Friday, January 24, 2014

“On The Wire: Veiled Rebellion” An exhibition at the Westport Arts Center


Lynsey Addario On the Wire
Lynsey Addario uses her camera to speak for the people she photographs. She documents the issues and events on the periphery of war, capturing the emotions as a way to draw in the viewer. Ms. Addario, who is a Westport native and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, has traveled to war torn countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, and Libya, to focus her lens on the effects of war. 

Her stunning photographs will be featured in “On The Wire: Veiled Rebellion” this winter at the Westport Arts Center. This exquisite exhibition will showcase 34 color photographs by Ms. Addario, depicting the plight of women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Throughout her numerous visits, Ms. Addario has trained a close eye through her lens on women’s lives in all areas of Afghan society: culture, politics, education, employment, and domestic life. “Veiled Rebellion” was originally published in National Geographic in December 2010.


Ms. Addario has traveled throughout Afghanistan to capture the images featured in “On The Wire: Veiled Rebellion.” Her photographs explore the differences of the lives of women living within the same country. The series depicts births and operations in a hospital in Faizabad, women graduating from Kabul University, and female boxers training for the 2012 Summer Olympics. She has traveled with mobile health clinics, American soldiers, and Abiba Sarabi, the only female governor in Afghanistan. Several of her photographs detail the training of Afghan women by Italian Carabinieri to become police officers. In the photographs, the women shoot AMD-65 rifles at a firing range. Few Afghan women train to be police, about 700 out of 100,000, but their presence is welcome, as many men cannot perform certain tasks due to Islamic custom, such as frisking other women.

Ms. Addario, who is now based in London, England, grew up in Westport, CT and is a graduate of Staples High School. She photographs for The New York TimesNational Geographic, and Time Magazine. She was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the 'Genius Grant,' in 2009 and, along with a team from the New York Times, won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for her photographs in “Talibanistan,” in 2008. Her passion for photography has sent her all over the world and placed in her the middle of several wars. In 2011, Lynsey and fellow Westport native and international photographer Tyler Hicks were kidnapped in Libya with two other journalists, Stephen Farrell, and the late Anthony Shadid. The four co-wrote an article for The New York Times detailing their time as captives. While covering the Libyan revolution they were captured outside of Ajdabiya by soldiers loyal to Muammar Qaddafi and held captive for several days.

Visitors to the Westport Arts Center can hear Lynsey Addario speak about her work on January 25th, 2014 from 3 - 5pm where she will discuss topics presented in the exhibition. The opening reception for “On the Wire: Veiled Rebellion” will be held at the Westport Arts Center on January 24, 2014 from 6-8pm.

For more information visit www.westportartscenter.org. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

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

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.