New Exhibitions Open @ The Mattatuck Museum Waterbury

The Mattatuck Museum is presenting four new exhibitions at the Museum: An Artist for All Seasons: Dmitri Wright, Ùtútù: Nnenna Okore, #IBelieveInWaterbury and The Valley Girls.

An Artist for All Seasons: Dmitri Wright is a retrospective of the work of Wright’s art, whose work follows in the tradition of American Impressionism. Dmitri Wright’s art merges the Impressionist focus on light with the post-Impressionistic interest in vibrant color. His paintings celebrate the natural beauty and nuances of the landscape, both in the United States and abroad. This 50-year survey includes student work, art from his early years in New York city, scenes from his travels to Europe and the West Indies, and paintings from both his more recent Provencal and Weir Farm plein air series. Wright is the Master Artist at the Weir Farm National Historic Site which commemorates the life and work of American Impressionist painter, J. Alden Weir. An Artist for All Seasons will be on view through November 5.

In Ùtútù, internationally-renowned sculptor Nnenna Okore will use textiles to create an installation commemorating the colors and landscapes of her childhood home of Nsukka, Nigeria. Ùtútù, the Nigerian word for morning or something new, describes the transience, potency and energy of the piece. Visitors will respond to this boldly colored and organic art meant to heighten their visual and sensorial experience. Ùtútù will be on view through December 3. It is sponsored by The Coby Foundation and exhibitions in The Lab are supported in part by Raymond Learsy.

Focusing on the city of Waterbury, #IBelieveInWaterbury asked artists to identify those unique aspects of the city that resonate for them. Forty artists share their inspiration with audiences in paintings, sculptures and mixed media works that demonstrate the beauty, joy, prosperity and momentum of Waterbury. One entry was submitted by husband and wife team, Chef Dean and Artist Linda Marino. They will present a “Cook and Paint Together Workshop” on November 11 at 5:00 p.m. Call (203) 753-0381 x130 or visit mattmuseum.org for more information. #IBelieveInWaterbury will be up through December 3.

Once a Valley Girl, always a Valley Girl, as they say! The Valley Girls highlights three artists all born and raised in the Naugatuck River Valley: Carmella “Mally” DeSomma, Judith Gould Secco and June Pierpont Webster. Each is active in the local art scene, creating and exhibiting paintings and photographs that interpret and celebrate the world around them. This exhibition is in collaboration with Artsplace of Cheshire. Valley Girls will be on view in the Monteiro Family Community Gallery through November 12.

Located in the heart of downtown Waterbury’s architectural district, the Mattatuck Museum is a vibrant destination, known locally and regionally as a community-centered institution of American art and history. For more information on all of the Museum’s programs, events, and exhibits visit the website at mattmuseum.org or call (203) 753-0381.

Octoberfest @ Maritime Aquarium - On the Water!

Hoist ale on Saturday evenings in October as The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk offers special Octoberfest Cruises featuring tastings from local craft breweries.

These adults-only cruises – the latest in the Aquarium's occasional "Maritime With A Twist" social events – will showcase a different brewery each Saturday. Sample and enjoy the breweries' flagship and seasonal products, while taking in the gorgeous sights on Long Island Sound.

The schedule is:

• Oct. 7 – No Worries Brewing Co. of Hamden

• Oct. 14 – Charter Oak Brewing Co. of Danbury

• Oct. 21 – Two Roads Brewery Co. in Stratford

• Oct. 28 – The Owl's Brew of New York and Beer'd Brewing Co. of Stonington.

Representatives from the breweries will be along to pour and discuss their beers. Each 90-minute Octoberfest Cruise departs at 5 p.m.

The cruises are timed to include the setting autumn sun and, with luck, a dazzling western sky reflecting on the water. Get back in time to enjoy dinner or an evening out just steps away in the restaurants and nightspots of SoNo. Cruises occur aboard The Maritime Aquarium's R/V Spirit of the Sound™, a 64-foot catamaran that is the first research vessel in the country with quiet hybrid-electric propulsion. It docks outside the IMAX Theater.

Tickets are $50 ($45 for Aquarium members). Participants must be at least 21 years old. Space is limited on all Maritime Aquarium cruises, so advance reservations are strongly recommended.

The Land We Love @ Sharon Historical Society

The Gallery @the SHS of the Sharon Historical Society & Museum presents the opening of its show of artworks in The Gallery @the SHS, "The Land We Love", an invitational exhibition and sale of landscape art in a variety of media running through October 27, 2017.

Artists have been drawn to depict the world around them for millennia but it is only in the last two hundred years or so that nature, the physical landscape, painted in the open air, has been thought worthy by itself as the subject of a work of art. Delacroix said that art was nature filtered through a temperament.

For this show, artists were invited to submit their vision of the natural world in which we live. The Land that We Love features the work of area artists Basia Goldsmith, Norma Kimmel, Ellen Moon, Patty Mullins, Ray Olsen and Babs Perkins.

Artifacts from the SHS collection (including photographs from the CR Robinson Archive of landscapes around Sharon Gardens of Stone House) will be on display to complement the artwork.

All purchases at The Gallery @the SHS support the Sharon Historical Society & Museum's mission. The Gallery @the SHS is located at the Sharon Historical Society & Museum, 18 Main Street, Route 41, Sharon, CT. The gallery and museum are open Wednesday through Friday from 12-4, Saturday from 10-2 and by appointment. For more information and directions to The Gallery @the SHS, call (860) 364-5688. For additional information about the Sharon Historical Society & Museum, visit www.sharonhist.org