Reception Sun., Apr. 6, for "Explorations in Embellishment" at Mercy Center gallery

Mercy Center at Madison Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery
167 Neck Rd., Madison, (203) 245-0401
Rachel Hellerich: Explorations in Embellishment
Mar. 31—Apr. 25, 2014.
Artist's Reception: Sun., Apr. 6, 2—4 p.m.

Press release from the Mercy Center at Madison

Explorations in Embellishment is the second solo exhibition for Milford-based artist, Rachel Hellerich. The show will include more than 20 drawings and paintings spanning from 2005 to the present. Hellerich’s work will be on display at the Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery, Mercy Center at Madison, 167 Neck Road, Madison, CT from Mar. 31—Apr. 25.

Rachel Hellerich: "Emerald Erosions"

With a background heavily rooted in sculpture and installation, Hellerich’s return home to Connecticut in 2004 marked a new phase of creative development focused on drawing and painting on canvas and panel. From its conception, this body of work has been influenced by the themes and aesthetics of Asian art, science fiction, fashion and military history. Her drawings have been a source of reflection, serving as blueprints for larger scale, atmospheric paintings. The work encompasses a range of media including watercolor, ink and vinyl paint, each painting or drawing considered three-dimensionally from the compositional development of their subjects to their physical realization with brush, pen and palette knife. The process of working in multiples on a modular level, with repetitive, textile-like references, has been a recurring exercise; as an obsessive means to connect with each piece physically, providing a gateway to meditate and reflect on a particular memory or place.

There will be an opening reception on Sun. Apr. 6 at the Mercy Center from 2—4 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public.

Artist's reception for Anne Doris-Eisner at Mercy Center in Madison Fri., Oct. 18

Mercy Center at Madison Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery
167 Neck Rd., Madison, (203) 245-0401
Anne Doris-Eisner: Warp and Weft—Works on Paper
Oct. 18—Nov. 30, 2013.
Artist's Reception: Fri., Oct. 18, 5:30—7:30 p.m.

Press release from the Mercy Center at Madison

Anne Doris-Eisner has described her art as embodying the "interplay of oppositional forces which are interdependent." Her works will be exhibited in a solo show entitled, Warp and Weft: Works on Paper, in the Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery at the Mercy Center in Madison, CT. The exhibition will run from Oct. 18 through Nov. 30, 2013. There will be an Artist's Reception on Fri., Oct. 18, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public. The Mercy Center is handicapped accessible.

This unique exhibition presents a singular response to life and to art; relationships with the natural world, with the process of art making and with life itself are explored by Doris-Eisner:

Living with acute awareness of the natural world has been a blessing. I have found inner strength by observing the resilience and transformative beauty of the land and all that grows from it as it moves through its life cycle. What is struck down, crushed, cut, splintered is transformed or altered, but still remains a part of this world. I have sought through my art to express the divine power and mysterious force of life. That which should have been destroyed instead is able to transform and rebuild, albeit into something new. Having faced the death of my child, I liken my survival to that of a tree struck by lightning, which still puts out new branches. The water cuts through mountains and finds its way to continue moving forward. I, too, continue to find a way to live on, though irreversibly changed. Using unique geological formations and forms in nature, I draw parallels between the human experience and the natural world. Resilience, defiance, reverence are all symbolically represented in my work...

In her studio, the artist's practice is a physically demanding one. Using a variety of materials, including graphite, paints, and inks on paper, she forcefully expresses her emotions on the paper's surface, pushing against the opposing strength of a wall, floor or table. She draws, scrapes, pours, carves, twists, and scumbles media with various objects, many of which are found in nature. Most of her works are of almost human scale, as she prefers to be physically encompassed by the work. A calligrapher and lover of line, each mark has meaning and is imbued with the artist’s own energy and movement. Like a dancer, her hands and body move with the rhythms created by each unique mark. The experience of art making then becomes physically demanding yet deeply satisfying personal process.

Anne Doris-Eisner: "Intertwined"

Anne Doris-Eisner, a former art educator, is a member of the New Haven Paint and Clay Club, Syntax, a group of nine Connecticut artists working in mixed media, and The Women's Caucus for Art, a national women's art organization. She has exhibited her work in juried shows across the country including: California, Chicago, Dallas, and New York City. She has completed Artist Residencies at The Vermont Studio Center in Vermont and at the Atlin Art Center in British Columbia, Canada.

Literature for Compassionate Friends, a national organization that provides comfort, hope, and support to families experiencing the death of a child, will be available on site and donations will be accepted from all who wish to make a contribution.

The Mercy Center believes in the spiritual, sacred nature of the individual and sees this spirituality in all living things. Their vision is to nurture a relationship with the Sacred in self, others and creation that seeks to foster a just and compassionate world. They do this through their programs, events and collective intentions.

Susan Clinard sculpture show on view at Mercy Center

Mercy Center at Madison Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery
167 Neck Rd., Madison, (203) 245-0401
Susan Clinard: Undercurrents
Through June 29, 2013.

Press release from the Mercy Center at Madison

Unfortunately, I missed posting this before last weekend's opening. This show of sculptor Susan Clinard's work will be on display through June 29.

Susan Clinard has explored the essential undercurrents of our human condition; its pain, loss, joy and desire. Come and experience sculptures made from wood, paper, clay, and found objects. Let them take you on a journey of the self and of the other. Part of this exhibit will be a special tribute memorial to the 20 children and 6 teachers who lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary last December.

Sculpture by Susan Clinard

New Haven Register, 2011: "Clinard crafts wonderfully evocative works that seem to exist at some mysterious junction between the world of the spirit and that of reality."

The exhibition will be on display at the Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery, Mercy Center from May 31—June 29.

Closing reception for Lisak photography show at Mercy Center Friday, Apr. 12

Mercy Center at Madison Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery
167 Neck Rd., Madison, (203) 245-0401
Robert Lisak: The Flowering Cross—Holy Week in an Andean Village
Through Apr. 13, 2013.
Closing Reception: Fri., Apr. 12, 6:30—8 p.m.

Press release from the Mercy Center at Madison

In 2008, noted New Haven art photographer Robert Lisak traveled to Peru during Holy Week to document a cultural treasure in a remote Andean village. The resulting exhibition of Mr. Lisak’s photographs will be on display at the Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery, Mercy Center at Madison, 167 Neck Road, Madison, CT from Mar. 15—Apr. 13 (open everyday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.). The exhibition focuses on the colonial Inca town of Andahuaylillas, near Cuzco.

The extraordinary 17th century church at the center of the town houses remarkable murals, oil paintings, gilded sculptures and two colonial pipe organs. In Andahuaylillas, Holy Week is celebrated with rituals that combine Quechua hymnody with late medieval and Baroque liturgical practices in a pure form rarely seen in the last fifty or more years. The photographer had unprecedented access to events and to parts of the building not open to the public, and the exhibition offers a unique glimpse into early evangelical conversion practices and their continued vitality in the context of the rich bilingual contemporary Andean culture.

Robert Lisak: "Holy Week in an Andean Village"

There will be a closing reception on Fri., Apr. 12, at the Mercy Center, from 6:30—8 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public. All pieces are for sale with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Mercy Center.

Reception for Joy Bush photography show at Mercy Center this Sunday

Mercy Center at Madison Mary C. Daly, RSM Art Gallery
167 Neck Rd., Madison, (203) 245-0401
Ruins of a Holy Land: Photographs by Joy Bush
Through Mar. 9, 2013., 2008
Artist Reception: Sun., Feb. 17, 2—4 p.m.

Press release from the Mercy Center at Madison

Ruins of a Holy Land offers a glimpse into Holy Land USA, a shrine and tourist attraction in Waterbury, Connecticut that officially closed to the public in 1984. Joy Bush’s photography (Web) captures the piety, former glory and disrepair that greet visitors today.

Photograph by Joy Bush

This exhibition of photographs is on view through Mar. 9. An artist's reception will be held this Sun., Feb. 17, from 2—4 p.m.