SHELBURNE: "Parallels," Recent work by Dick and Nancy Weis at FSG

Opening Reception: May 31, 6-8 pm
Exhibition Dates: May 24 - June 25, 2013

Parallels: Recent work by Dick and Nancy Weis
Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery
86 Falls Road
Shelburne, VT

Maintaining Composure by Nancy Weis

Artists Dick and Nancy Weis of Castleton, VT each have their own inspiration, style and medium, but this upcoming show puts their work side by side and invites viewers to make connections.  The couple formed Otherweis Limited in 1974 as an umbrella for their various art activities, including their studio work in painting, drawing, printmaking, fibers, handmade paper and installation as well as their work as artist-educators. With graduate training at American University and George Washington University as a foundation, they have exhibited and taught in many locations throughout the United States and abroad.


 Richard Weis has an affinity for the land that is rooted in his Northern Minnesota origins where the family’s hunting, logging, and seasonal work was a matter of survival.

Dick’s undergraduate studies at Bemidji State University in Minnesota under the mentorship of one of Josef Albers’ students provided him with a solid foundation for a long career as an artist-teacher. Graduate study at the University of Oregon was interrupted by military service in the late 1960’s however he was able to return to his studies with a fellowship to American University in Washington D.C. where he won the David Lloyd Kreeger award for graduate painting in 1973.

Morning Struck Gold by Richard Weis,
©2013  35"x24" acrylic on canvas

Dick taught in a number of schools in the Midwest before joining the faculty of Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont in 1989 where he helped build the four-year art program. During his 21 years at Green Mountain he taught in the art department and served a period as Director of International Programs.

Red Dancer (©2012) by Dick Weis 18"x 11" Acrylic

In 2002 Dick was invited as artist in residence to Aberystwyth University in Wales and received an award as Fulbright Scholar/artist-in –residence in South Korea. He returned to Korea as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in art in 2010 to work with graduate and undergraduate students in art education.

Dick is currently Professor Emeritus of Art at Green Mountain College and continues to maintain a studio in Poultney Vermont. He lives with his wife, artist Nancy Pulliam Weis, near Castleton Vermont.

Nancy Weis has worked in encaustic painting, handmade paper, fiber and other media over the years. She is particularly interested in elements of culture that are common to many different societies. "Nearly every non-technological society has used similar natural objects (feathers, stones, bones, twigs) for decoration. Circles, spirals, and handprints have been universally used as symbols, but their meanings and purposes vary. There seems to be a common visual language that leads us to similarities in what we recognize as purposeful and meaningful,” she says.

Listening to Wind by Nancy Weis 

Her encaustic assemblages are attempts to call on that universal language to create emotional response or ritual space. The work does not intend to be read literally or to explore any particular culture, but rather to make ordinary objects particular and important, making them into a symbolic language.


Nancy studied at Bemidji State University, and completed her MFA at George Washington University, where she was awarded the David Lloyd Kreeger prize in Printmaking. She has done post-graduate studies at Ohio  State University and University of Colorado.She has exhibited across the U.S. and abroad.  She has taught at Castleton State College and the Community College of Vermont.

Parallels will be on display at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne, VT from May 24 to June 25, with an opening reception on May 31 from 6 to 8 pm.

Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery
Blog: fsgalleryvt.wordpress.com

Website: www.fsgallery.com