Solos @ the Westport Art Center through Aug. 20

Now in its tenth year, SOLOS is a celebration of the artistic talent and diversity of the Arts Center's artist members. The exhibition will feature a diverse range of works, including paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures, and mixed media. With entries from across the country, selected artists are from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.

Barbara Ringer, "Psychotherapeutic Game for Children," Mixed media, 29 x 36 inches.

Selected artists include: Nina Bentley, Mixed Media Artist (Westport, CT), Cynthia Cooper, Painter (Farmington, CT), Larry Gordon, Painter (Larchmont, NY), Allan Gorman, Painter (West Orange, NJ), David Kalman, Photographer (Westport, CT) ,Daniel Lanzilotta, Sculptor (Westport, CT), Barbara Ringer, Photographer (Ridgefield, CT) and David Sheskin, Printmaker (Bethel, CT). This exhibition celebrates a disparate group, which in fact is the underlying purpose of SOLOS – it's about 21st century artists embracing daring innovations, unusual media and bold new techniques.

David Sheksin, "The Control Group -- Museum Viewer," Original digital print, 24 x 24 inches.

For more information, contact the Westport Arts Center at (203) 222-7070 or www.westportartscenter.org. The Westport Arts Center gallery is open Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT. For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Larry Gordon, "Space," Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 inches.

Best Book Sale in New England July 22-26 in Southport

Known as "The Best Book Sale in New England", Pequot Library located on 720 Pequot Ave. in Southport is hosting the 56th Annual Summer Book Sale from Friday, July 22 – Tuesday, July 26, 2016.  This year's summer book sale will be held under the tents on the Great Lawn, parking lot, in the Auditorium, Reading Room, and in the Rennell Room of Pequot Library.  Visit www.pequotlibrary.org for daily hours and pricing.

New this year will be an Eclectic Print and Art Sale, Friday, July 22 - Sunday, July 24, 2016. An amazing collection of 1,700 prints, original photographs, and art will be for sale.

This summer's sale boasts a solid collection of many hundreds of high quality jazz CDs available in the Media Tent. Interesting ephemera such as post-WWll sheet music, circa 1928, coveted by collectors, musicians, music teachers, and even collage artists and illustrators will be for sale.

Large, original pastel drawings by Bernhard August "Hardie" Gramatky, Jr. (April 12, 1907 - April 29, 1979), an American painter, author, and illustrator, will be available. He wrote and illustrated several children's books, most notably Little Toot. There is also an increase in the number of contemporary children's books on sale this summer.

For adults, first edition books by such notable authors as Gabriel Garcia Márquez and J. D. Salinger will be for sale, as well as high quality photography magazines.

In addition there will be over 140,000 other books, CDs, DVDs, and records in over 60 categories. Admission is free and open to the public. Proceeds help fund Pequot Library's over 750 annual programs and events. High quality books at reasonable prices can be purchased. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express accepted. Help Pequot Library save the environment by bringing your own reusable bags.

There will be a "Specials" Online Catalog available at pequotlibrary.org on July 17, 2016. Buyers have an opportunity to purchase two (2) Specials in advance of the sale, at a premium of 25% above the catalog price. The advance sale will field requests in order of submission at 12:01am on Sunday, July 17th. Viewing items is by appointment only, schedule yours at booksale@pequotlibrary.org. Links go live Friday morning, July 15, 2016.

Over 60 categories, including your favorites: Art & Architecture, Astrology & Occult, Atlas & Dictionary, Biography, Business, Children, Children Young Adult, Classics, Coffee Table, Cookbooks, CT & NE & NY, Crafts & Hobbies, Education & Text, Exotica, Family & Parenting, Fiction, First Editions, Foreign Language, Gardening & Nature, Graphic Novels, Health Issues, History & Politics, Humor, Impulse, Large Print, Law & Crime, Maritime, Military History, Music, Nutrition, Diet & Exercise, Mystery, Old and Interesting, 'Ologies, Performing Arts, Pets & Animals, Photography, Poetry, Records, CDs, Tapes, DVDs, Videos, Religion & Philosophy, Science, Science Fiction, Self Help, Sets, Sheet Music, Signed Books, Sociology & Anthropology, Specials, Spies/Espionage, Sports (Large selection of Golf books this year), Travel, Vintage Children, Transportation, Writing, Literature, Journalism And more!

Parking: In Pequot Library's parking lot, or the Trinity Episcopal Church* parking lot (on the corner of Pequot Avenue and Center Street), or in the Southport Congregational Church parking lot (524 Pequot Avenue and across from church) or, on the weekend, in the train station parking lot (400 Center Street).

For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

New Exhibit at Five Points Gallery in Torrington

  Five Points Gallery will open a new show on July 7, 2016 which will run through August 13, 2016 and will feature the work of Bob Gregson, David Holzman and Becky Rosen and is being sponsored by Northwest Savings Bank.  The public is encouraged to attend an opening reception on Friday, July 8^th from 6-8:30 p.m.  An artist conversation, also open to the public, will be held on July 29^th at 6 p.m.  Both events are free.  Regular gallery hours are Thursdays through Mondays from 1 – 5 p.m.

For this new show, Five Points Gallery is proud to feature the work of the FPG 2015 Juried Show Award Winner, Becky Rosen in an exhibition titled regarding the disregarded. Torrington native and distinguished scholar Ann Temkin, Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, selected Rosen for this award.  Ann Temkin is also an advisory board member of Five Points Gallery.

Rosen, an artist who works in various media, is currently attending Hunter College where she is pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts degree.  According to Rosen, she intensely studies familiar places in the world around her and from these intense studies, she transforms overlooked moments into the compositional and color inspiration for her thoughtfully crafted abstractions.  Often painting directly on unprimed fabric and papers, there is a rawness and immediacy to Rosen’s work that suggests a temporality and ephemerality of material and imagery.  This temporal nature encourages viewers to carefully examine not only Rosen’s work, but also how things change over time in the world around them.  These series of Rosen’s work follow in the steps of Ingrid Calame, Sol LeWitt, Eva Hesse, and John Cage’s visual art.

David Holzman is the featured artist in the TDP Gallery.  Holzman considers himself to be part of a tradition of storytelling through the medium of relief sculpture.  In his exhibit at Five Points, Atonal Apples, he continues his series of carved wood wall reliefs based on the stream of consciousness series, a series which he calls "The Book of Umm." Holzman develops his imagery using the surrealist technique of automatic drawing. His work refers to contemporary imagery as well as tribal culture and according to Holzman, “It’s about being spontaneous, being simple and being human”. 

Holzman received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Among his achievements, he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Visual Artist Fellowship for Artist’s Books.  He has exhibited throughout Connecticut and currently teaches in the Simsbury School System and at Central Connecticut State University. 

The East Gallery will feature the work of Bob Gregson in an exhibit titled Off Kilter.  Bob Gregson challenges the traditional relationship between artwork and viewer. He sees his work as a hinge connecting them in a very personal way. The work is a collision of ideas that mixes color, design, and architecture into provocative situations. Responding to the lack of intimate social interactions in today’s technology-saturated culture, he strives to use art to create situations that bring people together in a shared experience. Panels can be turned, sculpture can be rolled and people can rock. The result is work that is clever, witty and fun.  Bob’s philosophy is as direct as his work. As he explains, “I believe an artwork is absorbed and filtered through one’s life experiences. We respond to the colors, shapes and images that awaken unconscious connections. I like to play in the hazy territory between an artwork and the public.”

Bob Gregson received a B.F.A. from the Hartford Art School and an M.F.A. from the Art Institute of Chicago.  His art education started with noted artist/illustrator Carroll N. Jones, Jr. and Pulitzer Fellowship recipient Rudolph Zallinger.  He has exhibited in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. as well as his home state of Connecticut. In addition, Bob has taught and lectured in various locations and is the author and illustrator of several books.  His work is represented in various private collections as well as the collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art.

About the Gallery
Located in a historic downtown building, Five Points Gallery (FPG) is a non-profit contemporary art gallery showcasing professional regional, national and international visual artists. The gallery presents exhibitions in three beautifully renovated exhibition spaces, and has earned the reputation as one of Connecticut's outstanding contemporary art venues.  For more information about the gallery please visit www.fivepointsgallery.org.

South Farms - Summer Concert The Gibbonses

South Farms located in Morris Connecticut just off Rte. 109 on 21 Higbie Road is presenting an exciting musical event on July 22 with doors opening at 7 p.m.

This iconic New England farm best known for its farmers market and event venue is supporting the debut album release of the Dallas based, multi-instrumentalist duo The Gibbonses.  This dynamic duo is embarking on a month long summer tour up the East Coast and across the mid-west; and as the band’s only public appearance in CT, this is one show you’re not going to want to miss!

With a unique blend of Southern Soul, Americana, and Rhythm & Blues, Torrington native Brandon Gibbons (Charity) and his wife Jackie have been capturing the attention of music lovers across the Southwest. The band has shared the stage with The Black Lillies, Kimberly Dunn, Dalton Domino, Sam Riggs, and Prophets and Outlaws to name a few. In a recent album spotlight, Texas Music Picker’s had this to say about their record, Among The Rubble; “This captivating record offers a tale of tragedy and finding resolve, leaving the listener engaged throughout the journey in between! Every song has something to say and we’re impressed by the maturity in this talented band’s debut record!”

Local legends of folk and bluegrass, Switch Factory, will start the show off. These guys are incredible! John Fitts, a writer for the Litchfield County Times, writes, "With a fun live show, impeccable chops and tight harmonies, the members of Switch Factory are in a great place musically."

Along with this fantastic musical line up you will enjoy the beauty that is South Farms in Morris, CT.  don't miss indulging on some tasty dessert treats by AmandaBakes completing this "sweet" evening!

Pre-Sale Ticket for The Gibbonses Concert on July 22, 2016 are available at South Farms in Morris, CT. Tickets are $15 and they are on sale now online. Space is limited to 200 so get yours now!  Please present ID and ticket email at door for admission.  This event is being produced/sponsored by: The Gibbonses, The Desultory Theatre Club, DJ Zerp & Zerp Radio, South Farms, and Amanda G. Love with her company AmandaBakes.