The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Opens new Installation by David Brooks

The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art located on 258 Main Street in the heart of Ridgefield is has commissioned a new installation by artist David Brooks that runs through February 5, 2017. This marks the artist's first solo museum exhibition. Throughout his practice, Brooks investigates the tenuous relationship between our ecological life and technological industry.

Brooks (born 1975, Brazil, Indiana) will present every single part of a used 1976 John Deere 3300 combine harvester at The Aldrich, with the components laid out in varying degrees of disassembly in a procession from the front plaza through the Leir Atrium and Leir Gallery and out into the Museum's sculpture garden. Distinctive elements like the corn head and cab remain unaltered in a weathered John Deere green, while other parts are sandblasted, removing rust, paint and all traces of wear and tear; still others, like pipes and fittings, are brass-plated and housed in museum vitrines, the traditional trappings of highbrow art objects or precious natural history displays.

A combine is the ultimate example of agricultural technology, the otherworldly design of its bulky metal body concealing the integration of all stages of the harvesting process into one machine designed to reap grain, a resource that the efficiency of a combine allows us to take for granted as eternally and inexpensively available.

The stunning array of dismantled machine parts, exhibited in a diverse system of presentation, are designated according to the ecosystem service they represent, making it impossible to conceive of the combine in its entirety or to determine the machine's complete functionality; similarly, an ecosystem integrates innumerable processes, many of them intangible or undetectable, into one whole, making it impossible for us to conceive of a life unfolding within it.

This installation, Continuous Service Altered Daily asks us to reexamine our perception of products reaped from the landscape, oftentimes those too easily interpreted as "services" for personal use: water, food, clean air, climate, energy—things we have come to expect to be delivered to us forever.

The Aldrich is located at 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT. For more information, call 203.438.4519 or visit www.aldrichart.org. For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The Museum

Founded by Larry Aldrich in 1964, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is dedicated to fostering the work of innovative artists whose ideas and interpretations of the world around us serve as a platform to encourage creative thinking. It is the only museum in Connecticut devoted to contemporary art, and throughout its fifty-year history has engaged its community with thought-provoking exhibitions and public programs.

The Museum's education and public programs are designed to connect visitors of all ages to contemporary art through innovative learning approaches in hands-on workshops, tours, and presentations led by artists, curators, Museum educators, and experts in related fields. Area schools are served by curriculum-aligned on-site and in-school programs, as well as teachers' professional development training.

Bob Gregson: Archi/Abstracts at New Canaan's Gores Pavilion

This summer and fall, the New Canaan Historical Society is presenting the photography of Bob Gregson entitled Archi/Abstracts at the Gores Pavilion in Irwin Park located on 848 Weed Street in New Canaan Connecticut.

Bob is an artist who has a passion for architecture and modern design. The photographs in this exhibit are details of familiar buildings by well-known architects. Originally taken to document his trips to architectural icons, these photos are shot on the run and thus have a fresh and immediate look to them. As Gregson explains, "It was not necessary to document the buildings as much as to capture a spontaneous moment that expressed, in a simple detail, the heart and spirit of my experience." Since these are done on the fly the essence of the building needs to be sized up quickly.

When viewing the exhibition it is clear that there is a focus on the details and characteristics that embody the personality of each building. The  translation from a  three dimensional experience to a flat image is not easy to achieve but these photographs show great skill in doing this.

Bob Gregson received a B.F.A. from the Hartford Art School and an M.F.A. from the Art Institute of Chicago. His work ranges from large-scale participatory pieces to drawing and photography. He has exhibited nationally as well as his home state of Connecticut. He is a Silvermine Guild Artist in New Canaan, Connecticut and is the creative director of the Connecticut Office of Culture & Tourism.

The Gores Pavilion is located in Irwin Park, New Canaan. The exhibit runs through November 7, 2014. The Gores Pavilion is open from Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by appointment; call 203-966-1776. Admission is free to Society members and $5 for non-members.

Technology-Themed at the Maritime Garage

Free and open to the public, machines, gadgets, all things technology inspires the artwork at the exhibit at the Maritime Garage Gallery. The exhibit, entitled "Thingamabob", will run through April 25.

John Jackson, "Up the Creek"

The concept of the exhibit's theme is loosely based on the concepts of Rube Goldberg; the Thingamabob is a metaphor for the creative process and how artists feed one method into another when creating works of art. Some of the featured works in the exhibit highlight individual elements while others feature multiple systems.

"Thingamabob" features art that is in the eye of the mechanically inclined and in a group show of artists, including John Jackson of Jefferson, New York, Tom Hlas of Norfolk, CT, Lewis Schaffer from Ridgefield, Deborah Rauh from Westport, Sara Roche from Weston, and others.

Lewis Cohen, "Play the Dot Game" 

The Maritime Garage Gallery, located at 11 North Water Street, is part of the Parking Authority's "Art in Parking Places" initiative, an effort to support art in public spaces making Norwalk a more vibrant destination. The gallery is free and open to the public from 9:00am -5:00pm Monday through Friday. For more information, call 203- 831-9063, or visit www.norwalkpark.org/public-art

For information on Fairfield County www.visitfarifieldcountyct.com

Silvermine Arts Center Annual Guild Members Exhibit through Feb. 16

The Silvermine Arts Center located on 1037 Silvermine Road in New Canaan Connecticut is hosting the the highly anticipated annual New Guild Members show, plus the work of Lifetime Guild Artist member, Jens Risom, and the Gabor Peterdi International Print Collection.

“Death of the Prince, Richard III” by Fritz Brosius from the Gabor Peterdi International Print Collection

In 2012, Silvermine Galleries officially named its print collection The Gabor Peterdi International Print Collection, in honor of Silvermine’s print collection founder, Gabor Peterdi. Having started the printmaking department at Yale University, Peterdi established the National Print Biennial competition at Silvermine in 1956.  The juried exhibitions, the Arts Center established the foundation of a permanent print collection through the acquisition of juror purchase awards.  In subsequent years, additional prints were added to the collection via donations and bequests.  The recent efforts have enabled the Galleries to conserve the collection, while actively growing its holdings.

The past year, The Gabor Peterdi International Print Collection received, several significant donations to the collection; including works by such renowned artists as Josef Albers, purchased with funds honoring the late Guild Member, Tina Rohrer; a Robert Cottingham screened print; and a Gabor Peterdi Print donated by the Gabor Peterdi Estate.   This year’s exhibition will feature recent acquisitions of prints by Fritz Brosius, Alexander Calder, James Flora, Charles Hinman, Liliana Porter, and a print attributed to Salvador Dali; and  a selection of other highlights from the collection.

Stool made of birch wood and parachute straps by Jens Rison (resident of New Canaan) from his exhibit “The Answer is Risom”

Silvermine Arts Center is honored to showcase the works of Jens Risom (b. 1916), an icon of Danish American furniture design, and a Silvermine Guild Member since the 1950’s.  The upcoming exhibit “The Answer is Risom,” will feature several of Mr. Risom’s signature furniture designs along with original drawings and other historical items from an influential career that has spanned over 70 years. Although he learned the trade in Denmark (he trained at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design), he is often counted among the American designers who were shaping postwar design, and indeed his most important contributions to the modern style were made after his emigration here in 1939.  Mr. Risom’s commitment to design also extended to his advertising. One of the more notable examples, a series of ads he did in the 1960’s with famed fashion photographer, Richard Avedon will be included in the exhibition.   Throughout the decades, Risom's work has continued to reflect our human need for warmth, beauty, and simplicity. 

For more information on upcoming exhibits and events, visit our website at www.silvermineart.org or call 203-966-9700, ext. 20. For information on Fairfield County Connecticut www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

About Silvermine Arts Center

Silvermine Arts Center located in New Canaan, Connecticut is one of the oldest artist communities in the United States.  Located on a four acre campus, the center consists of a nationally renowned artist guild, award winning school of art offering multi-disciplinary art classes for all ages, an art and fine crafts shop and galleries, offering over twenty contemporary and historic exhibitions annually.  The center also provides innovative free and subsidized arts education in Norwalk and Stamford schools through its outreach program, Art Partners; and hosts a lecture series, performances, and special programs throughout the year.  Silvermine Arts Center is a nonprofit organization.