The Village of North Bennington will present Art Park 2011 its 14th Annual North Bennington Art Park exhibition from July 16 through October 9, 2011. The Art Park Opening reception is a free event open to the public Saturday July 16th from 4pm to 8 pm. This is the second year that the exhibition will occur in the Train Station Gallery as well as the annual outdoor sculpture show. We are hosting 62 area artists who lend their work to this exhibition.
The Art Park is an invitational exhibition featuring sculpture, painting and mixed media art work from local and regional artists. Many of our exhibiting artists have national reputations outside our area and the Train Station Gallery will be curated by Jillian Casey who is a director at The Forum Gallery in New York City.From its modest origins in the yard of McGovern Masonry the exhibition has developed into one of the most exciting art exhibitions in New England. North Bennington is now known as a village where artists are neighbors and this exhibition is their way of sharing their art work with the community. Anyone familiar with contemporary art history will recognize the names of Pat Adams, Willard Boepple and Phillip Wofford who are joined by their colleagues who teach at Bennington College and local sculptors Joe Chirchirillo, Gary Humphreys, Elaine Witten, Teru Simon and Bill Botzow.
Art Park 2011 is proud to announce the addition of new artists from nearby New York, Massachusetts, and Manchester, VT. Both Barbara and G.L. Sussman, Jon Recco, Leslie Parke and Evan Wilson are lending their work this year. Amy Podmore ( Williams College) and Andrew DeVries ( Lenox, MA.) are two sculptors who bring exceptional work to the exhibition. Last year Andrew had 25 bronze sculptures in his show in Lenox and thoughtfully lent a large bronze to the Art Park as well. We are also happy that for the first time Susie Cronin (Manchester, VT.) will contribute her imaginative bronze sculpture.
Anthony Cafritz, founder of Salem Art Works, was the initial curator of the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show and the professional sculptors and interns at SAW still offer a large part of the outdoor sculpture to the current Art Park.The North Bennington Art Park is rare in that it is a completely volunteer community exhibition to promote our local professional artists and the quality of life in the Village of North Bennington. We are generously sponsored by David Aldrich, Bennington College, Kevin's Restaurant, Joe McGovern, Sage City Syndicate, The Fund for North Bennington and Whitman's Feed Store. This year we are having a special event to benefit The Norshaft Little League and have scheduled our Opening Reception to coincide with the Old Timer's baseball game. Glenn Campbell from Campbell Plaster and Iron Foundry in West Rutland is coming to give a bronze casting demonstration at 5:30 after the game. Glenn will pour molten bronze to demonstrate the "lost wax" casting method on site and the resulting casts will be sold to benefit the Norshaft Little League.
Images: Williard Boepple, painted wood; Andrew De Vries, The Other Side of Eden, bronze; Gary Humphreys installing sculpture
