Painting remains the dominant mode of art-making in the Upper Valley. And I’m not blithely strolling out on a limb in so stating.
Why that’s so is a subject for another day, or for an undergraduate thesis. Today, I’m setting painting up as a foil, so I can write about photography.
There are two photography exhibitions opening in short order, and such shows being in relatively short supply amid all the paintings, they’re worth pointing out.
First, BigTown Gallery, in Rochester, Vt., opens “Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail,” photography by Cathy Cone, of East Topsham, Vt., with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. (Also opening at BigTown: “Pilgrimage,” mixed media paintings by Vermont artist Jason Horwitz. Both shows went on view on Wednesday.)
Cone, who also paints, is a co-founder of Cone Editions Press, a pioneering photographic printing company. Her recent work mines the tension “between grief and anger, life and death, hope and mourning,” Cone wrote in an artist’s statement.
Opening the season at Towle Hill Studio in Corinth, and on view only on May 18 and 19, is a show of photographs by Bradford, Vt., photographer Kathy Davidow and encausting paintings by Piermont artist Stephanie Gordon.
In the info about the show that Gordon sent me, is a photograph titled Bonfire, a smoky, impressionist study in which the heat-shimmer from the fire ripples the background. It’s an arresting thing to look at, even here on my screen.
Norwich resident and legendary illustrator David Macaulay launches his new book, Crossing on Time: Steam Engines, Fast Ships, and a Journey to the New World, at 4 p.m. on Friday at Marion Cross School in Norwich. The books combines Macaulay’s deep research and eye for detail with his own story of immigration.
There’s also a story walk, featuring a selection of mounted and framed illustrations from the book, set up at Norwich Square, home of Norwich Bookstore and other shops. For more information about the event, contact the bookstore at 802-649-1114.
Cider Hill Gardens and Gallery in Windsor opens for the season next Wednesday and will feature outdoor sculpture by William Ballantyne and paintings in egg tempera and gold leaf by gallery co-owner Gary Milek. A reception is planned for 3 to 6 p.m., on May 18.
The Hall Art Foundation, in Reading,Vt., opens for the season on Saturday. Exhibitions include a second installment of “Made in Vermont,” works by Vermont artists; and exhibitions work by Richard Artschwager and the super-realist artist Malcolm Morley. On the grounds: “English Sculptors in New England.” The foundation, created by the oil trader and hedge fund CEO Andrew Hall, is open weekends, by appointment, through Dec. 1. Admission is $10, except on the first Friday of every month, when visitors get in free from 5 to 8 p.m.
Aidron Duckworth Art Museum, Meriden. “Duckworth XXXIII – Abstraction and the Infinite Plane,” the museum’s 33rd and penultimate exhibition of Aidron Duckworth’s work, through July 21; and “An Ocean of Galaxies,” recent work by New York city artist Tara Sabharwal, through June 2.
Betty Grant Gallery, Converse Free Library, Lyme. “Just People,” paintings by Liliana Paradiso. Through June.
Center for the Arts, New London. The New London Inn hosts a group photography show; Blue Loon Bakery shows watercolors by Mary Belecz and Bar Harbor Bank and Trust on Main Street shows work by Kearsarge Middle and High School students. Through July 31.
Chandler Gallery, Randolph. “Eye-catching,” the annual Area Artists Exhibition, is on view through June 15.
Chelsea Public Library. “Revered Vermont Libraries,” drawings in Prismacolor pencil by Woodstock artist Gary Barron. Through June 30.
Chew & Co. Design, Hanover. Pastels by former Upper Valley resident Phyllis Orem. Through June 1.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon. Spring exhibitions include work by painter Collin Leech; photographers Joan Crimlisk and John Lehet; watercolorists Nick Mayer and Marion Blodgett; multi-media artist Stacy Harshman; and the hospital’s employees and volunteers.
Kilton Public Library, West Lebanon. Artwork by students at Hanover Street School. Through May.
Long River Gallery, White River Junction. “Littles,” 72 small paintings by Amy Hook-Therrien, of leaves on the forest floor.
Main Street Museum, White River Junction. “Jack Rowell, Cultural Documentarian: Portraits of Vermont People and Other Wildlife.”
Philip Read Memorial Library, Plainfield. “Ink Slingers,” an exhibition of cartoon drawings from the collection of New Yorker cartoonist, and Cornish resident, Harry Bliss. Through June.
Scavenger Gallery, White River Junction. “Flower Portraits,” Claremont artist Sue Lawrence’s oil paintings of floral blossoms.
Steven Thomas Inc. Fine Arts & Antiques, White River Junction. Work by Upper Valley “vintage” artists, such as Alice Standish Buell, John Semple, Horace Brown, Neil Drevitson and Robert Caulfield.
Tunbridge Public Library. “Landscapes,” oil paintings by Thetford artist Jean Gerber, through June 17. A reception is planned for 2 to 4 p.m. on June 2.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio opens “You Are the Music,” prints by Hartford artist Joan Morris.
Zollikofer Gallery, White River Junction. Paintings and tourism posters by Burlington painter Kevin Ruelle. Through June 26.
Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.
