BENNINGTON: "Air Quintets and Other Bird Paintings" by Gregory Scheckler

On view November 24 through December 31, 2012 in the Regional Artists Gallery of the Bennington Museum are paintings by Gregory Scheckler, Professor of Art at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA). “Air Quintets and Other Bird Paintings,” groups Scheckler’s paintings into three categories: small portrait studies of variety of songbirds, often head studies; medium-sized action portraits, usually with carefully selected props or an individual creature in flight; and larger paintings that present a duet or other grouping of birds. This exhibition includes thefirst public viewing of three paintings from the artist’s new “Air Quintets” series. The series features five main characters of four birds plus the air’s quality. Meet the artist on Saturday, December 1 at 3:00, when he hosts an artist’s reception at the Bennington Museum.

"Transitional Species" by Gregory Scheckler

Well-known for his lively,realistic paintings of birds, his colorful, avian action-portraits serve as an ongoing meditation on the forms and beauties of nature, life, the theory of evolution and theories of representation in visual art.  Currently focused on painting, his creativity has often embraced life studies and pencil sketches, photo sketches, digital sketches, and the artist’s imagination.  His paintings mix traditional with contemporary art ideas, methods and materials.

Image:  "Transitional Species (Right Foot Left Foot Version)," acrylic on panel, 8” x 10”, 2012

 

About the Artist

As an artist, Scheckler is focused on painting using well-known traditional art techniques rooted in academic, figurative painting.  He often uses these in experimental ways. As a tenured professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, he teaches drawing, painting, photography and composition for the visual arts from a progressive, yet classical, viewpoint.

He earned degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Utah State University and Washington University in St. Louis where he was also an Eliot Honors Scholar. He studied classical drawing and figure anatomy at the New York Academy of Art, and academic figure and portrait painting through workshops at the Angel Academy of Art, in Florence, Italy.

Since the early 1990s, he has exhibited at locations that have included Ferrin Gallery, Kolok Gallery, Gallery 51, Metro One Gallery, Sivertson Gallery, and Greylock Arts, as well as at museums such as the Southern Vermont Art Center, Washburn Historical and Cultural Museum, Duluth Art Institute, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, One West Art Center, Center for the Visual Arts Gallery at Illinois State University, and Boyden Gallery at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Scheckler’s artworks are owned in private and public collections internationally, as nearby as New York City and as far away as Tokyo, Japan.

About the Museum

The Bennington Museum, located at 75 Main Street (Route 9), Bennington has the largest public collection of Grandma Moses paintings in the world as well as the largest collection of 19^th century Bennington pottery.  In the other nine galleries, the museum presents a 1924 Wasp Touring Car, one of only twenty produced, military artifacts, one of the earliest ‘stars and stripes’ in existence, fine and decorative arts and more. On view November 24 through December 30 is Festival of Trees – Around the World.  The museum is open Thursday through Tuesday, 10 am to 5 pm.  Regular admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and students over 18.  Admission is never charged for younger students or to visit the museum shop. Visit the museum’s website www.benningtonmuseum.org or call 802-447-1571 for more information.