Category: art shows

New Exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking Sept. 18- Nov. 13

The new exhibition, featuring artist Jack Boul, at The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) opens on Sunday, September 18 at 2 pm, and is on view through Sunday, November 13, 2011. This exhibition is a northeast premiere, for an accomplished artist and educator whose idyllic landscapes and scenes of everyday life at home and abroad are well known in the Washington DC area.

On view are over 150 works representing subject matter that has concerned and inspired this artist for decades. His signature cows and dancers appear throughout the Grace Ross Shanley Gallery at CCP, sometimes as printmaker’s monotypes, again as painter’s oils on board, and yet again as sculptor’s bronzes.

At the heart of the exhibition are Jack Boul’s monotypes, depicting dancers and cityscapes, cows and graineries, guitarists, musicians, and wait staff. “For this artist, there is no perceived hierarchy in his studio, where his two etching presses are a few feet away from his easel, always at the ready”, writes Anthony Kirk, curator of the exhibition. At CCP, Artistic Director and Master Printer Anthony Kirk helped the artist translate a number of his monotypes into photopolymer intaglio plates. Several recent editions made from these plates are included in the exhibition.

Jack Boul was born in Brooklyn, in 1927, the son of a Russian émigré father and a Romanian mother. Boul first studied art at the American Artist’s School, and then he studied at the Cornish School of Art, on the GI Bill. He moved to Washington DC, and continued his art studies at American University, where he eventually joined the art faculty, and was a distinguished professor for 15 years. In 1984, Boul was a founding faculty member of the new Washington Studio School, where he taught painting, drawing and monotype for ten years before retiring in 1994, to devote his full time to printmaking and painting. His first museum exhibition was held at the Baltimore Museum of Art, in 1994. The Corcoran Gallery of Art held a career retrospective for the artist, in 2000. The National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art own impressions of his monotypes.

Exhibition-related Events

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) is conducting a writing competition, based on the “soulful” works of Jack Boul, in collaboration with Ina Chadwick’s MouseMuse Productions, an arts partnering company located in Westport, CT. Entry deadline for the competition, named “Déjà Vu”, is September 23, 2011 at 5 pm. The winning works will be read by professional actors at a CCP festive awards ceremony and reception, on Sunday, November 13, 2011, at 4 pm. For more information, visit http://www.contemprints.org/writers.

Reception

The public is invited to the opening reception for the new exhibition, Jack Boul: Intimate Scale: Paintings, Sculptures, Monotypes Sunday, September 18, from 2 – 5 pm, at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking. Rumor has it that Jack Boul and his son, David, may be in attendance. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free.

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking

Normal hours are Monday through Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 12 to 5 pm. The gallery is located at 299 West Ave., in Mathews Park, Norwalk, CT., 203-899-7999, http://www.contemprints.org. Admission is free, and the gallery is handicapped accessible.

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Harwinton Antiques and Design Weekend Sept. 3 and 4

Summer is fleeting and so is your opportunity to score those great antique, vintage and decorative items at the Harwinton Antiques & Design Weekend.

This coming Labor Day Weekend, September 3rd & 4th, marks the second and final show of the 2011 Harwinton Antique& Design Weekend season. So, spend your holiday weekend treasure hunting at the charming Harwinton Fairgrounds, located in beautiful Litchfield Hills.

Shop from country’s leading style makers. Over 200 renowned vendors, in tented and indoor booths, will offer the unique design essentials that simply can’t be found at the mall. Whether you’re beginning a decorating project or looking for those perfect finishing touches, you’ll find great design inspiration as well as the very finest in antiques. Bring your friends and family, enjoy the great food and savor one of the last and best shopping experiences of the season.

The Harwinton Antiques & Design Weekend will be held September 3-4, on the Harwinton Fairgrounds- 150 Locust Rd, Harwinton, CT. Show hours will be Saturday 8 am – 5 pm and Sunday 10 am – 5 pm. Admission will be $10.00 with Saturday’s admission good for both days. For more information visit www. harwintonantiquesweekend.com.

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New Canaan Nature Center Art Exhibit The Little Things by Melissa Kircher

A exhibit of original paintings and photography by Melissa Kircher will be on display at the New Canaan Nature Center through June 14. The exhibit, entitled “The Little Things,” is a series of floral and nature inspired photographs that combine elements of color, light, and texture, both man-made and natural. Kiircher says “I find the often overlooked aspects of nature appealing, taking joy in spotting a hidden flower, leaf, or an unusual scene. These works are about discovering the beauty in little things.”

The photographs have all been processed with different fine art elements to create unique and truly original works of art. Melissa Kircher attended Gordon College in Massachusetts where she studied drawing, printmaking, graphic design, and sculpture. She earned a BFA in Visual Arts with a concentration in sculpture. Melissa is currently a self employed artist in the fields of painting, photography, photo-processing, graphic design and freelance writing. Her home and studio is in Norwalk, Connecticut and her work has been displayed in various Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York City locations. Melissa’s artwork can be seen on her web-site: http://www.melissakircher.com.

For more information please call 966-9577. A portion of proceeds from the sale of the artwork will benefit the New Canaan Nature Center

The New Canaan Nature Center is an environmental education center and sanctuary dedicated to helping people of all ages better understand, appreciate and care for the world of nature. The Nature Center’s grounds, which include a Birds of Prey exhibit and gardens, are open from dawn to dusk daily. The Visitor’s Center and Discovery Room are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

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Feast Of Colorful Quilts Awaits In Norwalk, Connecticut

Those who love the homespun beauty of quilts have a feast in store, as seven local arts and cultural institutions join in a unique collaboration to form the Norwalk Quilt Trail, a series of exhibits from May through mid-November in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

The Quilt Trail spotlights 100 quilts made and collected in Norwalk. Together, the colorful quilts tell the story of the life and the changing fortunes of this area, from the early 1800s to the maritime era in the mid-1850s to 1900s machine age to the present.

The settings for the exhibits also represent many eras, from the Rowayton Historical Society’s Pinkney House (c. 1820) to the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, which opened in 2000. The full list includes the Norwalk Historical Society, the Norwalk Museum, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, the Sheffield Island Lighthouse, and the SoNo Switch Tower Museum. Related exhibits will be presented at City Hall and local libraries. Each exhibit has a story to tell.

A VARIETY OF THEMES

A Common Thread: Family History Told through Quilting at the Rowayton Historical Society illustrates how quilts chronicled family life, telling stories of family love, loss and community in embroidered, patchwork and appliqué quilts, including a signature quilt from one of Norwalk’s oldest families, the Raymonds. The influences introduced during the boom years of Norwalk’s oystering and shipping trade can be seen in a nineteenth century red and white Hawaiian quilt. Two nineteenth century ribbon quilts made from hatbands, ribbons and clothing tags manufactured in the factories of Norwalk represent the changes wrought by the machine age, while yo-yo quilts from the 1930’s show the mood during the period after World War I. (May 15-November 11 http://www.rowaytonhistoricalsociety.org or 203-831-0136).

The Norwalk Historical Society will show Collected & Cherished: Quilts made and collected in Norwalk featuring quilts made from 1850 to 1950, including log cabin designs in silk, baskets-and-wreath designs in cotton. Of special interest from Norwalk’s early seafaring days is the Mariner’s Compass quilt designed by a sea captain, Charles Selleck, and pieced by his wife Samantha in 1860. Six of the Society’s own rare quilts have been restored, thanks to a grant from the Coby Foundation and Gail Wall. (May 14-October 10. http://www.norwalkhistoricalsociety.org or 203.846.0525)

The Craze of Crazy Quilts, a display of a style popular in the latter 19th century, is on view in the Music Room of the 1864 Lockwood-Mathews House (May 14-October 16; http://www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com or 203-838-9799), while Against the Elements: Keeping Warm at the Lighthouse at the Sheffield Lighthouse displays vintage quilts from private collections along with three quilts that are permanently on display in bedrooms in the 10-room 1868 lighthouse to show what life was like for the families of 19th century light keepers. (weekends May 28-June 26, daily June 27-September 5; http://www.seaport.org or 203-838-9444).

The charming Quilts Made by Norwalk Children from the 1970s to Today will be on display at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children (June 30-October 10; 203-899-0606 or steppingstonesmuseum.org) while Trains, Planes and Automobiles, featuring quilts with transportation themes showing the impact of transportation technology on American life will be at the SoNo Switch Tower Museum. The museum is housed in the original Signal Station 44, built in 1896 (May 14-October 30; http://www.westctnrhs.org or 203- 246.6958.

More information on the exhibits can be found at http://www.norwalkquilttrail.org. For information about other nearby events a free color guide to attractions, lodging and dining in Fairfield County, contact the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, http://www.visitwesternct.com.

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