Saturday, April 30, 2011

Press Release: Zoë Barracano at August First, Burlington



WHO: Zoë Barracano, photographer

WHAT: Photographs of NYC in the Rain, and selected others – Artists Reception

WHERE: August First, 149 South Champlain (at Main) Burlington, VT

WHEN: Opening from 1-2pm, Saturday, May 7, 2011

Exhibition from May 3rd until May 31st.

WHY: A photographic exploration of rainy days, snow, sun and more.


Zoë Barracano's Photographs will be on display at August First from Tuesday, May 3rd through the end of May, 2011. The reception will be held on Saturday, May 7 from 1pm-2pm. August First is located on 149 South Champlain Street at Main. Stop by for a cookie and photo show.


Zoë's photographs have been described as moody, atmospheric and painterly. A large body of her work can be described as photojournalistic and has now moved in a direction that is more suggestive and impressionistic and less realistic.


Zoë Barracano has had previous solo shows at the Sapphire Lounge and Café Metropol in Los Angeles. She has shown in numerous group shows in New York and Los Angeles and has published photographs in newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the New York Sun.

Her previous works include series on Vietnam, India, Cuba, Tahiti, China, Japan, Self Portraits and also Film Stills among others. Her photos are exhibited privately world-wide.


ARTIST WILL BE PRESENT ON SATURDAY MAY 7TH, 2011, 1:00 TO 2:00PM. THE EXHIBITION RUNS UNTIL MAY 31st, 2011


For more information regarding this exhibition, please contact Zoë Barracano 323-666-2425 or zoe@zoephoto.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Peg Racine at Bryan Memorial Gllery in Jeffersonville

Bryan Memorial Gallery Opens for the 2011 Season on May 6

Work by Peg Racine featured in the Middle Room, May 6 - June 26, 2011

Peg Racine of Brandon, Vermont, began her career as a gemologist and designer of jewelry. Her introduction to studio art in college led her to participate in art groups and shows throughout upper NY state. In 2001, she settled in the active art community of Brandon, VT, centered around the Brandon Artist Guild. For the Guild, Racine has chaired its Display Committee year-round since 2004, has chaired its annual fundraising event, and was a Board member for four years.

Racine states, "I have always had art in my life; it is a peaceful and solitary act that I enjoy. It is as much about the materials, the buttery feel and smell of oil paint, the endless manipulation, as it is about the final product. It is a visual conversation that I have with myself, a mapping out of a plan and editing of the content; it is to express in as few strokes as possible my vision of the moment. It is the most challenging and exasperating endeavor I do."

Racine's exhibition in Bryan Memorial Gallery's Middle Room is the sixth in a series of one person shows over two years, spotlighting gallery members who are also members of the Northern Vermont Artist Association (NVAA).

Image Peg Racine, Vermont River

PRESS RELEASE: Tim Cunningham at The Art House in Middlebury


Winterworks, over 20 new oil on canvas paintings by T. J. Cunningham

Opening Reception May 13th from 5:00- 7:30 (Show Runs through June 30th.)
The Art House, Marble Works, Middlebury
Free and open to the public. Refreshments and Live Music.

Vermont artist, Tim Cunningham is having a show of his new paintings, Winterworks at The Art House in Middlebury.

TIm had his first show after graduating from college last spring. Local art lovers were charmed and surprised that one so young could display such mastery of the discipline. He has been diligently at work over this past year, creating more wonderful paintings. Some may remember that he used the proceeds from his first show to buy an engagement ring for his intended. They will be married this June.

Tim Cunningham grew up in Addison, Vermont. His love of the Vermont landscape is evident in all his plein aire paintings. He works quickly and can finish a painting on site or bring it back to his studio to complete the painting from memory and photographs. This show focuses on the paintings he has completed over this past winter.

Tim has been able to support himself over the winter through commissioned portraits. He is learning the business of how to be a professional artist. The show that he had last summer continues to bring interested people who want him to paint portraits of family, of their homes, properties or favorite landscapes.

Tim says his inspiration as an artist comes from "painting people from life". His sensitive and masterful portrayal of his subjects reveals the truth of that statement.

His work will be featured in the 82nd Annual Members' Exhibition at the Souther Vermont Art Center.

Please stop by the Art House for the opening reception or any time over the next two months to give yourself a treat and witness Tim's art for yourself! The Art House Gallery is open Tuesday - Friday from 2:00 to 6pm and on Saturdays from Noon to 3:00

Friday, April 29, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Nancy Schade Talk and Exhibit at Art House Gallery in Craftsbury


Nancy E. Schade
First Friday Art Talk
Friday, May 6
6:30-7:30

Nancy E. Schade expresses the world she encounters through bronze sculpture, watercolor, and oil painting. Her eight week exhibit of oil paintings and bronze sculpture opens with her First Friday Art Talk. Schade will show additional examples of her work and speak about the arc of her career.

The Art House Gallery, Studio & School, 1146 North Craftsbury Road, Craftsbury Common, Vermont 05827

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

REVIEW: "In the Zone" at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center

By Stephen Orloske

There are nine artists displayed in The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center's third triennial In The Zone, a juried show of local artists, selected this year by Christine Temin. Nine artists makes for a lot of art, of course, so this post will not be about them all, but rather just one. I suggest stopping by; you will assuredly encounter something interesting. Of note: an immense, nine-foot ink painting by Leonard Ragouzeos; a wheelchair that serves as screen and silhouette for a projection by Le Xi; wool spun into eviscerated, cocoon like bodies and hung from meathooks by Nancy Winship Milliken.

All the Trappings: The Best Laid Plans by Angela Zammarelli is a cardboard domicile occupied by a character who is connected gas mask like to headphones. The room is lit an ill green. The walls are cacophonous. Everything is comfy, everything looks miserable.

When you approach the window, like Robert Burns you overturn a mouse's nest. The world of this character is bared by you, the viewer. Is it asleep? Well, who just stares? How can it live with that wallpaper? What if it put on those headphones? Inquiry is like the plow, it alters the whole landscape. A truth you might arrive at: if this tableaux were unpaused then no telling what might happen. Sure, you look in and feel anxious, depressed, but personifying this character leads you astray. This is a world distant as you to a mouse and the worlds of mice are lightless fecal stank holes that we would sooner call graves than the breeding grounds they are.


All the Trappings means this work is talking about inauthenticity and The Best Laid Plans of mice and men gang aft agley, and leave us nought but grief and pain, for promised joy! This leads to common wisdom: live a lie and you'll be miserable. But Zammarelli goes elsewhere. She explores that misery, finds the depressions and neuroses that arise, embodies them in a character, then entombs them in art. Of course, neurosis is particular, which is why we are at a loss when attempting to explain what's seen. But the mood is relatable, visceral the way want and repulsion emanates through the window. What is captured is how neuroses exist as irrational nests within the mind. Like mice they squirrel in, eat of our food, run across our rooms and drive us bonkers.


Most striking is the way everything looks comfortable, though. I would get ill in this nest, be anxious in this character's company, grow depressed in the claustrophobic reality, but all the while I feel I'd be comforted. This captures a truth about neurosis: despite its irrational, inexplicable thoughts and behavior there is comfort in the repetition of its needs (and same can be said of trappings, of the irrational signs of status and need of them). Neurosis erases time, it takes away the trouble of considering past and future and renders us animal, a creature concerned only with immediacy. Even if the subject of that immediacy is something anxious or depressive it relieves the weightiness of being human. Look in the window, upon this character, overturn this nest and think:

Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But Och! I backward cast my e'e,

On prospects drear!

An' forward tho' I canna see,

I guess an' fear!


In the Zone III is on display until July 3rd.

Monday, April 25, 2011

PRESS RELEASE:Robin Lahue at O'Maddi's Deli and Café, Northfield

"Northfield Falls artist Robin LaHue will have an exhibit of her paintings in water based oils at O'Maddi's Deli and Café, 7 South Main Street, On the Common in Northfield, Vt, through out the month of May 2011. The paintings have a variety of subjects, from whimsical to abstract, and they are all done using Robin's unique method of painting, washing, rinsing, and layering water soluble oils. All of the work is available for purchase. Stop by for breakfast or lunch and art! Robin also currently has a large solo exhibit in the Gifford Medical Center Gallery, Randolph VT through May 25, 2010."

image: "Heartfelt" water based oil on canvas, 2011


PRESS RELEASE: Pet Portraits at Davis Studio in Burlington


May 2011 Show at Davis Studio Gallery:
Pet Portraits by Children
To benefit the Humane Society

Opening Reception: May 6, 2011 from 5-8pm
Davis Studio Gallery, 404 Pine Street, Burlington

Davis Studio partners annually with the Humane Society of Chittenden County to raise money for local animals in need. Students, ages 6 – 12, have painted two paintings of their favorite animals. One painting they keep and the other they donate to the online auction that will happen later this fall. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Humane Society.

A number of brightly colored and whimsical acrylic paintings from this project will be on display. Also featured in the Davis Studio Gallery for our May opening will be projects from our recent Fused Glass and Mosaics workshops for adults.

More info at www.davisstudiovt.com

Sunday, April 24, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Some First Friday Events in the South End Arts District in Burlington




The Tile Project, Art for the Masses

Tile Artwork by Christy Mitchell
May 6th - 28th
First Friday Reception: May 6th, 5-9pm

The Tile Project, Art for the Masses is an exhibit of small art tiles created by Christy Mitchell. Starting the project in 2005, the work has been a staple at past Art Markets and annual South End Art Hops. Creating art for the masses, these tiles are only $10 each and are small enough to fit in just about every area of the home or office. Repurposing discarded tiles from building sites and paper from vintage children's books, Mitchell adds paint and marker to create unique yet nostalgic works of art.

The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery
266 Pine Street, Suite 105
Burlington, VT 05401
www.spacegalleryvt.com
(802) 578-2512
Gallery Hours: Thursday - Saturday, 11-4pm



A Visual Feast:

The Food Art Show

May 6th - 28th
First Friday Reception: May 6th, 5-9pm

The Backspace
266 Pine Street, Suite 106
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 578-2512

The second annual, A Visual Feast: The Food Art Show, is an exhibition of contemporary visual art celebrating the theme of food in conjunction with Vermont Restaurant Week. This event is produced by Seven Days/7 Nights and curated by SEABA.

Images: Top: Tiles by Christy Mitchell; Bottom: Slab of Meat by Frances Cannon

CHANGES: John Brickels opens new Gallery at the Soda Plant in Burlington


John Brickels opens new Gallery, Studio and Mad Scientist Classroom

Gallery grand opening and reception:
Friday, May 6 from 5-8pm
The Soda Plant, 266 Pine St, Suite 104

Having outgrown his SPACE collaborative studio, Brickels has moved deeper into the heart of The Soda Plant. His new gallery/studio/classroom has room for paintings, sculpture and space for his popular 3am Mad Scientist Workshop.

Augmenting rusty toy pedal cars with realistic components Brickels blurs the line between adulthood and childhood. The viewer deciphers whether these sculptures are adult vehicles shrunk to a child’s perspective or a child’s toy amplified into an adult world.

1948 Buick gewgaws will be handed out to the first 50 visitors during the May 6th grand opening. There will also be a drawing for a seat in the 3am Mad Scientist Workshop VIII to be held July 16th.

Image: 64 1/2 Mustang

PRESS RELEASE: Magic Carpets at The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild in St. Johnsbury

The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild will present Magic Carpets -- The Rugmaker’s Art in its Backroom Gallery from April 27 through June 15. The exhibit will feature some of Vermont’s finest rug makers working in a variety of techniques including hooking, braiding, and hand felting.

Anne-Marie Littenburg of Burlington, VT is a self-taught rug hooker who uses a rich pallet of hand-dyed wool to create detailed and “painterly” landscapes. Littenburg’s work has been exhibited across the country, and was also recently featured at Mikimoto, a gallery in Tokyo, Japan. A frequent contributor to Rug Hooking Magazine, she recently filmed three episodes of “Uncommon Threads” for the House and Garden Network. Littenbergs’ book “Hooked Rugs Landscapes” was published in 2009.

Hooked rugs will also be exhibited by Sunnie Andress of Newport. Andress’ original designs feature whimsical people and animals and often playfully incorporate visual puns.

The Magic Carpets exhibit will also feature rug braider, Delsie Hoyt of West Fairlee, VT. Adapting the unusual techniques developed by her Ryegate, VT great grandmother in the early 1900’s, Hoyt takes rug braiding to a new level to portray Vermont landscapes. Hoyt’s work is featured in “The Braided Rug Book”; and in “A Passion for the Creative Life” by renowned rug hooking artist, Mary Sheppard Burton. Hoyt was awarded the Governor’s Heritage Award in 2008 for building links to Vermont’s rich and diverse cultural heritage through her art.

Kris McDermet of Dummerston combines the two crafts of hooking and braiding in her work. She has developed a joining technique where the delicacy of the hooking is set off by the boldness of the braiding; and often incorporates open spaces and fancy embellishments to create added interest. McDermet has been teaching both braiding and hooking in Vermont and throughout the country for almost 30 years.

Danville resident Amanda Weisenfeld began felting 20 years ago to create fabric for her felted animals. Over the years she has broadened her felted work to include wall hangings and durable felted rugs from Vermont fleeces. Weisenfeld draws on the woodsy darkness of European fairy tales for her inspiration and often portrays the mythical side of woodland residents including foxes, ravens and gnomes.

Neysa Russo resides in Bradford, VT where she creates beautiful and functional rugs and tapestries using a combination of wet felting and needle felting techniques. With her passion for antique textiles, Russo derives many of her designs and themes from Medieval tapestries and historic needlework and rugs. Russo also incorporates kumihimo, an intricate Japanese braiding technique, in some of her felted pieces.

An opening reception for Magic Carpets will be held Saturday May 7th from 3 to 5 pm. The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild (748-0158) is located at 430 Railroad St., St. Johnsbury and is open Monday through Saturday, 10:30-5:30.

Image: Leaves by Kris McDermet

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Keys for Main Street Museum in White River Junction and St. Petersburg, Russia




Keys!

We all have Keys.
Keys in our pockets. Keys in a drawer in our rooms. Keys in an old coat that we haven’t worn in years. Some probably open doors—somewhere.

Some open things that are long gone. Some start cars that have been sold—cars that have been crushed and turned into new cars. We don’t remember the locks, but we may remember the car, the lover’s apartment, the best friend’s borrowed bike. The trigger to our memories can be a key.

Now is the time to do something with the keys, and with the stories behind them.

Main Street Museum invites you to bring us your keys. An exhibition is scheduled at the Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Sheremetev Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia. We will exhibit these keys in May, 2011 alongside other Russian cultural artifacts. Ordinary or rare, they all have some story to tell. Then we will accession them into the permanent collection and exhibit them in a special exhibition in Vermont during the summer months.

To be a part of this, simply bring us your old keys, and we will record their stories. These need not be specific—“keys of mystery” are sometimes the best of all! (And you are welcome to submit keys anonymously.)

The Main Street Museum
58 Bridge Street, White River Junction, Vermont, 05001 info@mainstreetmuseum.org 802.356.2776
learn more here:
http://www.mainstreetmuseum.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Image: very small plastic gumball charm key from Main Street Museum website

PRESS RELEASE: Alison Goodwin and pieces from the Iron Pour at the SEABA Center in Burlington

Returning Home
Alison Goodwin
April 16th - May 30th
Reception, First Friday, May 6th 6-8pm

Alison Goodwin has enjoyed a career as a visual artist, creating paintings, and limited edition prints. After twenty years of artistic and commercial success, she felt the need to re-explore her work and get back to her artistic roots. The freedom afforded her by drawing with charcoal allowed her personal and professional nourishment without abandoning her distinctive style. This show is the first public exhibition of these charcoal drawings, and also includes some of her paintings.

We look forward to you joining us for Alison's opening reception on Friday, May 6th.


Examples from the Iron Pour

Along with Alison's work, SEABA will be exhibiting pieces from Pine Street Studio's Iron Pour. Works by John Marius, Diane Gabriel, Pike Porter, Christina Ericson, Rob Healy and Rachel Morton will be on display.

Images: Top: work by Allison Goodwin; Bottom: Bodice by Diane Gabriel

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Abstract Photography Exhibit at Photostop Gallery in White River Junction

PHOTOSTOP Gallery announces a call for entries for its second juried show, Light-Struck: Abstract Photography Today, which will be exhibited in the Gallery in September, 2011.

For this exhibition PHOTOSTOP is seeking photographs that are, as scholar and curator Lyle Rexer said in his book The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography, "photographs without pictures, or rather, photographs that refuse to disclose fully the images they contain". Entries must be photo-based processes, either traditionally captured with film or on a digital sensor, created in a darkroom, or achieved through other light-based photographic methods.

Considered a pioneer in the camera-less photogram and lens-based Polaroid photographic and contemporary art field, juror Ellen Carey is an internationally and nationally recognized artist, whose work (1978-2010) has been the subject of forty-six one-person exhibitions in museums, alternative spaces and commercial galleries and several hundred group exhibitions. Carey is an Associate Professor of Photography at the Hartford Art School. Carey will choose approximately 30 photographs, depending on sizes, for exhibition during the show. In addition, both the images selected for the exhibition and 20-30 additional photos will be featured on the PHOTOSTOP website.

Entry is by the submission of digital files. The prospectus for the exhibition is available on the Gallery website www.photostopvt.com or can be obtained by calling the Gallery at 802.698.0320 or by e-mailing photostopvt@gmail.com. The entry deadline is June 15. Photographers will be notified of acceptance in early July.

PHOTOSTOP Gallery is located in Suite 150 on the first floor of the Tip Top Media Arts Building, 85 North Main Street, White River Jct., VT 05001.

PRESS RELEASE: Magical Garden at Fletcher Free Library in Burlington


Dear Friends,

Come visit our Magical Garden and celebrate with us!

Gardens are a lot like people; we are all different and yet we belong together. Imagine a magical garden, filled with plants, flowers, rocks and creatures of all shapes, sizes, colors and textures. Under the guidance of artist Gwendolyn Evans, individuals from HowardCenter Developmental Services have created such a garden out of paper mache, and recycled materials. These delightful sculptures will be on exhibit at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington.

You are invited to a celebration and art opening with our class on May 2nd from 1-3. Join us in the second floor Fletcher Room of the Fletcher Free Library, 235 College Street, Burlington. All are welcome. This exhibit will be on display for the month of May, so please feel free to visit if you cannot attend our celebration.

Best Wishes,
The Can Do Paper Mache Garden Class
VSA Vermont - the Vermont organization on arts and disability

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Press Release: Mark Goodwin at Bigtown Gallery, Rochester




MARK GOODWIN: AN INTRODUCTION

Sculpture and Drawing


May 4 – May 29, 2011


With our upcoming exhibition, “Mark Goodwin—An Introduction” BigTown Gallery is pleased to present a show devoted entirely to the work of sculptor/artist Mark Goodwin. The opening reception will be on Saturday, May 7th, from 5-7. Mark has shown work previously at BigTown, but only in group shows, so we are excited—both for ourselves and for the gallery's audience—at this first opportunity to view a more comprehensive, in-depth presentation of his work.

This exhibition is a timely one in that it corresponds to Goodwin's integration into his working process of a host of changes brought on by the artist's move from working in and among the wide-open, literally, exterior spaces of New Mexico to the mostly interior studio environment that he has developed since relocating to Vermont in 2008. Goodwin's responses to the changes in his working process, which he readily attributes to the differences in these two environments, are definitively displayed in his recent work. Whereas his previous wor

k was conceived, created, and installed almost entirely out of doors, and thus reflected the expansive quality of that environment, for these new works, Goodwin has come indoors, resulting in a major shift, not only in the materials he uses to make his art, and in how he approaches that intention but, in particular, how the form of the work itself has been altered. In response to the circumstances of studio and process,

Goodwin's most recent work has moved from the totemic and expansive to something more meditative, detailed, and interior.

The artist's more recent choices of materials and mediums—extending to include significant changes in his own responses to both his work and to his working process—may be seen, in a sense, as deriving from Goodwin's recent renovation of his Victorian home in Randolph, VT; especially in the way that, in his second floor two room studio, the quantity of light available to inform the work, and its making, is instrumental in drawing forth his responses. Likewise, the artist's close proximity to the off-products of both his studio process and the renovation has resulted in a new ease in incorporating those products into either the making of the work at hand, or the creation of subsequent pieces. Milk paint, oil paint, glue used in the renovation, as well as the hand woven fabric Goodwin's wife, Bhakti Ziek, produced for him in her third floor studio. These diverse materials, the commitment of his method, the ever-changing quantity and quality of light—all combine as if they were equal elements essential to energizing the process of finding his way with the act of making art.

Most of the pieces in the show are new—that is, created since Goodwin's move to Vermont. They represent a new direction for the artist, as well as recording his artistic response to his new environment. The architectual considerations of his everyday world building—reconstructing, making, dreaming—incorporate his travels into his inventive sculptural paintings and drawings. Molding the works by creasing, folding, and embossing the milk-painted surfaces of the paper and fabric raises a topography that finds the light. The integrity of Goodwin's artistic process is evident, certifying the authenticity of the products of that process, while informing the particular result seen in any individual piece.

In such a context, we may view the artist himself as the work most continually in progress, and the continual shaping of the integrity of artistic process as being the artist's most consistent and dynamic contribution to the work.


For further information or inquiry regarding this exhibition, please contact Rick Skogsberg or Anna Isaacson at BigTown Gallery

Phone - (802) 767-9670

E-Mail - info@bigtowngallery.com

Press Release: “Scattered Art,” by Phillip Godenschwager Korongo Gallery, Randolph

“Scattered Art,” by Phillip Godenschwager, opens April 29 at the Korongo Gallery in Randolph
New and recent work by draughtsman, painter, and glass artist Phillip Godenschwager is on view from April 29 through June 5 at the Korongo Gallery in downtown Randolph. “Scattered Art” is a glimpse into the kaleidoscopic world of a multifaceted artist with a stunning reach. Over the past three decades, Godenschwager has designed rock-and-roll posters, pellet stoves, and chapel windows. His wacky genius has lent itself to amusement parks in Japan and Pennsylvania, an animatronics studio in Italy, a Times Square mural, a Chrysler auto show, and FAO Schwarz’s famous animated clock tower. Scattered Art primarily features his 2D work, an array of original cartoons, prints, and stained glass that crackles with energy and wit.
Godenschwager traces his artistic roots to a nomadic upbringing. Raised in a military family, he moved more than a dozen times before graduating from high school: “I had the unique experience of learning to paint from a kindly Japanese teacher in the Philippines at the age of eight and to draw from life on the steps of the Acropolis while in high school in Athens. Drawing was the one constant that traveled with me.” As a youngster continually in transition, ever the outsider looking in,
Godenschwager became “the consummate observer. My job as an artist is to see and respond and hopefully to open the doors to communication.”
Tackling complex social issues through playful imagery is a trademark of Godenschwager’s style. Among the 2D works on display at Korongo are Till the Cows Come Home (ink and dye, 16 x 20 in.), a swirling depiction of institutionalized greed as a feeding frenzy at the public trough, and the original sketch for The Disneyfication of Vermont, a sculpted map of the state as a giant amusement park overrun with shooting galleries, roller-coaster highways, and tractor-go-rounds. 3D works include Fragile Globe, a colorful orb of slumped glass and wire, its base a flea-market find.
The exhibit includes both originals and prints, as well as Jack Rowell’s photographs of Godenschwager’s work. From April 29 to June 5. Opening reception April 29 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Images: Phil Godenschwager, Be Careful What You Wish For, vaccuformed Kydex over urethane foam
( 24" x 32" x 2").

Below: Glass artist Phil Godenschwager installs a commemorative window commissioned by Randolph’s Chandler Music Hall in
celebration of the building’s 100th anniversary.
Phil Godenschwager, Rainbow, painted and leaded glass (22" x 16").

Credit (all photos): Photo by Jack Rowell

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Press Release: Jacob Martin solo show at the Bees Knees, Morrisville


Jacob Martin will be hanging his premiere gallery show at the Bees Knees Restaurant, located in Morrisville Vermont. On display from May 17 to July 10th, the show showcases Jacob's current Illustration portfolio, including the Seven Days Winter Preview cover illustration, as well as a new piece, titled Early Birds. The show is primarily digital prints, though some traditional works may be on display as well. Cartoons, Old Videogames and massive piles of cheap retro yardsale junk, as well as a quiet, reserved, somewhat meditative day to day life, inspire the calm, cluttered, and cartooned feel of Jacob's work.

Who - Jacob Martin

What - Illustration Portfolio Gallery Show

Where - Bees Knees Restaurant, 82 Lower Main Street, Morrisville, VT (802) 888-7889

When - May 17 to July 10th

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Press release: Bonnie Acker at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery, Shelburne


Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery of Shelburne, will be showing "Color Speaks: recent work by Bonnie Acker" April 29-June 1. Acker's latest work will include oil paintings, pastels, woodcuts and paper-collages that celebrate Vermont's vibrant, working landscape. Acker, a lifelong artist and activist, has lived in Burlington for the last twenty-five years.She is immersed in food and farming adventure including the Burlington School Food Project, the Intervale Community Farm Co-operative, and City Market/Onion River Co-op. Her enthusiasm and joy in these ventures can be seen in her ebullient artwork.

The exhibit will open with a public reception on Friday , April 29, 5:30-7:30 p.m.


Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery is located at 86 Falls Road, in Shelburne Village. Hours are Tue-Fri 9:30-5:30, and Sat 10-5.

For more information call 985-3848, write: mail@fsgallery.com, or visit

the website at www.fsgallery.com


images:

"Early Lupines" oil on canvas 30"x30"

"Morning Reflections", (detail), oil on canvas 36"x60"

"Celebrate Vermont!", paper-collage

Friday, April 15, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Kate Mueller open studio in Montpelier




K. Mueller Studio & Gallery:
Open Studio April 21 and 22


Montpelier artist Kate Mueller has a new studio at 15 State Street (third floor) in Montpelier. Her studio will be open to the public on Thursday, April 21, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, and Friday, April 22, 4 to 8 pm--during Art Walk, sponsored by Montpelier Alive.

Come see the new space and view the art. Sip wine, nibble cheese, and chat about art and life! For more information, call 223-4865.

Image: Quimby Path

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Press Release: Opening at Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury

TEXTURES OF US / LIVE MUSIC SUNDAY

Exhibition Opening Reception: April 16, 5-7pm

On Display April 11 - May 9

Live Music Sunday: April 17, 1-3pm

EDGEWATER GALLERY

One Mill Street, Middlebury, VT

April 14, 2011


On Saturday, April 16, from 5-7 pm, join Edgewater Gallery as they celebrate the opening of their most recent exhibition, TEXTURES OF US. Featuring prints by Liz Gribin and paintings by Gloria Gaddis, Mary B. Harrington, Rebecca Kinkead, Cynthia Kirkwood, Lisa Noonis and Cameron Schmitz, TEXTURES OF US travels the transcendent journey of the human form as textures of time, emotion and skin are explored through light, color and paint.


Edgewater also invites you to the last session of our Live Music Sundays, a separate event occurring on April 17th. Join us as the creator of The Jazz Mandolin Project, Jamie Masefield, and his longtime collaborator, Doug Perkins, liven up Sunday afternoons in our spacious gallery. Their acoustic set, ranging between bluegrass and jazz in their intuitive, original performance, will take place from 1-3pm.


Virtually Abroad will be on display through May 9th. For more information visit www.edgewatergallery-vt.com, or contact us at 802.458.0098, info@edgewatergallery-vt.com

image: Rebecca Kinkead, “Bikini no. 4” Oil on canvas, 50” x 46"

PRESS RELEASE: Book Arts Guild at Emile A. Gruppe Gallery in Jericho



Emile A. Gruppe Gallery presents
Book Arts Guild of Vermont
Big Ideas, Small Books
An Exhibit of Small Artist Books and Bindings

There are 19 artists of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont represented. The pieces are small but the creativity is huge.

Artists Reception
Sunday, April 17
1 pm - 4 pm
Show through May 22, 2011

22 Barber Farm Road Jericho, VT 05465
Gallery hours 10 a.m. -3 p.m. Thurs.- Sun. or by appointment (802) 899 3211 emilegruppegallery.com

Image by Jill Ablock

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Keith Johnson at Photostop in White River Junction


Acclaimed photographer Keith Johnson will be exhibiting his work at the PHOTOSTOP Gallery in White River Junction, VT from May 6 to the 28th in a show titled The Photograph: Extended. Opening night of the exhibition will be on May 6 from 5-8 with a gallery talk with the artist at 7pm.

Keith Johnson received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, studying with Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind, following a year at Visual Studies Workshop with Nathan Lyons. During the summer, Johnson works at Visual Studies Workshop, Maine Media Workshops, Penland School of Crafts, and the Jackson Hole Art Association. Recent shows were held at CEPA Gallery, FotoFest, George Eastman House and the Panopticon Gallery in Boston, Nelson Hancock Gallery in Brooklyn, and Wall Space Gallery in Seattle. He is the recipient of a Connecticut Commission on Arts Fellowship and an Artist Residency at Light Work. Johnson's work, shown at the PHOTOSTOP Gallery, will be reviewed in the May/June issue of Art New England magazine.

Johnson's photographic work includes captivating landscapes and entertaining subjects. His latest work, which will be showcased in his show at the PHOTOSTOP Gallery, consists of the use of extended imagery. He uses variations on themes, sometimes with a touch of humor, in order to create sequences and assemblages, often arranged in a grid. Common visual threads in his work include surfaces, objects, people, places, and accidental discoveries.

Along with the exhibition at PHOTOSTOP, Johnson will be teaching a unique workshop titled "Lightroom and Landscape: A Perfect Match". The workshop will be held on May 7 and 8 from 10-4. Contact Lia Rothstein at the PHOTOSTOP Gallery for more details.

PHOTOSTOP Gallery is located at 85 North Main Street, Suite 150, on the first floor in the TipTop Building, White River Jct., VT. Gallery hours are Weds. through Saturday from noon-6. Other hours are available by appointment. For more information call 802.698.0320 or check the website at http://photostopvt.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Kate Donnelly at 215 College Gallery in Burlington


The Yardage Project: Material in the making
April 22- May 22, 2011

Kate Donnelly uses materials she calls the “renewable resources” of her house such as newspaper, cereal boxes and plastic bags to make bolts of yardage. Woven, sewn or otherwise bound, the textile-like works vary in width, from 3 inches to 10 feet and are all continually growing in length.

Although this material might make viewers think about how the “yardage” could inevitably be used or “re-purposed”, Donnelly resists formulating a product or meaning - or even an end in the work. Instead , by presenting unending pieces and inviting the viewer to participate in the making, Donnelly asks you to think beyond product and think of the material as a blank canvas upon which one can explore the ideas of ownership, the definition of art, and even the way we live. “We think of blank canvases as clean white spaces to explore ideas, inspiration, and vision.” Donnelly states. “The blank canvas I’m presenting is already full of complexities, intellectual as well as visual.”

During the run of the exhibition, the gallery has designated hours “of production” when the exhibit becomes interactive. During that time, visitors can participate as the artist and the observer. For more information, visit www.katedonnelly.net

Opening reception Friday,April 22, 5-8 . Closing reception and artist talk, Friday,May 20, 5-8. Gallery hours: Friday 12-8pm, Saturday 12-6pm and Sunday 12-4pm or by appointment.
Production hours: Fridays, 12-1 and 6-7, Saturdays and Sundays 3-4

215 College Gallery, 215 College St., second floor. (802)863-3662

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

CHANGES: Vermont House of Representatives Recognizes SEABA


On April 12 the Vermont House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve resolution H.C.R. 132, recognizing the South End Arts and Business Association’s (SEABA) 25 years of supporting the development of South End Arts District and the creative economy in the City of Burlington. The resolution, offered by Chittenden County State Representative Suzi Wizowaty, along with Senators: Baruth, Fox, Lyons, Miller, and Snelling, offers an account of the history of this unique part of Vermont’s largest city. The resolution also cites how the South End Arts District, now in common usage in Burlington’s newspapers, is home to nearly one hundred artists’ studios, and numerous businesses directly involved in the creative economy.

SEABA directors Roy Feldman and Christy Mitchell, along with board members, Rick Norcross and Mark Waskow, were in attendance and were asked by Representative Wizowaty to stand and be recognized by the full house of State Representatives.

To complement this development in formalizing the South End Arts District, SEABA has created the SEABA Center at 404 Pine Street. The SEABA Center is a showcase for the organization’s commercial and artist membership, and will serve as an information center for those who wish to know more about exhibition spaces, galleries, and studios within the District, and throughout Burlington.

Image: SEABA Directors Christy Mitchell and Roy Feldman at the Statehouse in Montpelier. Photo by Rick Norcross

Monday, April 11, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson


ITAN MI: My Story

Exhibition by Akirash at the Vermont Studio Center

“Word, they say, is like an egg, which if it falls out of individual mouth breaks, splits, scatters and can’t be replaced, arranged, or put together as complete again.”

Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya, known as Akirash from Ghana, will be exhibiting work in the Red Mill Gallery at the Vermont Studio Center from April 14 to 17. His exhibit will include a performance that includes the body, drumming, and comedy at 2:00pm on Saturday, April 16. Also on display will be installation and sculpture created over his month long residency at the Vermont Studio Center.

Akirash’s work is based in the multi media explorations of environment and material. His sculptural work at the Vermont Studio Center includes a fascination with paper and cardboard. His ability to manipulate the structure and form of these very basic materials emphasizes the audience’s experience of being transported into a realm outside of the snowy mountains of Vermont. His pieces become abstract creatures and objects.

Additionally, Akirash has continued a three-year project while in residence of observing signs, symbols, proverbs and prose and the relationship of how they are used today and in the past. Akirash then combines these symbols with face and body paint on willing participants.

The opening will begin with the performance at 2:00pm on Saturday, April 16. The artist requests that those attending the opening wear a black and white outfit to blend with his use of materials and enhance the performance.

Akirash was born in Nigeria and lives and works in Austin, Texas and Accra, Ghana. Akirash began as a scientist studying bio-chemistry before he actualized his calling as an artist.

Friday, April 8, 2011

CHANGES: New Gallery in Randolph


The Korongo Gallery Opens in Randolph

by Dian Parker

Living in the East Village in Manhattan in the late 60's and all through the 70's, I’d often hang out with artists at a street café and we’d talk about our work incessantly. Bongo drummers lined 2nd Ave and the small alcove of my eight-floor walk up was often a place for bums to sleep. Artists opened their apartments as tiny makeshift art galleries. On one wall hung a tie dyed sheet and on the floor a double mattress. Not much else except art. And more art. It was everywhere, some of it not very good, but it was an outpouring nonetheless; a place to be seen. We never thought the East Village would become what it is now, one of the hip places to live in Manhattan, still filled with art, only much more expensive.

Along comes the Korongo Gallery to Randolph and we have promise again of a beginning that could very well burgeon into something hip and wonderful – a place for artists and writers to display and read their work, congregate and hang out. At the opening on March 17 there was a feeling of excitement and expectation that we might just be on the verge of a new happening, right here in downtown Randolph. The gallery was packed. Patrick Texier, the owner, schmoozed with the folks and Laurie Sverdlove Goldman, the painter, talked about her work which hung on three of the walls. Jack Rowell took photographs and everyone was smiling and milling about. The food was delicious. This was a real opening in a new little gallery that has a big and bright future.

Texier was born in France and spent his early childhood in the artists’ colony of Les Baux in Provence, where his next-door neighbors were the renowned engraver Louis Jou and the Belgian sculptor Adrien Mertens. His grandfather was an American painter and his grandmother was an artist’s model, who met in Paris in the Twenties. As Patrick tells it, "I wanted to be a painter, but my father said it wasn’t an option, so I became a safari guide in Africa instead." He’s now also published two of his illustrated children’s books, for sale in the gallery, inspired by living close to wild animals in Africa.

The inaugural show at the Korongo Gallery is Battlefields: WWI, the work of California landscape artist Laurie Sverdlove Goldman, who moved to Randolph from the Bay Area three years ago. Describing this body of work Goldman says, "I became interested in war landscapes as an outgrowth of my interest in other manmade landscapes. Explosions, mud, barbed wire, grass, sky, death – the conundrum that terrible and terrifying things can be beautiful." In the current show are two large composite paintings, oil on canvas, each composed of eighteen or nineteen 10" x 12" smaller paintings shown in a grid, either with off-white or black backgrounds, Soldiers in Trenches/Black and Soldiers in Trenches/White. These are accompanied by two 34" x 46" pastels of explosions, Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 4, elegant blasts of color in subtle shades of pink and blue, yellow and green, and they ARE beautiful. Goldman’s work has been widely exhibited in San Francisco, L.A. and San Diego and is included in many corporate and civic collections.

Besides showing art, the gallery’s other business is to layout, design and print books in small quantities for authors who would like to self publish (no editing however). Patrick and his wife, Sara Tucker, will also use the gallery for events such as receptions, readings, writing workshops, story-telling, and informal discussions.

Across the street from the gallery is the new restaurant, Black Krim, which will coordinate some of its events with Korongo. Imagine a glass of wine in one hand, a Nori sushi in the other, listening to a writer read from her new novel or an artist talk about his work, surrounded by art on the walls while Edith Piaf sings softly in the background. A bit of Europe, a bit of New York City, and every bit itself. It can happen, but we must frequent the gallery and come to the events. Korongo is a happening place if we make it so.

The next exhibit will open on April 29 and feature cartoons, stained glass, and sculptures by artist Phil Godenschwager. It will also include Jack Rowell’s photographs of Godenschwager’s work.

Gallery hours – Tues-Sat, 11 am – 7 pm
18 Merchant’s Row
802.728.6788

Images by Laurie Sverdlove Goldman:
Soldiers in Trenches - White/ series, oil on canvas, 12" x
10"
Soldiers in Trenches - Black/ series, oil on canvas,
12" x 10"

PRESS RELEASE: New Exhibit at Flynndog in Burlington


Two exhibitions in MAY and JUNE at FLYNNDOG:

searchers
a new photographic journey
by Michelle Saffran (right)

and

Eclectic sculpture and drawings by Erik Rehman (left)

Opening reception on May 6, First Friday 6 to 8 pm

The exhibits run May 6 – June 24, 2011
Flynndog is open 7 to 7 everyday

Images:
gene- ration,clay, found object, oxides, by Erik Rehman
Heralds May Be Found In Dreams, by Michelle Saffran