Let’s Celebrate!
Spectrum Art Gallery’s Holiday Show Opens November 22
Spectrum Art Gallery and Artisan Store of Centerbrook kicks off the season with its 2019 holiday show, Let’s Celebrate! on Friday, November 22 at 61 Main Street, Centerbrook, Connecticut. Let’s Celebrate! brings together some of the region’s most original artists and artisans who showcase why and how we celebrate events in our lives. Presented through a variety of mediums, the exhibit captures the joy and revelry of many of those important moments, be it holidays, births and birthdays, anniversaries, weddings or just to celebrate being alive and happy! The seven-week run (through January 12, 2020) begins with an Opening Reception on Friday, November 22 (6:30-9pm) with wine, refreshments, and the talents of Kathy King who captivates audiences with her musical flair, performing on a 34-string acoustic lever harp, played both as a solo instrument and in combination with song.
“Of course, we love all our exhibits throughout the year,” notes Barbara Nair, Director of Spectrum Art Gallery and Store. “But there is something so special about the Holiday Show. It always brings in so many new fine artists and artisans, and quite a few returning favorites. I, personally, love working with customers during this time of year when everyone is really thinking about what special gift a friend or family member would like not always based on money but on who a person is…and to me that is the beauty of the season!”
Let’s Celebrate! is the perfect place and time for visitors to discover a new artist as they add to their collections, and the right spot to find a fine craft for oneself or as a memorable holiday gift. There are also in the exhibit dozens of one-of-a-kind stocking gifts, as well as handmade ornaments crafted by local fine artisans available for purchase from the Gallery’s six-foot annual holiday tree.
Artists new to Spectrum include Edith Skiba LaMonica who is an award-winning abstract painter whose vibrant works are in many private and public collections; Barbara Rossitto, another award-winning artist who works in acrylic and oil to create vivid, colorful pieces that flow with powerful movement; Judith Offenberg who designs intricate floral and geometric motifs on silk, first drawn in detail with a resist, then meticulously painted on the sheerest fabric with multiple layers of rich dyes; Svitlana Tatulych, an abstract painter and mixed media artist who brings together Western and Eastern spirituality through her art, combining organic materials such as wood and fine crystals into her creations; Pamela Chandler’s passion for dancing and music are her inspirations for her latest works in which she builds striking art objects by rescuing fine, but damaged stringed instruments, adorning them with painted designs – a celebration of music and a conversation-starting collectible piece for the art or music lover.
Collage artist Violet Davenport, who has exhibited at various galleries and institutions such as the New Britain Museum of Art, shows several new mixed media works using acrylics, hand-painted papers, and ephemera on birch panel; Olivia Bonilla, an East Coast painter and sculptor who exhibits and is collected throughout the country, creates bright, whimsical objects out of cement, resin, and mixed media; and Mark Nielsen, a woodworker and stained glass artist, who builds from various materials including repurposed found objects. In the Holiday Show, he combines his two favorite mediums – stained glass and wood for an organic, vibrant result.
A variety of original photography and limited-edition prints are presented in the exhibit including those by John Hsu, a native of Taiwan and new to Spectrum Gallery. Hsu has exhibited extensively throughout the region and has published multiple photographic books including several dedicated to water reflection images.
Let’s Celebrate! of course includes favorite fine artisans returning to the Gallery, and welcomes new ones including painter and popular acrylic teacher, Jay Babina, the award-winning bird decoy carver Darrel Wilt; Joan Mueller, a fine artisan from Pennsylvania who creates clay ornaments and woodblock holiday cards; several other new ornament artisans include Suzanne Addario and Kearen Enright; Sandra Huber a jewelry designer specializing in a line of lamp work glass beads presents her work for the first time at Spectrum; and Steve Durkee, a wildlife carver who meticulously crafts his wood pieces and paints them with fine pigments in high detail.
Spectrum Gallery’s normal store hours are Wednesday through Saturday (12-6pm), and Sunday (12-5pm).The Gallery is closed Thanksgiving and the Friday after Thanksgiving reopening Sat and Sun, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Starting on Wednesday, December 4 and running through December 23, the Gallery is open Monday through Saturday (12-6pm), and Sunday (12-5pm). Christmas Eve the Gallery is open from 11am to 3pm.
Spectrum Gallery is an expansion of the non-profit Arts Center Killingworth which organizes classes, workshops and art camps and offers opportunities for emerging and established artists to develop, display and sell their work. For more information call Spectrum (860) 767-0742 and visit spectrumartgallery.org; call the Arts Center (860) 663-5593 and visit artscenterkillingworth.org. Follow on social media at facebook.com/spectrumartgallery | twitter.com/arts_center_ct | instagram.com/spectrum_art_gallery