Art - WCCT

Yale Gets Egyptomania

By Alan Bisbort — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:20:00 EDT

"Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharoahs" at the Peabody Museum of Natural History

Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharoahs

Classic Works With a Modern Commentary at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich

By Mike Sembos — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:50:00 EDT

Kathleen Gilje was trained as an art restorer, and she began her career working on the national collections at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. In her exhibit Revised and Restored which is currently open at the Bruce Museum, she used her skills to reconfigure some classic works with a modern commentary, inserting anachronistic details into them and making them contemporary. It's a technically-skilled achievement, and the final product is strangely juxtaposed, satirically-charged and often kind of funny. But the message contained within each piece, be it political, economic or women's rights oriented, is often quite serious.

"Northern Moods: Paintings of Nova Scotia" at The Gallery at Firehouse Square

By Alison Geisler — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:35:00 EDT

The Gallery at Firehouse Square presents Northern Moods: Paintings of Nova Scotia , which is up through May 25. The exhibition features the work of New York artist Peter Devine, an acclaimed landscape painter. Devine, who has his roots in Connecticut, drew inspiration from American abstract-expressionists, artists whose work would prove a touchstone for him as he continued to paint. His current work fuses what Devine considers the fundamental energy of abstraction with the raw landscapes outside his studio in Nova Scotia.

CreateHereNow Receives Major National Art Placemaking Grant, Goes Statewide

By Christopher Arnott — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:38:00 EDT

CreateHereNow has added a future to its present-tense name. The innovative arts/business initiative, which has been running a pilot program in Bridgeport for the last several months, will go statewide thanks to a major grant—half a million dollars!—from ArtPlace America, a deep-pocketed “collaboration of 13 leading national and regional foundations and six of the nation’s largest banks” which works closely with federal agencies in the interest of “investing in art and culture at the heart of a portfolio of integrated strategies that can drive vibrancy and diversity so powerful that it transforms communities.”

Sam Ekwurtzel's "On the Beach" on Display at Real Art Ways

By Michael Hamad — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:15:00 EDT

New London artist Sam Ekwurtzel blurs the lines between sculpture and seafaring with On the Beach , an exhibit appearing at Real Art Ways until mid-August. Ekwurtzel's large-scale designs (that's one pictured above), made out of native white pine, brownstone, cast iron and concrete shaped with some home-made and crude equipment, were inspired by his adventures in boat-building, engineering and navigation. His sculptures have appeared in galleries in NYC, Richmond, Va. and Louisville, Ky.

"Behind the Wheel" at the Connecticut Historical Society

By Michael Hamad — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:10:00 EDT

The American Automobile Association (or AAA) shows up when you've got a flat (you have to flash that card). It's also making an appearance at Hartford's Connecticut Historical Society this summer, when you can drive up to Behind the Wheel , a new exhibit of safety posters printed between 1930-50 by AAA for the Automobile Club of Hartford. Also on display are automobile-related photos (like the one above) from Hartford's pedestrian-friendly past. Head to Collectible Car Day, a free family day devoted to cars, on June 1 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., where you'll find vintage cars supplied by the Valley Collector Car Club.

A Exhibit of Sketches on Display at City Lights Gallery in Bridgeport

By Mike Sembos — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:55:00 EDT

There's much to be said for editing, but sometimes one's first artistic instincts are the best. The current exhibit at City Lights Gallery, Sketch, shows examples of primitive drawings and renderings ranging from cartoon drawings, to silverpoint drawings to iPad sketches, and traces them through the creative process to their final products. On Sunday, illustrator Joel Spector will conduct a workshop called Drawing with Silverpoint in conjunction with the exhibit, just in case you get inspired.

The Connecticut Artists' Spring Show at Fine Line Art Gallery

By Alison Geisler — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:50:00 EDT

The Fine Line Art Gallery in Woodbury presents its annual spring show this weekend, May 17-19. The show, which has run for more than a decade, will feature the work of two dozen artists. Various media will be represented, from oil and prints to pottery and jewelry. Artists such as painters Bonny Hartigan and Carla Koch and potter Debbie Altschwager will show their work. The spring exhibit is a collaboration between the cooperative gallery's 14 member-artists and artists from the broader region.

Prelude to Summer Art Show at Maple and Main Gallery

By Alison Geisler — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:35:00 EDT

Chester's Maple and Main Gallery presents Prelude to Summer, a season-themed show featuring the work of 38 artists. The show, the largest that Maple and Main Gallery has ever undertaken, will also feature paintings of rocks. An opening is planned for May 17 from 5-8 p.m. Light food and refreshments, including a May wine punch, will be served.

An Art Show Made From Recycled and Repurposed Materials, at Celebrations Gallery in Pomfret

By Michael Hamad — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:00 EDT

Recycled/repurposed materials are the thing at Flower Power , featuring artwork by 12 regional artists, (including Katie Samuelson, whose chair and table are pictured above). You'll see some weird stuff: an antique Victrola made into a cartoon-viewing station, mixed-media created out of old record albums, and so on. Head to the opening reception on May 17 for a chat with the recyclists themselves.