Three shows open at Artspace in New Haven this Friday

Artspace
50 Orange St, New Haven, (203) 772-2709
William DeLottie: in three states of mind
Interventions: Works from Artspace's Flatfile
Felandus Thames with Summer Apprentices: Occupy Main Street
July 27—Sept. 15, 2012.
Opening: Fri., July 28, 5—8 p.m.

Artspace Press release

Three new shows open this Friday at Artspace in New Haven. The opening reception will be held from 5—8 p.m. All three exhibits will be on display through Sept. 15.

• William DeLottie: in three states of mind

This show, organized by VAC member Eric Litke, will present previously unseen video installations and a mural-sized work on paper by Connecticut artist William DeLottie, who has been exhibiting regionally and nationally for over 30 years. DeLottie’s work, which is typically raw and nonhierarchical, was included in the 2000 Whitney Biennial. DeLottie's art continues to explore notions of collage imbued with media imagery, as well as a very personal lexicon of forms both abstract and pictographic in nature. DeLottie’s range of materials, including pure pigment, metallic sheets, and vinyl bags, give an unpredictable and enigmatic quality to his works on paper, while his video installations frequently delve into a range of both narrative and abstract subjects.

William DeLottie currently lives in rural, eastern Connecticut. Though he has exhibited frequently for over three decades, moving from monochromatic paintings in the 1970s to more experimental installations in recent years, he has often been fully employed at non-art-related jobs. His installation works, often referred to as "systema," constantly mutate in response to new sites or inspirations in DeLottie’s own studios in Putnam and Willimantic.

Eric Litke was born in Hartford, CT and holds a B.F.A. from the School of the Visual Arts. A member of Artspace’s Visual Arts Committee, Litke currently resides in New Haven, CT and works at the Yale University Art Gallery.

• Interventions

Interventions features works from Artspace’s Flatfile that are centered on the theme of human intrusions into nature. The Flatfile, Artspace’s rotating collection of works on paper, celebrates a diverse collection of local and regional artists. Many of the works featured in this exhibition deliberately play on a sense of what is real; some through mechanical alterations, such as that of a camera lens; others through staged recreations and dioramas; and still others through shifts in scale. Collectively, these works seem to offer a reminder, subtle or otherwise, of the artist at work behind an image and, more broadly, of the constant tension between constructed and natural environments. Artists to be shown include Hannah Cole, Keith Johnson, Carolyn Monastra, Robert Morris, Lori Nix, Jessica Schwind, Jeff Slomba, Joseph Smolinski, and Bradley Wollman.

This exhibition is organized by Kristen Erickson, curator and art history teacher at Greenwich Academy, and Erin Riley, art teacher and director of the Luchsinger Gallery at Greenwich Academy.

• Felandus Thames with Summer Apprentices: Occupy Main Street

Each summer Artspace seeks out an artist and a group of New Haven high school students to work together in the spirit of collaboration. Over the course of three weeks this group coalesces into a creative unit, learning new art skills and completing an intricate installation in the Artspace galleries.

This year’s project features a silk-screening collaboration between artist Felandus Thames and 16 New Haven high school students. The project centers around ideas of branding and self-image; their work features hand-screened logos for their class, which they dubbed the Sharpie Squad, that have been applied to the long wall in Artspace’s gallery.

The summer apprentices are: Badria Ahmed (Hillhouse High School), Arianno Alamo (Wilbur Cross and Educational Center for the Arts), Danny Amir (Metro Business Academy), Tyler Carrillo-Waggoner (Guilford High School), Jasmine Chevalier (Hillhouse High School), Ian Davidson (Sound School), Shawn Duplessie (Metro Business Academy), Jazmin Iturbide (Metro Business Academy), Rain Jasiorkowski (Sound School), Shanti Madison (Hamden High School and Educational Center for the Arts), Olivia Marciano (Shelton High School and Educational Center for the Arts), Stefany Mitchell (Joseph A. Foran High School and Educational Center for the Arts), Kira Podgwait (Cooperative Arts High School), Isaiah Rodgers (Metro Business Academy), Juan Velazquez (Metro Business Academy), Aysha Younas (Hamden High School and Educational Center for the Arts).

Felandus Thames is a cross-disciplinary artist engaged with questions of race, power, and identity. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he received a B.A. in Painting and Graphic Design from Jackson State University before completing his M.F.A. in Painting/Printmaking at the Yale University School of Art in 2010. Thames has participated in a residency at the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center in Jackson and has shown in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States. He currently works in Harlem, New York, and is represented by the Tilton Gallery.

Opening reception for Mercurial Gallery Staff Show this Saturday in Danbury

The Mercurial Gallery
11 Library Pl., Danbury, (203) 417-2215
The Mercurial Staff Show
July 28—Sept. 7, 2012.
Opening Reception: Sat., July 28, 5—7 p.m.
Musical Performance by DawnMother Sat., Aug. 25, 7 p.m.

Press release from Mercurial Gallery

The Mercurial Gallery in downtown Danbury, Connecticut will be exhibiting its first staff show from July 28 to Sept. 7. Myriad writers, artists, designers, and friends of The Mercurial's online magazine and its brick and mortar gallery will be showing works in a variety of mediums, including sculpture, photography, mixed media, and writing.

In addition, The Mercurial will be launching its new magazine website at the staff show's opening reception, taking place on Sat., July 28, from 5—7 p.m. The new, sleek website is the work of local artist and designer Robert Rae, who will also be showing his artwork in the exhibit.

Other artists on display will include gallery co-curator Katie Bassett, editor and contributing writer Joshua L. Durkin, owner Amanda Bloom, artist and designer Jing Lu, videographer and artist Evan Dalcher, sculptor and furniture maker Alec Jordan, and gallery neighbors Erin Walrath, Chris Durante, and David Haislip.

The July 28 staff show opening reception includes a meet and greet of the artists and refreshments. An accompanying music performance by Danbury-based rock band DawnMother will take place at the gallery on Sat., Aug. 25, at 7pm.

The Mercurial Gallery is located at 11 Library Place in Danbury Connecticut. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday and Friday, 11—5 p.m., Saturday 1—5 p.m., and Sunday 1—4 p.m.

Two new shows on view starting this weekend at West Cove Studios in West Haven

A-Space Gallery at West Cove Studios
30 Elm St., West Haven, (203) 627-8030
Hands of Caravaggio: Ink Drawings by Barry Svigals
Nomi Silverman: Mud Flat Drawings
July 28—Aug. 25, 2012.
Closing Reception: Sat., Aug. 25, 6—8 p.m.

Press release

A-Space Gallery at West Cove Studios presents two shows that open this weekend (although there will not be an associated event until the closing reception on Aug. 25).

Architect Barry Svigals (Web) will exhibit Hands of Caravaggio, a selection of his ink drawings.

Artist Nomi Silverman (Web)will display her Mud Flat Drawings series.


There will be a closing reception on Sat., Aug. 25, from 6—8 p.m.

Reception Thursday evening for group show at Pardee-Morris House in New Haven

New Haven Museum
114 Whitney Ave., New Haven, (203) 562-4183
House, Reinterpreted 2012
July 26—Aug. 26, 2012.
Opening Reception: Thurs., July 26, 5:30 p.m.

Press release

The New Haven Museum is pleased to announce an opening reception to be held for House, Reinterpreted 2012 at the historic Pardee-Morris House at 5:30 p.m. on Thurs., July 26, 2012. House, Reinterpreted 2012 is a site-specific art installation featuring new works by New Haven artists, including Cynthia Schwarz, Jessica Schwind, Joseph Smolinski, Anna Russell, Todd Jokl, Alison Walsh and others. The works on display are inspired by and created directly in response to the rich history of the Pardee-Morris House dating back to the early days of the New Haven Colony. House, Reinterpreted 2012 will be on display through August 26 2012.

The Pardee-Morris House is one of the oldest surviving historic structures in Connecticut, and dates from about 1780. Built by Amos Morris around 1750, the house was burned by the British during their raid on New Haven in 1779 and was rebuilt by the Morris family. In 1918, William Pardee, a descendant of the Morris family, willed the property to the New Haven Colony Historical Society, today the New Haven Museum. The Pardee-Morris House is open free of charge on Sundays from 12—5 pm through August 26, 2012. Look for special events at the House throughout the summer season.

The New Haven Museum, founded as the New Haven Colony Historical Society in 1862, is located in downtown New Haven at 114 Whitney Avenue.

Loebell exhibit opens in 100 Pearl Street Gallery Thursday evening

100 Pearl Street Gallery
100 Pearl St., Hartford, (860) 525-8629
Reminiscing: Wood Relief by Robert Loebell
July 18—Sept. 28, 2012.
Opening reception: Thurs., July 26, 5—7 p.m.

Press release from the Greater Hartford Arts Council

Robert Loebell's wood carved and burned pieces explore how photography creates personal and historical memory. Although images of the past, the selections as they exist today take on new life as sculpture that is as much abstract as realistic.

Loebell has spent the last three decades drawing, painting, and sculpting in wood, exhibiting his work throughout New England. A member of both the New York Sculptors Guild and The Silvermine Guild of Artists, Loebell holds a Masters of Education in Art from Temple University. Originally from Philadelphia, Loebell has taught art in the West Hartford Public School system for the last 27 years.


A free public opening reception with the artist will be held on Thurs., July 26 from 5—7 p.m. in the gallery space. Wine and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Call for artists for upcoming show, "Instructions Not Included," at Artspace in New Haven

Artspace
50 Orange St, New Haven, (203) 772-2709
Call for artists: Instructions Not Included, exhibition in planning for November, 2012

Press release from Artspace

Artspace is seeking artists/makers to participate in the exhibition Instructions Not Included: Tinker, Hack, Tweak, organized by Artspace's Education Curator Martha Lewis. This exhibition, slated to run from Nov. 9, 2012 to late January 2013, will construct a visual discussion around the creative possibilities of readymade culture. The exhibition will serve as a forum for reexamining industrial design, our daily environment, and the objects with which we surround ourselves. Artspace is putting out two calls for artists, one for artists to participate in a project within Artspace's gallery and one for temporary works for our building's exterior.

The interior call (PDF available here) seeks Connecticut-based artists who, in addition to exhibiting work, will commit to be in the gallery at least once per week as artists-in-residence, working on both individual and collaborative projects, for the duration of the show. Each artist will occupy a portion of the gallery with a desk area and visuals board to share their concepts, working process, and inspirations.

The exterior call (PDF available here), for temporary pieces on and around Artspace, is open to all regional artists. Proposed pieces should interact with the works taking place inside and invite a reexamination of the gallery's historic location within a former furniture factory. We welcome works with a political edge, a sense of humor and wonder, and which possess a strong sense of design—suggested projects include yarn-bombing, light installations, sound works, and projections. Projects must not damage the façade of the Chamberlain Building or interfere with normal operations of doors and sidewalks. Dimensions for Artspace's windows can be found here (PDF). Photographs of the exterior of the building can be found here (PDF).

All selected artists will receive an honorarium, the amount of which is determined based on the scope of the project. A printed catalog will be produced and a strong web-based component, offering opportunities for dialogue and exposure, will be provided. All submissions must be received by August 30th; notifications will be sent out in mid-September.

To view more specifics about the calls and to send in submissions, please set up an account here.

Questions? Email ini [AT] artspacenh.org.

Thursday evening opening at Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery in New Haven

Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery
70 Audubon St., 2nd floor, New Haven, (203) 772-2788
Encompass: 9th Annual Members' Show
July 20—Sept. 14, 2012.
Artists' reception: Thurs., July 19, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents the 9th Annual Members' Show, Encompass, in the Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery, 70 Audubon St., 2nd floor, New Haven. This exhibition will be on display from July 20 until Sept. 14, 2012. There will be an opening reception from 5—7 p.m. on Thurs., July 19, 2012. The public is invited to attend.


This inclusive show will be comprised of artwork created by members of The Arts Council of Greater New Haven, representing a wide variety of styles and medias. Artists include: Stephanie Anestis, Judy Atlas, Hayne Bayless, Rosemary Benivegna, Mark Bisset, Corey Brown, Julia Coash, Larry Cowles, Giada Crispiels, Brendan Cunningham, Kathleen DeMeo, Geoffrey Detrani, Marian Doherty, Anne Doris-Eisner, Oi Fortin, Kate Gendreau, Moussa-Gueye, Sharon Hirsch, Aniko Horvath, Aileen Ishmael, Art Johnson, Arline Johnston-Ben Israel, Richard Kallweit, Gillian Marshall, William Meddick, Irene K. Miller, Hedi Minow-Pike, Roy Money, Sharon Mullen-Reynolds, David Ottenstein, Ellen Papciak-Rose, Elaine Peters, Jacob Pongratz, Herb Portnoy, Carl Puleo, Marion Sachdeva, Marjorie Sopkin, Charla Spector, Marcela Staudenmaier, Kevin Stevens, Mark K. St. Mary, Joyce Sullivan, Jean Swanson, Kimberly Van Aelst, Do Walker, John Weinland, Mark Williams, Patricia Winer, Joy Wulke, Linda Zimmerman, and Iosif Zlatnikov.

Show opening at Hope Gallery Tattoo Saturday night

Hope Gallery
835 Woodward Ave., New Haven, (203) 467-1622
End of the World Show: Christian Perez & Ernesto Nave
Opening: Sat., July 21, 2011, 7—10 p.m.

Press release

There will be an opening reception at Hope Gallery Tattoo this Sat., July 21, from 7—10 p.m. for End of the World, a show of works by Christian Perez and Ernesto Nave.

Opening for Detrani show in Essex this Friday

The Orison Project
8 Railroad Ave., Building 7, Essex, (860) 767-7572
Geoffrey Detrani: Collider
July 13—Aug. 27, 2012.
Opening Reception: Fri., July 13, 6—8 p.m.
Artist Talk: Wed., Aug. 8, 7 p.m.

Works by artist Geoffrey Detrani will be on display at The Orison Project in Essex over the coming month and a half. The show, Collider, opens this Friday, July 13, from 6—8 p.m. and will be on display through Aug. 27. Detrani will talk about the work on Wed., Aug. 8, at 7 p.m.

Saturday evening opening for group show at Ulla Surland in Fairfield

Ulla Surland Gallery Eleven
11 Unquowa Rd., Fairfield, (203) 259-1572
Water: A Group Exhibition
July 14—Aug. 31, 2012.
Opening Reception: Sat., July 14, 6—8 p.m.

Press release from the Ulla Surland Gallery

Marianne Van Lent—Fresco Secco & Dispersed Pigment on Canvas
Brechin Morgan—Acrylic on Canvas
Janis Melone—Collage/Mixed Media
Rebecca Harper—Oil on Canvas
David Dunlop—Oil on Metal
Ann Conrad—Intaglio Prints with Hand Coloring
Frank Bruckmann—Oil on Canva

Where there is no water, there is no life as we know it. Water covers 71% of the earth's surface. It exists in the universe in vast quantities, it's components, hydrogen and oxygen, among the most plentiful of the elements. Water vapor along with carbon dioxide create a buffer around the earth keeping the temperature stable and within a range that supports life.

Too much water as in floods, and combined with energy as in tsunamis and hurricanes causes cataclysmic destruction. Scarcity of water creates deserts where life exists only in the rarest forms and with difficulty. Civilizations rise and prosper in the fertile land around rivers and in the temperate zones where oceans meet land masses. Waterways are used as pathways of transportation, as receptacles of waste, for recreation, and when harnessed, to produce energy. Water is used for food preparation, to extinguish fires, for bathing, to cool our nuclear reactors, quench the thirst of factory farms, and in religious ritual.

Volumes have been written about water in all its forms and uses, from the world of science and the finite, to the world of science fiction and the infinite and in the places where they meet and combine. The seven artists participating in this exhibition using their creative voices have used water as inspiration for works of art. The works are literal and abstract, sometimes both, small and large, and use a variety of materials, scales and dimensions, expressing the poetic, the factual, the surreal and the fantastic.

The show will be on view from July 14 through Aug. 31. There will be an opening reception this Sat., July 14, from 6—8 p.m.

(Image: "Bitmap XIV" by Ann Conrad.)

Windsor Art Center hosts "Rough Around the Edges" opening event Saturday night

Windsor Art Center
40 Mechanic St., Windsor, (860) 688-2528
Rough Around the Edges III
July 14—Aug. 4, 2012.
Opening Reception & Events: Sat., July 14, 5—10 p.m.

Press release from Rough Around the Edges

Passion is the theme of this year’s artistic event, Rough Around the Edges, curated by Sarah McKay. This vibrantly colorful and eclectic event brings together some of the most talented and prolific native Connecticut artists, along with invited guest artists from both coasts. The annual Rough Around The Edges show has appeared and been acclaimed as one of the Hartford Courant's top picks in 2011.

Narrative paintings, figurative drawings and prints, abstract and moody works in addition to some thought-provoking and fun sculptures, photography, short art films, an installation and more combine to make this event yet another potential sell out and well-attended opening.

The opening reception features a filled evening of live music both indoors and outdoors, including folk, instrumental world fusion, and psychedelic dream-rock featuring John Parson, Heirlooms and String Theorie adding to the unique flavor of the show. Keep an eye out for the opening night ever-popular Lucky Taco Truck bringing Tex-Mex pork carnitas tacos, beef picadillo tacos, portabella fajitas and tasty burritos to the Windsor Art Center!

Those who appreciate art, self-expression and the creative process will not want to miss this exciting, albeit rough around the edges creative project. Find out what passion looks like this summer. So get off your computer, get out of the house and join some of your fellow humans and explore the essence of humanity, anti-apathy and sincerity. Some of the local artists include Matthew Rubino, Alivia Atwood, John O’Donnell and Andre Rochester. Our special guest artists include Christopher Creath (Portland, Oregon—see his image "Where Thoughts Go"), Alexia Lalande, Elizabeth Dargie and Carlos Fonts (Boston, Massachusetts).

50% of all proceeds from the silent auction will go to the Windsor Art Center, a non-profit organization fostering visual and performing arts in the community.

Saturday reception for show of Boffi prints at Gallery at Still River Editions in Danbury

The Gallery at Still River Editions
128 East Liberty St., Danbury, (203) 791-1474
Orientation: Selected Works by Bernard Boffi
Through Sept. 28, 2012.
Opening Reception: Sat., July 14, 4—6 p.m.

Press release from Gallery at Still River Editions

Orientation is a solo exhibition of archival digital fine art prints by Bernard Boffi, whose monograph of the same name was published in 2010. In the foreword to the book, the critic Donald Kuspit describes Bernard Boffi’s prints as “masterpieces of what might be called expressionistic surrealism.”

The prints included in the exhibit Orientation are classic prints based on Boffi’s work as a painter, and stamp prints, which are collage works he says are "in the manner of Robert Rauschenberg that use postage stamps as elements like those in a still life." His classic prints "have to do with things in nature that are invisible. Natural phenomena—like the idea of polarity—is something that we know but we can’t see, and is used for us to navigate through time and space."

From his introduction to Orientation: "I try to construct works that relay the process of spontaneity in the works’ 'intention.' Between events in one’s life and the formal requirements of expression, one attempts to 'find' what cannot be seen, or metaphorically constructed. Hopefully this is an 'orientation' in which the viewer can participate."

Bernard Boffi was born in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1943. He attended the School of Visual Arts and graduated in 1966. The same year, he married the artist Ingrid Soltner. In 1967, he worked on his first portfolio of paintings when he and Soltner moved to Germany, where they spent a year traveling. Upon returning to New York City, they lived on 2nd St. next to Claes Oldenburg’s famous storefront, a setting for early performance art and the film "Hippodrome Hardware." This fostered Boffi’s interest in Avant-garde film; he began making films in the early 70s into the early 80s. The peak creation of this period was Boffi's film "Photoplays" which the filmmaker Kenneth Anger described as "deliciously dangerous." Boffi was one of the founders of one of the first alternative schools in the country where he developed an art program based on the Avant-garde in NYC. Boffi became an early adopter of digital printmaking. He has two sons, Oliver and Andreas, and now maintains a studio in Kent, NY.

The exhibition will be on display through Sept. 28. There will be an artist's reception on Sat., July 14, from 4—6 p.m.

Friday evening reception at Giampietro Gallery for show of Castiglione Holocaust drawings

Giampietro Gallery—Works of Art
315 Peck St., New Haven, (203) 777-7760
Jerusalem Burning: The Holocaust Drawings of Edward Castiglione
July 13—Aug. 3, 2012.
Opening Reception: Fri., July 13, 5—8 p.m.

Press Release by Stephen Vincent Kobasa from Giampietro Gallery

Edward Castiglione (1948-2010):

"Three Studies for Geruseleme" is a way of explaining the incomprehensible and unbearable. It is not to be interpreted or approached with moral significance. In point of fact it should be as outside of reason, as a suspension of judgment, for to attach significance would be to place value and dimension to a horror which is beyond measure.

Many years afterward a Jesuit priest recalled a night in Hungary, late in the Second World War:

It was summertime, it was one of those very quiet nights… I woke up to a sound… I didn't know what it was at first… and then I realized this is the sound of people crying…children, women, men… that kind of chorus, wailing… The next morning… it was a gardener who told me that those were the Jewish people crying because at our station the Hungarian gendarmerie handed them over to SS troops to be deported… I didn't know about the death camps at that time, and I didn't know about the ovens, the burning… But I personally, at that moment, I felt a persuasion coming upon me that these people will all be killed… today, maybe, I would be ready to then run in front of the train and lay down…[but] at that time… it was just… running away, simply running away…it was beyond my experience… I was utterly unprepared.

Born three years after the war, when the memory of the death camps was already being suppressed, Edward Castiglione struggled to imagine as an artist that place beyond experience that the priest ran from. These Geruseleme drawings were the largest single sustained series of works which he undertook in his lifetime. In them, he was a bystander after the fact, with his own conscience put to the test by the images he fashioned. The Isaac who carries the wood for these burnt offerings is not spared. A promise of fire is in every picture, the bodies turned to fuel and then ash and then, as the poet Nelly Sachs envisioned them, "refugees of smoke." Given their subject, there is no way to avoid saying that these pictures are one desperate failure after another; but it is in that procession of failures that the horror becomes finally clear.

Sunday reception at Kehler Liddell for "Artist's Choice" group show

Kehler Liddell Gallery
873 Whalley Ave., New Haven, (203) 389-9555
Artist's Choice
Through Aug. 16, 2012.
Opening Reception: Sun., July 8, 3—6 p.m.

Press release

Artist's Choice is a unique exhibition of member artists work paired with the work of guest artists accompanied by a written statement. Each artist in the show is accomplished. There is a broad spectrum of work including: painting, sculpture, photography and drawing or paint, wood, stone, metal, paper, ink, found objects and more. Broad spectrums of work and member/guest shows are not unusual. Artist's Choice is all this and more. It is the personal invitation from one artist to another, the particular pairings, the binding of one artist to another, which leaves the viewer wondering what stirred within the host artist to extend this invitation. The answers are provided by each of the 22 Kehler Liddell member artists in highly personal statements, which reveal inspiration and admiration among creative professionals. It is the statements and moves the exhibition out of the ordinary.

The show will be on display through Aug. 16. An artists' reception will be held Sun., July 8, from 3—6 p.m.

Host artist Gar Waterman (Web) reveals Jay Seeley as a "fellow hopeless accumulator of stuff." "Each object is fecund with the promise of finding a place in his work…. When Jay requested the use of a set of wings from my Tin Man series of sculptures, I was delighted to be able to contribute to his creative process, knowing that the result would be mysterious and wonderful…My reconfigured scrap metal sculptures and Jay Seeley's photographs (see image "Angelee" below) fuel that interpretive alchemy that we, as artists, all practice as part of our creative process."


"Marion Belanger," writes host artist Keith Johnson, "is a photographer interested in the concepts of persistence and change, and in the way that boundaries demarcate difference, particularly with regard to the land." She is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as other notable awards and has an extensive and impressive exhibition history. Johnson chose Belanger "because she is a smart, creative well seeing photographer. The piece she will show (see image below) was site-specific and printed in a non-traditional way. It will hang from the rafters in the gallery. She is a good friend and I like her work.”


The show includes the work of forty-four artists and twenty-two thoughtful statements making sense of the pairings, revealing both host and guest artist and work that surprises, delights and on occasion, confounds.

"Over Time," showcasing three artists, to have Sunday City Gallery reception

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Over Time: Works by Barbara Harder, Susan Newbold and Karen Wheeler
July 5—29, 2012.
Opening Reception: Sun., July 8, 2—5 p.m.
Closing Event: Sun., July 29, 2—4 p.m.

Press release

Over Time is a an exhibition introducing new gallery member, Susan Newbold (Web), along with gallery members Karen Wheeler (Web) and Barbara Harder (Web). Their mixed media and printmaking works evoke a sense of mystery/a passage of time/an invitation to linger.

Over Time will be on view from July 5—29 with an opening g reception on Sun., July 8, from 2—5 p.m. and a closing event on Sun., July 29, from 2—4 p.m.

Barbara Harder's JTopogC61:


Susan Newbold's mixed media "Buoy":


Karen Wheeler's mixed digital work "Devotion":

Reception for show of paintings by Michael Kozlowski this Saturday at New Haven Public Library

New Haven Free Public Library Art Gallery
133 Elm St., New Haven
Michael Kozlowski: The Symbolism of Places
Through Aug. 1, 2012.
Artist's reception: Sat., July 7, 2—4:30 p.m.

Press release

"My inspiration" says artist Michael Kozlowski, "has always come from painters who have the ability to create and display another world that not only allows you to visit but draws you in and bars the door behind you. Whether this is done through the intrigue created by the symbolism and careful technique of Edward Hopper, or through the visual attack that comes from many paintings by Turner, creating work that has this type of arresting power and presence is my goal.

Michael Kozlowski is an award-winning Fairfield County-based artist. He studied art at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven and more recently at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Kozlowski has studied everything from drawing and painting (in oils, acrylics, and watercolors) to traditional darkroom and digital photography, computer graphics, and even advertising, but painting has remained his primary artistic focus. While art has been a part of his life since early childhood, he has only recently begun exhibiting work.

"Most of my work deals with places—typically interiors or at least man-made spaces. Saying that I allow the places I paint to choose me may sound trite, but it would not be incorrect. They are places which have all made an impression on me in one way or another and the way I choose to present them—and the situations I depict within these settings—reflects, and hopefully to some extent conveys, those impressions they gave me. However, rather than dictate a particular meaning or point of view, the intent is to provide the catalyst for a dialogue between the viewer and the work. Each person brings his or her own history and ideas to the work and therefore the images can suggest an endless array of interpretations that may change and evolve over time. My paintings are composed carefully and often over long stretches until they reach a "critical mass," at which point they can be assembled on the canvas. I attempt to incorporate contemporary elements into representational painting to make it more dynamic, more expressive, more emotive, and more appealing to a modern viewer. It has always been my contention that the best artwork strikes a balance among good composition, an intriguing execution and style, and at the heart of each work, unique and individual ideas. These points, coupled with an intent toward originality, are what has guided my work."

Many of his recent paintings have been large scale, immersive works depicting store windows and interior spaces executed in varying styles to evoke different feelings and emotions. These works are left intentionally oblique so that, rather than dictate a particular meaning or point of view, they can be the catalyst for a dialogue with the work. Kozlowski continues to push his art in new directions, recently experimenting with portraiture and mixed media.

The exhibition will be on display through Aug. 1. There will be an reception for the artist Sat., July 7, from 2—4:30 p.m.

Artist Mark Williams seeks funds on Kickstater for caves project

Artist Mark Williams has been working for a number of years on artwork that involved images of toy soldiers, referencing the way the ideology of militarism is smuggled into generation after generation. Williams recently closed that chapter of his work and is starting a new project inspired by caves.

From an email sent out by Williams last Thursday:

I am currently at the National Speleological Society's National Conference in Lewisburg. Yesterday I went through my first real cave that is not a show cave. It was fun, beautiful, interesting, and a bit scary at times. Today I went trough another cave for a photography trip after buying a pair of boots. Caving with an old pair of shoes with little to no traction was really not a good idea. I learned a lot so all's well that ends well. Below are some photos of me in my brand new suit. The last one is me (see image below) after over four hours in the cave rolling around, crawling on my hands and knees, slithering through holes, and belly crawling through a shallow stream. The back side of the suit was just as bad and I already got a small rip in it.

"Crawling on my hands and knees, slithering through holes…" Better him than me.


Williams is looking for funding on Kickstarter for his research tour of caves. He's offering some nice premiums for backers (see image below for an example of a photograph taken and hand-colored by Williams for a $50 pledge). Williams is trying to reach a goal of $2,000 by July 27.


From Williams' Kickstarter page:

In August I will spend three weeks visiting show caves in Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee. While inside the caves I will take hundreds of digital as well as black and white film photographs and lots of video documentation. I will reference these images to make paintings, prints, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures when I return. This will be an ongoing series expected to last a few years or more and I am expecting to make some large paintings—4 x 6 feet and larger. Right now I am at the beginning and am collecting source material.

I have never been to Missouri or Arkansas and am excited to visit. Caves I plan to see in Missouri are Meremac Caverns, Fantastic Caverns, Bridal Cave, Cathedral Cave, Jacob's Cave, Onandaga Cave, Round Spring Caverns, Talking Rocks Cavern, Mark Twain Cave, Cameron Cave, and maybe Truitt's Cave if I can meet the owner as it is now closed. In Arkansas I plan to see Cosmic Cavern, Bull Shoals Caverns, Hurricane River Cave, Mystic Caverns, Onyx Cave, War Eagle Cavern, and maybe the Old Spanish Treasure Cave. Finally in Tennessee I plan to visit Cumberland Caverns, Forbidden Caverns, Tuckaleechee Caverns, Raccoon Mountain Caverns, and maybe Lost Sea. Several caves offer wild tours where you do real caving and I may do that as well. If you have any suggestions or know of any non-show caves please let me know.

If you are interested in supporting this project—and would like to get a nice piece of original artwork by Williams in the process—make a pledge at his Kickstarter page.