The Art of Vermont Exhibits

by Theodore Hoppe

"Art of Vermont" is a celebration the 170- year evolution of the Vermont State Art Collection, as well as 20 years of commissioned work created through the Art in State Buildings Program. In 1837, the Vermont Senate vote to purchase a painting of George Washington by artist George Gassner for the newly constructed statehouse. The State of Vermont has been collecting art ever since. With the creation of the Vermont Arts Council in 1964, the state art collection begin to expand beyond the walls of the capitol itself. Throughout the 70' and 80's the Arts Council continued to install art in public facilities like the Pavilion State Office Building. In 1988, the General Assembly passed the Art in State Buildings Act "in recognition of the need to encourage Vermont artists." As David Schutz, the State Curator, explains,"...it is (this) public art program which has allowed the placement of a wide assortment of works of art in facilities all over the state."The State collection includes the work of hundreds of artists, and can be found at twenty-eight state facilities across Vermont


The Department of Buildings & General Services, with the help of Paul Gruhler, working with the Vermont Arts Council, has created a show of paintings and photography from the collection by some of the best artists in Vermont. The first of four 2009 exhibits will be at the River Arts Center in Morrisville from May 8-July 5. The River Arts Center is proud to host a version of the "Art of Vermont" exhibition that features the works of many Lamoille Valley artists.

Another version of the tour travels to St. Michael's College in Colchester, from June 5, 2009 until August 8,2009 with an opening reception on June 5, 5-7 PM. Since the dates of these two exhibits overlap they will feature different works from the collection. There are shows planned for the Brattleboro Museum and at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury later in the year, with more dates planned for 2010.

There is also a beautiful glossy catalogue developed by Paul Gruhler, for "Art of Vermont" that presents a sampling of the State Art Collection. In it, David Schultz says, "Art helps define who we are as people. As we look back over the works that constitute the State Art Collection, we cannot help but be struck by the amazing messages that are conveyed about Vermont and its people."

Images:
Top: Alden Bryan, Cambridge, VT, c. 1955
Middle: Mickey Myers, Night Falls on Jericho Street, 2004-5
Bottom: Peter Miller, Fred Tuttle, 1987

SHORT: FLYNNDOG PREVIEW

The Flynndog gallery in Burlington's south end is a cavernous exhibition space on Flynn avenue, in a referbished industrial site. Curator, and architect Bren Alvarez always installs some of the most engaging shows of northern Vermont, and the current exhibition of paintings by Vinicio Ayala and Greg Mamczak is likely to be one of them. It's on view through June 30, and the opening is Friday May 8, 6-8 pm. There will also be an open house at the studios of Photographers Jeff Clarke and Karen Pike, 5- 9 pm at the Flynndog. In addition to exhibitions the Flynndog hosts poetry readings, that are usually attended by some of the area's best writers.

SHORT: Bigtown Gallery, in Rochester,VT

Rochester, Vermont isn’t a big city, but it’s got a big town gallery - literally. Big Town Gallery on route 100 in the heart of Rochester presents top flight exhibitions, and outdoor performances in “BigTown’s out-back amphitheater space,” during the warm summer months. Gallerist Anni Mackay has been curating Bigtown shows for ten years, and represents some of New England’s best known artists - Gerald Auten, Varujan Boghosian, David Bumbeck, Nancy Taplin, and the late Hugh Townley; to name a few. The Bigtown “Members Show,” with works by those five artists and a dozen more is on display April 5th – May 25th. Opening reception Saturday, April 11, 5pm. The spring weather is always dicey, especially in central Vermont, but if it's a beautiful weekend take a drive to Rochester. If it’s gloomy take a drive to Rochester to seem some beautiful art anyways.
above: A piece on board by Nancy Taplin

SHORT: New Stained Glass at SPA

Chris Jeffrey, a stained glass artist who has his studio/workshop at Studio Place Arts (SPA) in Barre, is donating a 3-panel, original stained glass work to SPA. The panels, each approximately 18 inches tall x 30 inches wide, will be installed side by side at the top of the front window in the SPA classroom on March 11, 2009. Two types of glass were used in creating the work: mouth-blown glass, which provides rich, striking and vivid colors, and dichroic glass, a glass that changes colors depending on the viewer's angle and the light source.

WALKABOUT: Inuit art at the Sullivan Museum

The Sullivan Museum of Norwich University in Northfield is more than a museum of military or university history. Right now, it's hosting a show called Arctic Visions, 1950s Inuit prints and carved sculptures representing the Inuit cultures’ spiritual beliefs.

There's a video as well, “Songs in Stone”—the award winning documentary on the origin of Inuit art by legendary John Houston. Shot principally on Baffin Island in the wilds of the Canadian Arctic, the film features the native  sculptors and printmakers of Cape Dorset. For information: http://www.norwich.edu/museum/ 

Image: Pudlo Pulot (1916-1992) Spring Landscape Stonecut and stencil

SHORT: The Art of Action Project

by Riki Moss

The Art of Action Project Review Committee has announced the ten Finalists who will receive commissions to realize the projects they proposed. They are Susan Abbott, Gail Boyajian, David Brewster, Annemie Curlin, Phil Godenschwager, Curtis Hale, Val Hird, Kathleen Kolb, Janet McKenzie, and John Miller.

Here's a video of all twenty finalists from whom the ten were selected. This beguiling, utterly generous project asked the question: what is Vermont’s future as interpreted through artists? All the chosen painters - with perhaps one photographer - answer with exquisitely rendered, more-or-less straight forward visual narratives deeply rooted in community or landscape. No abstraction here, or art-for-arts-sake, or heavy symbolism, political angst, fragmented imagery,ugliness or despair.