Dedicated to covering the visual arts community in Connecticut.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Meg Bloom exhibit reception Sat., May 3, at City Gallery in New Haven

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Meg Bloom: Mixing Memory with Desire
May 1—June 1, 2014.
Opening Reception: Sat., May 3, 2—5 p.m.

Press release from City Gallery

City Gallery presents Mixing Memory with Desire, an exhibit of new sculptural works by Meg Bloom. The show will be on view from May 1 through June 1, 2014. The opening reception is Sat. May 3, 2014 from 2-5 p.m. Admission is free.

Finding beauty in the imperfect or impermanent, acknowledging moments of change, and engaging with the process of transformation form the basis of Bloom's work.

Meg Bloom: "Autumn Flight"

Bloom's process is guided by the mix of planning and chance that her materials offer to the imagery. She has developed her own method of making and then assembling paper made from abaca and flax pulps into large sculptural forms and smaller collages. The final sculptures are a revisioning of her memories.

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Saturday, July 06, 2013

New members show to open at City Gallery Friday evening

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
New and Old
July 5—Aug. 4, 2013.
Opening Reception: Fri., July 12, 5—7 p.m.
Artist Talk: Sun., July 28, 2 p.m.

Press release from City Gallery

City Gallery presents its new members show, New and Old, from July 5 through Aug. 4. This year's show features the relief paintings of Rebecca Lowry alongside Meg Bloom's paper sculptures, Jennifer Davies' handmade paper pieces, and the acrylic and watercolor paintings of Kathy Kane.

Rebecca Lowry: "Bound"

The opening reception will be held on Fri., July 12, from 5—7 p.m. Additionally, there will be an artist talk on Sun., July 28, at 2 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

"About Paper" opens Saturday at Institute Library

The Institute Library
847 Chapel St., New Haven, (203) 562-5045
About Paper: 8 Sculptural Forms
Nov. 17—Dec. 15, 2012.
Reception: Sat., Nov. 17, Noon—2 p.m.

Press release from Institute Library

A new show opens this Saturday at Institute Library in New Haven. About Paper was curated by Howard el-Yasin. Exhibiting artists are Meg Bloom, Giada Crispels, Ryan Cyr, Jennifer Davies, Nancy Eisenfeld, Howard el-Yasin, Susan McCaslin and Noel Sardalla.

There will be an opening reception on Sat., Nov. 17, from noon—4 p.m.

Meredith Miller: detail from "Untitled"

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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Meg Bloom show opens at City Gallery on Saturday

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Meg Bloom: Wabi-Sabi
May 31—July 1, 2012.
Opening Reception: Sat., June 2, 2—5 p.m.
Closing Event: Sun., July 1, 2—4 p.m.

Press release

City Gallery is presenting Wabi-Sabi, a multi-media exhibit by Meg Bloom from May 31 through July 1, 2012. The opening reception is Sat., June 2, from 2—5 p.m. There will be a closing event on July 1, from 2¬—4 p.m. Admission free.

Transformation is often the inspiration Bloom’s work. Finding beauty in the imperfect or impermanent, acknowledging moments of change, and engaging with the process of transience form the basis of both her two dimensional and three-dimensional work. Thus the name "Wabi-Sabi."

Bloom’s process is guided by the mix of planning and chance that her materials offer to the imagery. Over time she has developed her own method of working with wax and heat on organic and synthetic fabrics and papers. In the last six months she has added paper-making to the transformative process.

Bloom is drawn to the ambiguity of forms that go in and out of resolve as you move around them. She is interested in the chaos that comes out of even the most predictable. While much of her work is sculptural, she also works in a variety of two-dimensional media where she can address her passion for color.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Closing event Sunday at City Gallery for Bloom/el-Yasin show

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Meg Bloom & Howard el-Yasin: Out of Line
Through Sept. 26, 2010.
Closing Event: Sun., Sept. 26, 5:30 p.m.

Press release

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Monday, January 25, 2010

Orchard Street Shul show closes this weekend at John Slade Ely House

John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art
51 Trumbull Street, New Haven, (203) 624-8055
Orchard Street Shul Cultural Heritage Artists Project
Through Jan. 31, 2010.
Closing party and open forum: Sun., Jan. 31, 2 p.m.

A devotional tribute to memory, culture, people and place, the Orchard Street Shul Cultural Heritage Artists Project at John Slade Ely House closes this coming weekend. With photography, sculpture, installation art, painting and digital media, it is a thought-provoking eye and mind feast. Just a sampling of images from the show:

Photographer David Ottenstein:

Mary Lesser's "Sukkah":

The installation by Meg Bloom and Howard el-Yasin:


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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Arts + Literature Laboratory opening at River Street Gallery Saturday night

River Street Gallery
72 Blatchley Ave., New Haven, (203) 776-3099
Oppositions
Through Mar. 21, 2009.
Opening reception: Sat., Jan. 10, 6—8 p.m.

Press release

River Street Gallery at Fairhaven Furniture is proud to present a juried exhibition of 11 national artists by Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL). Oppositions explores dichotomy, juxtaposition and/or binary opposition. This exhibition includes book arts, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video. The artists selected employ layered meanings such as colonialism to romanticism; representations of the human body and gender conventions; perception and psychological structures; and the artworks range from conceptual to realist to ephemeral.

The featured artists include: Meg Bloom (New Haven, CT); Sarah Buckius (Ann Arbor, MI); Jeanne Criscola (North Haven, CT); David Taylor (West Hartford, CT); Suzanne Gainer (Maynard, MA); Wes Kline (Gainesville, FL); Derek Leka (West Haven, CT); Steven McCarthy (St. Paul, MN); Giang Pham (Tulsa, OK); Barbara Raidl (Chicago, IL); and Pierre St-Jacques (New York, NY).

Oppositions is the first exhibition organized by ALL since returning to its roots in February 2008. To learn more about ALL, visit: www.allgallery.org. The opening reception will take place Sat., Jan. 31, 6—8 p.m.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

"Material Differences" opening Saturday at Amy Simon Fine Art in Westport

Amy Simon Fine Art
275 Post Road East, Playhouse Square, Westport, (203) 226-8232
Material Differences
Nov. 22, 2008—Jan. 3, 2009
Opening reception: Sat., Nov. 22, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

Amy Simon Fine Art, located at 275 Post Road East, Playhouse Square, Westport, is pleased to announce its latest exhibition Material Differences. The show features work by five artists who utilize nontraditional mediums in their work.

The artists in the show include: Meg Bloom, Barbara Harder, Nancy Lasar, Lauren Luloff and Robin Rapoport. These artists use a variety of unconventional materials, both from nature and manmade. Boundaries are broken and traditions are challenged.

Meg Bloom, primarily a sculptor, experiments with three-dimensional forms on two dimensional surfaces. She is concerned with space, color and texture in large and small scale work. Her imposing abstract forms, mounted on cardboard, are monumental reliefs that allude to organic forms in nature. They challenge the viewer to question what is being observed.

Barbara Harder is a process driven artist. She refers to her work as "excavations." Though she begins with pre-conceived notions of color and design, the process of making art transforms surfaces into surprising textures, shapes and tones. With the simplest of forms and materials, Harder creates extraordinary works of imposing stature. Surprises abound in her choices of medium, as well as the surfaces she works on.

Nancy Lasar's work incorporates abstraction and nature. Her calligraphic and gestural works are full of surprises. She paints, prints and even sews objects onto her open and fluid canvases.

Lauren Luloff, a young Brooklyn artist, creates explosive paintings on sheets which are cut, sewn and painted. They are awkward and emotional bursts of energy. Figurative forms are camouflaged by color, brushstrokes and patterns. Her works play an aesthetic game of hide and seek with the viewer.

Robin Rapoport incorporates wood, copper, rope, mesh and steel in her monumental works. As the founder of the Headless Whorse Dance Company, there is a natural flow of movement and rhythm in these unique and provocative pieces. In the tradition of Duchamp, they are both playful and complex. There is much beneath the surface of these works.

This is an exhibition for the curious minded. Preconceived notions of art mediums will be questioned. Visitors are invited to leave their traditions at the door and challenge themselves.

"Material Differences" is on view from Nov. 22—Jan. 3. There is an opening reception Saturday, Nov. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m.

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

City Gallery Line-Up to run concurrently with Open Studios

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Line-Up
Oct. 3—26, 2008 (with special extended hours City-Wide Open Studios' weekend)
Closing reception: Sun., Oct. 26, 2008, 2—5 p.m.

Press release

City Gallery is pleased to present Line-Up, a mixed media exhibit, by gallery members.
The exhibit is planned to run concurrently with City Wide Open Studios. The hours will be: Fri., Oct. 3, 12—8 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 4, 12—8 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 5, 12—5 p.m. The Closing Reception is Sun., Oct. 26, 2—5 p.m. Free.

The artists are working in all kinds of media: painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and each is responding to ideas about line.

The artists presenting are: Judy Atlas, Orange; Meg Bloom, New Haven; Phyllis Crowley, New Haven; Jennifer Davies, Branford; Nancy Eisenfeld, North Haven; Freddi Elton, Woodbridge; Barbara Harder, New Haven; Jane Harris, Madison; Sheila Kaczmarek, Guilford; Mary Lesser (see image), New Haven; Deborah McDuff, New Haven; Liz Pagano, New Haven; Jefri Ruchti, Guilford.

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Saturday, December 01, 2007

City Gallery Give Art opening tomorrow

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Give Art
Nov. 24—Dec. 23, 2007.
Opening reception, Sun., Dec. 2, 12—4 p.m.

Tis the season, I guess, for abstraction. But that's usually the case at City Gallery in New Haven. For its annual year-ending holiday Give Art show, City Gallery members are showcasing a lot of smaller works. All the works are available for sale at the fixed price of $100 each. The full spectrum of materials and techniques employed by gallery artists is on display. Show participants include new members Deborah McDuff (mask making) and Freddi Elton (photography). This holiday season, City Gallery members are offering the opportunity to give the gift of art at an affordable price.

For the most part, the work is collage-based. Several artists incorporate found or non-traditional materials. (Although what might have been considered a non-traditional material in the past—a delicate twig as used by Meg Bloom, a torn piece of corrugated cardboard employed by Jane Harris, fine mesh screening added by Connie Pfeiffer, a strip of rough tree bark completing a Nancy Eisenfeld composition—is increasingly becoming the new norm.)

Deborah McDuff offers lively collages in which she creates masks out of things like cut-up soda cans, feathers, fabric and beads. There are some beautiful watercolors by Judy Atlas. Almost pastel-like, they radiate deep vibrant color. One, speckled with light blue dots, looks like some beautiful chaos attending the Big Bang or other cosmic event. Another (there was no sheet with titles available when I visited), in which washes and spatters of green range over a background of black, orange and cream, offers a convincing illusion of depth.

Jefri Ruchti's charcoal and/or graphite drawings revel in rich twists of light and shadow, suggesting natural if unidentifiable forms. With Freddi Elton's photographs, there is a sense of time in suspended animation. Her images zoom in close on layers of ice, capturing a vision of cracks, bubbles and needle-like forms.

The opening reception is Sun., Dec. 2, from 12—4 p.m.

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Thursday, September 06, 2007

City Gallery Nest opening on Saturday

City Gallery
994 State St., New Haven, (203) 782-2489
Nest
Sept. 8—30, 2007.
Opening reception, Sat., Sept. 8, 4—7 p.m.

Press release

City Gallery announces it first fall season exhibit titled "Nest" The theme was determined by curator Liz Pagano, a member of City Gallery and concerns ideas of the Nest, or the act of nesting. Nest is an ancient word, *ni-zd-os in Indo European, composed of the prefix *ni-"down," plus a form of the verbal root sed, "to sit". Followed by a suffix used to form nouns, *-os. Thus a *nizd-os literally means "(place where the bird) sits down."

The four artists invited to show with Pagano are Meg Bloom, a New Haven based artist and City gallery member, Howard el-Yasin, a New Haven artist and Gallery Director of ALL Gallery in New Haven, Laura Moriarty, a nationally renowned encaustic artist based in the Hudson Valley area of New York, and Colleen Tully, a New Haven artist and the founder of Pixel Pops. (A show at ALL Gallery featuring Pagano and Tully was reviewed on Connecticut Art Scene in April.)

Each artist brings a unique and personal vision using a variety of media, including but not limited to: encaustic, mixed media construction and installation. The work is a range of abstract interpretations. Each artist having his/her own focus on the idea of "NEST". All exhibit regionally, nationally and internationally.

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