Tag: Connecticut Travel

Vanishing America at the Sharon Historical Society

The Sharon Historical Society, located in the Litchfield Hills of northwest Connecticut is hosting an art exhibit by Jeffrey L. Neumann titled Vanishing America: The Disappearing Commercial Landscape of the 20th Century through October 25.

Painting By Jeffrey L. Neumann
Painting By Jeffrey L. Neumann

This exhibit is a celebration of the exuberance and independent spirit of life in post WWII America tempered by the inexorable march of time. With a focus on the mom and pop eating establishments, motels and movie theaters of roadside America, Neumann’s paintings take the viewer on journey down the two-lane highways of the twentieth century. They allow us to experience a part of our past that is being rapidly replaced by the widespread influence of corporate conformity.

The cultural and anthropological aspect of Neumann’s work is balanced by his uniquely personal vision. The artist, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1953 and currently residing in Copake, NY, cannot be considered a regional painter. The subjects of his oil and watercolor paintings come from all across the nation. They are influenced by Neumann’s childhood years living in New Mexico and California and his numerous trips on Route 66 in the back of the family station wagon. His work is noted as finding profound meaning in places often overlooked.

On October 13 at 3 p.m. there will be a gallery walk and talk with the artist.

Running concurrently with Neumann’s Vanishing America exhibit in The Gallery @the SHS, the Sharon Historical Society & Museum will present Now you see it…in the exhibit galleries. This exhibit will take its audience backwards in time, challenging the viewer to use objects and images that are familiar today as a roadmap to the past. Focusing primarily on the changes that have occurred in town from 1850 to the present day, visitors will be confronted with familiar scenes, such as the Sharon War Memorial, the Sharon Fire Department, Mudge Pond Beach, the Sharon Valley Tavern, Sharon Hospital and the Sharon Center School, and with the help of objects from the museum collection, will be transported back in time to pivotal junctures in the town’s development.

About the Sharon Historical Society
The Sharon Historical Society and Museum is located at 18 Main Street, Sharon, Connecticut 06069. For more information, call 860-364-5688 or visit www.sharonhist.org. Museum Hours are Wednesday & Saturday from 10AM – 2PM, Thursday & Friday from 10AM – 4PM and by appointment.

For information on Litchfield Hills visit www.litchfieldhills.com

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Alex Schweder: Rehearsal Space at The Philip Johnson Glass House

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Now through October 12, New York-based artist Alex Schweder will participate in the cultural life of the Glass House campus while occupying a mobile living unit temporarily situated alongside the Brick House. Speculating that architecture is enacted as well as built, Rehearsal Space comprises a portable accommodation (combining a van, a scissor lift, and an inflatable room) that anticipates the Glass House’s potential artist residency program.

Connected to the Brick House by a power cord, Schweder’s van contains an inflatable room that can be raised twenty-two feet in the air by a hydraulic system. An interior control panel allows the artist to toggle the furniture between a sofa and a bed. The entrance, which is also a private shower and bathroom, serves as an air hatch that balances the interior air pressure. While in residence, Schweder will live in the inflatable room and work on a manuscript about “performance architecture” in Philip Johnson’s library.

The Brick House and the Glass House, designed by Johnson and completed in 1949, form a two-part composition that challenged ideas about domesticity in midcentury America. Connected by a gravel path across a landscaped courtyard, the Glass House and Brick House counterpose transparency and opacity. Although the Glass House and its grounds opened to the public in 2007, the Brick House was closed shortly thereafter because of water infiltration.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation continues to raise funds to restore the structure. It is anticipated that successful preservation efforts can reactivate the Brick House as a guest house for artists, writers, and other creative individuals engaged in short-term residencies at the Glass House.
Schweder’ project was originally commissioned as the hotel rehearsal © by the 2013 Biennial of the Americas in Denver for the exhibition “Draft Urbanism,” curated by Paul Anderson, Carson Chan, Gaspar Libidinsky, and Abaseh Mivali. This will be the project’s first presentation outside of Denver.

EV Day exterior for web

Also on view through November 30 is SNAP, a site-specific installation by E.V. Day Conceived for the building known as Da Monsta – designed by Philip Johnson in 1995 as a visitor center and now a gallery – SNAP! interprets the pavilion’s peculiar geometry and atmosphere both inside and out. Day has roped the exterior of Da Monsta with massive climbing webs and populated the interior with an ensemble of recent sculpture that tease out the noir qualities of Johnson’s late work.

About the artist
Alex Schweder works with architecture and performance art to question the separation of occupying subjects and occupied objects. His projects have been exhibited at Tate Britain; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;,Sculpture Center, New York; Magnus Müller, Berlin; the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum; the Biennial of the Americas; the Lisbon Architectural Triennial; the Moscow Biennial; and the Marrakech Biennial. He has been artist-in-residence at the Kohler Company, the Chinati Foundation, and the American Academy in Rome, and has taught at SCI-ARC, the Architectural Association, and the Institute for Art and Architecture, Vienna. Schweder is a doctoral candidate in architecture at the University of Cambridge, England, and teaches at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. For more information, visit http://www.alexschweder.com.

The Glass House, built between 1949 and 1995 by architect Philip Johnson, is a National Trust Historic Site located in New Canaan, CT. The pastoral 49-acre landscape comprises fourteen structures, including the Glass House (1949), and features a permanent collection of 20th-century painting and sculpture, along with temporary exhibitions. The tour season runs from May to November and advance reservations are required. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit www.theglasshouse.org.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. For more information, visit www.PreservationNation.org.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

27th Annual Antiques Show in Litchfield Hills – Washington CT

The 2013 Washington Connecticut Antiques Show will take place October 4-6, opening at Washington Primary School with the traditional Preview Night cocktail party on Friday from 6:30 to 9:00pm. Cellist Mary Costanza will serenade guests during this opportunity for advance buying and browsing from an impressive assortment of exceptional antiques and contemporary collectibles.

The following evening, the Collectors Party will be held – Saturday, October 5 from 6:30 to 9:00pm. Visitors will enjoy browsing while listening to the smooth sounds of The Kerry Linder Brazilian Jazz Trio in an alluring setting of curated treasures and modern curiosities from around the world.

Reservations for the Friday and Saturday evening parties are highly recommended and can be made by visiting www.gunnlibrary.org. Entrance to each party begins at $125 per person. Daytime show hours are Saturday, October 5, 10am to 3pm and Sunday, October 6, 11am to 3pm. Daily admission to the show is $10, payable at the door. For additional information, please contact the Gunn Memorial Library at 860-868-7586 or email gunndevelopment@biblio.org.

Founded in 1985, the Washington Annual Antiques Show consistently draws dealers of the highest quality and offers diverse furnishings and decorative arts for both the period and modern home. The show features 21 dealers from the east coast. Visitors will find larger furnishings, works of art, exquisite jewelry, intimate furniture and decorative accessories.

This year the exhibitors includes:
Behnke Doherty Gallery
Washington, CT
www.behnkedoherty.com

Brad Reh Fine Estate Jewelry
Southampton, NY
www.bradreh.com

Brennan & Mouilleseaux
Northfield, CT
www.antiqueseclectic.com

C.M. Leonard Antiques
South Salem, NY

The Cooley Gallery
Old Lyme, CT
www.cooleygallery.com

Dallas Boesendahl
New York, NY

Donald Rich Antiques
New Canaan, CT

Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge
White Plains, NY
www.vandekar.com

Eckert Fine Art
Millerton, NY
www.eckertfineart.com

Embellish Antiques
Chapel Hill, NC
www.embellishantiques.com

George Champion Modern Shop
Woodbury, CT

KMR Arts
Washington Depot, CT
www.kmrarts.com

Melody Rodgers
New York, NY
www.melodyrodgers.com

Mountain Thistle Antiques
Waynesboro, VA
www.rubylane.com/shops/
www.mountainthistleantiques

Nemati Collection
New York, NY & New Preston, CT
www.nematicollection.com

Nula Thanhauser
East Hampton, NY
www.nulathanhauser.com

Ober Gallery
Kent, CT
www.obergallery.com

R.M. Barokh, Inc.
Bethlehem, CT
www.rmbarokhantiques.com

Roberto Freitas American Antiques
& Decorative Arts
Stonington, CT
www.robertofreitas.com

R.T. Facts
Kent, CT
www.rtfacts.com

Vintage Poster Art
Monroe Township, NJ
www.trocadero.com/vintagepa

The Museum’s current exhibit, “Coming to America: Washington’s Swedish Immigrants,” will be open to visitors free of charge Saturday and Sunday October 5 & 6 and features photographs and artifacts from its collection, on loan from descendants, and from local dealers Dawn Hill Antiques and Eleish van Breems Antiques. Rhonda Eleish and Edie van Breems, noted Scandinavian style experts, will present the lecture “The Elements of Swedish Style” and sign copies of their new book Reflections on Swedish Interiors on Sunday, October 6, at 1pm in the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Memorial Library.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

JanetLeave a comment

Vijay Kumar: Etchings, A Retrospective at Center for Contemporary Printmaking

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The fall exhibition, featuring a splendid array of original prints by Vijay Kumar, at the The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP), 299 West Ave., in Mathews Park, Norwalk runs through Sunday, November 3, 2013. The Gallery is open Monday through Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 12 to 5 pm; it is closed Columbus Day and Veterans Day and admission is free.

A narrative is apparent in all of Vijay Kumar’s artworks. When Vijay was a child, he and his family left their home, during the religious strife that troubled India as the country gained its independence from Britain. Traveling the world — from India to the Middle East, Europe and the United States — his artistic focus has centered on the geometry of urban spaces. In the fall exhibition, many pieces are untitled and are essentially architectural, linear jumbles such as stacked houses and buildings. The eighteen prints in the series “India Portfolio,” reflect the sorrow and loss of the refugee. In the background, a New York Times article from Dec 11, 1992, published the headline “Hatreds of India.” Abstracted figures set in conflict or in positions of mourning dominate the series.

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Born in Lehore (then part of India) and based in New York City, Vijay Kumar has had numerous solo exhibitions of his drawings, prints and paintings in the United States and abroad. Vijay is the curator for the Indo-American Arts Council’s annual Erasing Borders Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora. He has also curated print shows in New York and Ohio in the United States, and in India. Mr. Kumar teaches printmaking at several graphics centers in New York City, and at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, in Norwalk, Connecticut.

About the Center for Contemporary Printmaking

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of the print: intaglio, lithography, monotype, silkscreen, woodblock printing, paperworks, book arts, and digital arts. Housed in a handsome 19th-century stone carriage house, this 5,000- square-foot historical landmark is located at 299 West Avenue in Mathews Park, in Norwalk Connecticut. CCP workshops, gallery, and offices are open Monday through Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm, and Sunday, 12 – 5 pm. The Grace Ross Shanley Gallery features acclaimed exhibitions throughout the year, and is handicapped accessible. Artists who participate in the Artist-in-Residence Program have the opportunity to live and work in the Helen Frankenthaler Printmaking Cottage, adjacent to the main building. Edition printing is offered by the CCP Master Printer and Associate Printer. For more information, please call 203-899-7999 or visit www.contemprints.org. The Center for Contemporary Printmaking is a member of the statewide Connecticut Art Trail, a partnership of seventeen world-class museums and historic sites.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Lincoln Scholar Harold Holzer to Speak at Keeler Tavern Museum

Nationally renowned Lincoln scholar and author Harold Holzer will speak on the topic of “Why Lincoln Matters,” on Sunday, September 29th, at 4 p.m., at The Keeler Tavern Museum’s Garden House, 132 Main Street, Ridgefield.

keeler tavern

Holzer, who has authored, co-authored or edited 46 books about the nation’s 16th president and the Civil War era, will engage the audience in exploring the connections many Americans have felt—real and imagined, political and emotional—to Abraham Lincoln. His remarks on the 29th will explain how Lincoln’s actions and words have been interpreted and used by politicians and thought leaders up to the present day, “often seeking to consecrate their own policies with his imagined blessing, sometimes inspiringly, sometimes ludicrously,” according to Holzer.

Harold Holzer is Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, official successor organization of the U. S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which he co-chaired for nine years, appointed by President Bill Clinton. His most recent book, The Civil War in 50 Objects, tells the story of the war through the collections of the New-York Historical Society, for which he serves as a Roger Hertog Fellow. Holzer’s How Abraham Lincoln Ended Slavery in America (2012) is the official young-adult companion book for the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln, for which he served as script consultant.

Holzer_head_shot_with_AL_Sculpture

Holzer lectures throughout the nation. One of his programs, “Lincoln Seen and Heard,” with actor Sam Waterston, has been staged and broadcast from such venues as the White House, the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, the Clinton Presidential Library, the Library of Congress, and Ford’s Theatre. Holzer also appears frequently on C-SPAN and the History Channel, and served as an on-air commentator on PBS, NBC, the BBC, and the National Geographic Network

In his full-time professional career, Holzer serves as Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he has spent the last 20 years.

Reservations to attend his lecture and the wine and hors d’oeuvres reception that follows, both of which are limited-capacity events, may be made online at keelertavernmuseum.org or by calling the Museum at (203) 438-5485. Fees are $50 for the lecture and reception ($35 for Museum members and students) and $25 for the lecture only ($20 for Museum members, $15 for students). Free parking is available on site.

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8th Annual Watertown House Tour Sept. 28

The 8th Annual Watertown House Tour will take place on Saturday September 28 from 11a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Five fabulous homes will be featured in this year’s tour.

The Mailhot House at 26 Sunset Avenue was built in 1900 and was originally going to be a barn. Today, this quaint house with its’ split rail fence and lovely front porch has beautiful woodwork throughout and is appointed with furniture made by the current owner. Outside there is a display of classic cars.

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The Guernseytown Schoolhouse at 1121 Guernseytown Road was built in 1848 and served as a school for 84 years until it was closed in 1932. The current living room was the original classroom area.

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Hotchkiss House at 237 Skilton Road built around 1800 has a modern addition. Entering the old section of the house visitors will notice wide chestnut floors, horsehair walls and low sloping ceilings. Interesting collections from the owners’ travels are displayed though out the house.

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The Silo at 25 Caruso Drive overlooks Lake Winnemaug, a man-made lake that was created as a feeder pond for the Oakville Company, also known as the Pin Shop. This house, with its distinctive silo and cobblestone driveway, was designed to look like a barn by the homeowners in collaboration with Litchfield architect Clifford Cooper in 2010.

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The Wasilauskas House at 89 Maple Avenue built in 1910 has the distinction of being in the same family for nearly one hundred years. This arts and crafts style bungalow with its columned wraparound porch recently went through a major facelift, but it remains on the original footprint. Before you leave don’t miss the beautiful grounds and fieldstone barn.

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The Watertown Historical Society Museum and the Nova Scotia Schoolhouse at 22 DeForest Street will also be open for viewing.

The Watertown House Tour is a benefit for the Watertown Historical Society Museum in Watertown, CT. The Watertown Historical Society is a private, nonprofit, all volunteer organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing Watertown and Oakville’s history through the Museum.

Advance tickets are $25 per person, and will be $30 the day of the tour. Tickets for this self-guided house tour are non-refundable & can be purchased by mailing a check or money order to:

Watertown House Tour
22 DeForest Street
Watertown, CT 06795

Checks should be made payable to the “Watertown Historical Society”. Tickets can also be purchased online with a credit card or Paypal at: www.watertownhistoricalsociety.org

Tickets and maps will be mailed to those that make advance purchases. Advance orders must be received no later than Friday September 20th. Requests for tickets after this date will be held for pick-up on the day of the tour at the Museum.

Tickets are available at the following retail locations: LaBonne’s Market in Watertown, Chubba’s in Watertown, the Health Complex, The Watertown Library, Hosking’s Nursery, Depot Square Farm Shoppe, and Jimmy’s of Watertown. On the day of the tour tickets will be available at all of the businesses, all of the houses and at the Museum, which will be tour headquarters. Call the Museum at 860-274-1050 or view www.watertownhistoricalsociety.org for more information.

The artist is Lorraine LeRoy.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

JanetLeave a comment