (Web)
Katro Storm (Web)
John Rodrigues Brewer

Febr. 27: Special guest performance by Anthony Thompson Adeagbo, "Ade"...ONE NIGHT ONLY
performing "Jesse B. Simple"
$5 Donation.

Artists' Talk for "The Guy Show" at Artplace in Fairfield this Sunday

Artplace Gallery
11 Unquowa Rd., Fairfield, (203) 292-8328
The Guy Show
Through Feb. 26, 2011
Artists’ Talk: Sun., Feb. 13, 3 p.m.

Press release

Artplace Gallery is pleased to announce dates for the first curated show in its new gallery space. Entitled The Guy Show the exhibit runs from February 1—26, 2011 at 11 Unquowa Rd. in Fairfield and is unique in that it will exclusively feature regional male artists from Fairfield and New Haven counties. The opening reception was held this past Saturday, Feb. 5, but there will be an artists’ talk this Sun., Feb. 13, at 3 p.m.

“We selected these ten artists for their professionalism, clarity of vision as well as their ability to move beyond limits set by traditional art,” says Gerald Saladyga, who is curating and organizing the exhibit. Saladyga is a member of ArtPlace and has curated exhibits on religious art, art and AIDS and redefining “landscape” in art. He notes that The Guy Show is not about “male issues” but about the direction male artists are now moving in.

“We chose five painters, three sculptors and two photographers who demonstrate a wide range of work as well as age and visibility—some are beginning their careers and several are already established,” he says.

Most of the artists featured are New Haven-based with two from Norwalk and one from New Fairfield. The painters include Chris Durante, a member of Norwalk Community College Art Department; Christopher Joy (Web) and Zachary Keeting (Web), co-founders of “Gorky’s Granddaughter,” an artist video interview site; Felandus Thames (Web), a painter and silk-screen printmaker who was recently represented by the Jack Tilton Gallery at Art/Basel/Miami 2010; and Jonathan Waters (Web)whose work has been exhibited at Art in General in NYC and locally at the Ivoryton and Madison Sculpture Miles.


Photographers Keith Johnson (see image above) and Jeremy Keats Saladyga have also been included in important exhibitions: Johnson in three Ground/Cover exhibits in Arizona, Washington and Wyoming and Keats Saladyga at The Michael Foley Gallery, NYC and the Museum of The City of New York.

Joseph Saccio (Web), a largely self-taught sculptor, received the “Best in Show” award at Silvermine’s Art of the Northeast USA exhibit in 2010, while Silas Finch (Web, see image below), a young New-Haven based sculptor, will see his work featured in the up-coming indie film by Stephen Dest, My Brother Jack.


Finally, Joseph Fucigna (Web), also a member of Norwalk Community College, held a recent one-man exhibit of his constructions at the Sculpture Barn in New Fairfield, CT.

“This show presents cutting-edge art not usually represented in Fairfield,” says Saladyga. “Visitors to the show will see art that is not usually exhibited in a private gallery.”

"SCRAWL" opens Wednesday at Artspace in New Haven

Artspace
50 Orange St, New Haven, (203) 772-2709
SCRAWL
Feb. 9—Mar. 26, 2011
Opening reception: Wed., Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m.
Artspace Underground: Sat., Mar. 26, 9 p.m.—midnight

Press release

Artspace is pleased to announce SCRAWL, a seven week festival of site-specific drawing and related events. Beginning Feb. 9, 2011, 48 artists will work individually and in teams to transform the landscape of Artspace with simple materials and their own ingenuity.

SCRAWL kicks off on Feb. 9 with Sprint-to-SCRAWL. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., SCRAWLers will race down Crown Street to cross the starting line—a large ribbon in Artspace's front door on Orange Street—and commence drawing! Area musicians will provide a festive soundtrack and refreshments will be available. SCRAWL's major reception, with the work revealed in its entirety, will be at its end, Mar. 25, 2011, from 6—8 p.m.

Each participating artist or team of artists—all of them SCRAWLers—is assigned his or her own portion of wall or floor to work with, which will segue into other participants' space within the main gallery at 50 Orange Street. The SCRAWLers will create their pieces without being able to see what the artists next to them are doing, ultimately collaborating on one giant collective work.


Inspired by the Surrealist's exquisite corpse games, SCRAWL creates an exhibition in an experimental way with minimal means. We start with nothing but bare walls and some markers, which we give over to selected artists, without being able to control the exact outcome. Viewing the working process as it unfolds in real-time and exploring the experimental possibilities of large-scale drawing in a complex interior space are integral to SCRAWL's methodology.

The 48 participating artists were selected by Martha Lewis, SCRAWL's organizer, and include artists at various stages of their career, all unified in excellence of practice and a spirit of ingenuity. The SCRAWLers include:

• Cat Balco • Anna Broell Bresnick • Alexis Brown • Francis Cooke •
• The Futurists: Karen Dow with a team of 12 students from Educational Center for the Arts •
• Laura Gardner • Zachary Keeting • Ken Lovell (and his drawing robot!) • Andres Madariaga •
• Melissa Marks • Maegen McElderry • Tim Nikiforuk • Kerry O'Grady •
• The Sausage Crew: Larissa Hall, Mike Pitassi, & Michael Riley (AKA Queen Larita, MC Sausage, & Dr. BOX)
• Daniel Rios Rodriguez • James Rose • Jean Scott • Rashmi Talpade •
• Team Tele: Maria Lara-Whelpley, Sylvia Hierro, Laura Case, Eleanor Tamsky, and Susan Ferri
• Traffic Lights & Warning Stripes: Vito Bonnano and Justin Crosby •
• Laura Watt •

There will be a dedicated wallspace for the public to come in and draw, and a window space featuring rotating works from the various satellite projects related to SCRAWL. Among these satellite projects:

• PubSCRAWL: Beginning Feb. 15, Artspace's Ninth Square neighbor Firehouse 12 will host an informal “Stitch 'n' Bitch”-style meet up on Tuesday nights between 6—8 p.m. We'll gather to informally draw together, have a drink and record the vibe of the bar.

• Stretching & SCRAWLing: On Feb. 19 at 4 p.m., yoginis from Artspace's Ninth Square neighbor, Fresh Yoga will lead a class within the gallery, offering a challenging opportunity to capture participants as they shift from pose to pose. For artists with some figure drawing experience.

• SCRAWL-TV: Throughout the exhibition, a television in our main gallery screens stop-motion animated videos of drawings, submitted by artists from around the world!

• Corpse in the Mail: A viral mail-art project, in which participants create an
illustrated alphabet and exquisite corpse drawing through the post, while sharing their contributions online through social media sites. The resulting book will be returned to Artspace and displayed in the Crown Street window.

• Artspace Underground will take place in SCRAWL on Mar. 26, 2011. The Underground is an after-hours party bringing alternative music, experimental time-based art, and cutting-edge performances to the gallery space.

Additionally, we are happy to announce a partnership with the Yale Center for British Art: artist Rebecca Salter will execute a work on the Artspace gallery walls in collaboration with students from Coop High School for the Arts and Humanities. The process will be documented and turned into a stop-motion animated film, shown in conjunction with her exhibit Into the Light of Things at the Yale Center for British Art.

Throughout the festival, Artspace will be open to students to come observe the drawing unfold and take part in drawing activities. Interested school and community groups are welcome to contact Artspace to arrange a workshop or visit. An art therapy group from the Veterans Administration in West Haven, Connecticut, will be joining us, as well as student groups from area high schools.

SCRAWL is also being conducted in tandem with the Aldrich Museum's Draw On! Festival. Children visiting Artspace will have the opportunity to draw in a flip book that will be completed by their peers at the Aldrich Museum. On Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, Artspace hosts one of two drawing workshops led by master artist James Esber, with the other workshop taking place at the Aldrich Museum in March. Esber has been called “an artist working at the top of his game” by The New York Times.

SCRAWL will be unveiled in its entirety at a closing reception on Mar. 25, 2011 where visitors will have the opportunity to discuss the work with the artists.

Gallery 305K "Grand Opening Show" reception rescheduled to Saturday, Feb. 12

Gallery 305K
305 Knowlton St., Bridgeport, (203) 814-6856
Grand Opening Show
Opening reception: rescheduled from Sat., Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. to Sat., Feb. 12, 3 p.m.

Press release

Here at Gallery 305K we have learned to respect Mother Nature. Snow is forecast for Sat., Feb. 5, and we are inclined to believe them. In the interest of safety, we are postponing the Grand Opening Show reception until the following Saturday, Feb. 12, at 3 p.m. We look forward to seeing you then and celebrating our new space with you!

The show will feature a sampling of art from the Black Rock Gallery artists, as well as some new artists work who we will be featuring in the future. It is an open themed show that will allow our artists to show their newest and best work and will set the tone for the gallery’s future exhibits. Some artists included will be Joan Fitzsimmons, Liz Squillace, Felipe Soltero, Mark DeRosa, Ricky Mestre, Michelle Beaulieu, Greg Olfanos, Marcella Kurowski and Tom Mezzanote, Jahmane, Lemanuel Shelly.

Friday evening opening at EO Artlab

eo artlab
69 Main St., Chester, (860) 526-4833
George Fellner: Imaginary Realms
Feb. 2—27, 2011.
Opening reception and artist’s talk: Fri., Feb. 4, 6—9 p.m.

Press release

With astounding compositional skill and exceptional photographic technique, George Fellner reveals parallel realms of color and form between solid and void and large and small. The show of Fellner’s work entitled Imaginary Realms, runs from Feb. 2—27, with an opening reception on Fri., Feb. 4, from 6—9 p.m.

Thursday opening at Pegasus Gallery at Middlesex Community College in Middletown

Middlesex Community College Pegasus Gallery
100 Training Hill Road, Chapman Hall, Middletown, 1-800-818-5501
Nancy Goodrich & Jill Mass: 2 Daughters, 2 Mothers
Through Mar. 4, 2011.
Opening reception, Thurs., Feb. 3, 5—7 p.m. in the Pegasus Gallery

Press release

2 Daughters, 2 Mothers is a collaborative photography project by Nancy Goodrich and Jill Mass. This series of 20 images examines the personal experiences of Alzheimer's that afflicts both artists’ mothers. Each work portrays an intimate moment where maternal intimacies coexist with indications of dementia. Goodrich and Mass employ the soft and muted tones of the Ziatype printing process as a means to evoke the fragile and dream-like nature of memory.

Goodrich received a B.A. at Newcomb College of Tulane University and has taken courses at Middlesex and Tunxis Community Colleges. Mass holds a B.A. from the University of Rochester and an M.S. from the University of Hartford.

There will be an opening Thurs., Feb. 3, from 5—7 p.m. in the Pegasus Gallery.

This Wednesday evening artist's reception at Atticus Bookstore in New Haven postponed to NEXT Wednesday

Atticus Café
1082 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 776-4040
Kieran Maiorana: Warm Wallpaper and Forbidden Doors
Through Mar. 6, 2011.
Opening Reception: Wed., Feb. 9, 5:30 p.m.

Press release

Warm Wallpaper and Forbidden Doors will be on display through Mar. 6. The artist’s reception for this show—originally scheduled for tomorrow, Feb. 2, at 5:30 p.m.—has been postponed until next Wed., Feb. 9, at 5:30 p.m. because of the weather.

Kieran Maiorana grew up on the North Fork of Long Island as the youngest of six siblings. He graduated from the University of Scranton with a degree in English Literature. He now lives in New Haven. He is self-taught as an artist with a little help from some friends, most notably Max Toth, Mike McConnell and his brother Tom. Among his biggest influences are Cecily Brown and Joseph Cornell. His work has appeared in Citylights Gallery in Bridgeport and Café Atlantique in Milford.

Maiorana also writes creatively, and elements of storytelling—including tension, structure and action—carry over into the aesthetic of his artwork. His pieces are introspective in nature, often focusing on aspects of childhood and how they shape us as adults. He hopes to create a sense of longing, nostalgia and trajectory in his pieces.

Opening reception Saturday for Paulette Rosen show at City Gallery

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Paul Rosen: New Work: Nests, Drawings & Dioramas
Feb. 3—27, 2011.
Opening reception: Sat., Feb. 5, 3—6 p.m.

Press release

An exhibit of new work by City Gallery member Paulette Rosen will be on display for most of the month of February at the gallery on State street in New Haven. There will be an opening reception for the show this Saturday from 3—6 p.m.

Paulette Rosen’s pencil drawings on digital scans are haunting images of birds and nests. Her large nests of woven branches and miniature box dioramas work together to illustrate the patterning and perspective of the world of birds.