Off the Wall at Studio Place Arts

Wow, I am SO pleased to have two pieces in the Off the Wall exhibit at SPA that opened on Friday, July 20 and runs through September 8. I'm showing work that I really wanted to get out into the world, and the exhibit itself is magnificent -- ALL three-dimensional, and in muted, natural colors -- very serene, but strong. Not a painting in sight, though there are some sculptures affixed to the walls, including illuminated ones by Riki Moss.

In the front window is an installation of my Falling People, work I made in 2002 that really has never been exhibited in a gallery setting before. Each figure hangs from the ceiling on a swivel attched to a steel line, so it can (and does) rotate gently.  I am hoping to find a group of dancers who may be interested in creating a dance piece using these figures as props. I imagine the Falling People suspended from the ceiling of a large room (or outside, from tree branches), with the dancers in silver lycra bodysuits, moving among them, turning, and striking them with mallets, like gongs. Maybe there's a gamelan accompaniment...

By the way, you can see through the window that Main Street is being dug up in front of the gallery. If you can come visit the exhibit (which I hope you can and will), you can park in the municipal parking lot on Merchants Row for free and walk over to SPA (there's a crosswalk in front of Aubuchon's).
 

In the back of the gallery The Disarmed are suspended from the ceiling on both sides of the back hallway. The rubric (or rule) I imposed on myself in making these figures was that they needed to have: No arms (they hang from wires attached to their shoulders), Multiple things on their torsos (armor? breastplates?), and A skirt. People really seem to be digging them, as four of the twelve have already been sold!

Night and Day Acquired by Collector

Two Button Encasements, Night and Day, have been acquired by an out-of-state collector. These pieces, from a 2002 series, are constructed in a complex fashion: They are four inches deep, and there's a layer of translucent mylar at the back that is painted on both sides with acrylic paints and a grid drawn with graphite. In the middle distance, buttons are held in a grid of fine annealed steel wire, while in the foreground, circular images are painted in acrylic on the interior surface of a plexiglass cover. Light casts circular shadows from the middle and top layers onto the far surface.

Remaining pieces in my studio from this series are Workers of the World, Gumballs, Red Moon Rising, Glass Houses, and Shrapnel.

Gander Gallery in Manchester Center

The opening at the Gander Gallery was Friday, July 6, from 5-7 PM. Adria Schozer, the gallerist, kindly put me up for Thursday and Friday night, and created fabulous refreshments for the opening. She sold two of my button dresses on the opening night, which was great. Here are some images of the space. I was particularly pleased with the wall where my loose circular pieces were interspersed with painted wood pieces by Fred Faviano, whose work I like very much:

Still Blowing in the Wind

Yesterday I went by the Pop-Up Gallery in Winooski to put some leaves in my piece so I could photograph it for publicity. It still needs MORE leaves -- up to just below the bird -- but I'll add them on June 22, just before the reception. I hope you'll come and join us from 7-9 PM on June 22.

Exhibit at Gander Gallery

I'll have some of my work in an exhibit at Gander Gallery in Manchester Center next month. Here's an ad for the show:

Red Dress Outside

For the last year or two I've been trying to move things out of my studio (and out of the basement at SPA, where so many floods have caused Sue Higby, SPA's executive director, to say no more things can be stored in the basement).

One of the things that has had to find a new home is my Red Dress sculpture. Last summer we set it up permanently outside at my home (installed in a concrete base), and yesterday evening I caught it with the setting sun casting the strong shadows of the falling figures that I've always loved.

Blowing in the Wind

Emiko Sawaragi Gilbert and I are collaborating on a site-specific installation entitled Blowing in the Wind at the Stoplight Gallery in Winooski, as part of an exhibit called Mutual Gaze/Call and Response, curated by Riki Moss. The exhibit will run from June 22 - August 4, 2012, with an artists talk and reception on Wednesday, July 11th 5 - 7 pm. Here it is (photographed by Jeffrey Gilbert):

The image on the left is the damaged Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant, with Vermont Yankee on the right. I will be filling my sculpture (seen at right, with a wooden base) with green leaves for the opening reception on June 22. The leaves will slowly desiccate over the period of the exhibit.

This exhibit is part of the Winooski Pop-up Gallery District, which transforms downtown Winooski into a vibrant hub of contemporary art for six weeks in June and July. The event includes art exhibitions; music and other cultural events; activities for children; and showcases the community of Winooski--its shops, restaurants, and history. The event will kick-off with a grand opening the weekend of June 22nd and continue through August 4th.

The galleries will be open Thursday through Saturday from Noon to 6PM and Sundays from 10AM to 4PM. The Winooski Pop-up Gallery District is produced by Kasini House and the Winooski Welcome Center.

The six artists in this exhibition explore the idea of reciprocal perception: if we look deeply enough into the heart of our planet we evoke its response. What one takes from this experience - guilt, joy, separation, heartbreak, glory, a sense of this marvelous, bio-diverse Earth - is up to the viewer.

The artists in Mutual Gaze/Call and Response are Cami Davis, Janet Fredericks, Emiko Sawaragi Gilbert, Linda E. Jones, Riki Moss, and Janet Van Fleet.