If it’s the first Friday of the month, then it must be … First Friday in White River Junction.
At the Zollikofer Gallery, at the Hotel Coolidge, there will be a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. for the lively exhibition “God & Pony Show,” which brings together prints by Underhill, Vt., artist W. David Powell and the mixed-media collages of Deluxe Unlimited, the nom d’art of Corinth native Ben Peberdy.
The show riffs on some familiar American tropes using imagery from 1950s and 1960s advertising, among other sources: religion, masculinity and the role of women in society. I guess this is the time in American society for which some of us are allegedly nostalgic, but the works on view here deflate that balloon nicely.
Powell’s work can also be seen in the show “The Golden Era of the New Dawn” at the White River Gallery in South Royalton, where there is also a reception Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio opens an exhibition devoted to the work of Elizabeth Mayor, one of the founders of AVA Gallery and Art Center and a well-known printmaker. There will be a reception on July 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. The show runs through July 31. Mayor’s work is also on view at Long River Gallery and Gifts in its new location in the Hotel Coolidge.
Scavenger Gallery on South Main Street is going to be showing black-and-white woodcuts, and handmade wooden serving spoons made by Norwich farmer, writer and artist Suzanne Lupien. Lupien will also be giving a reading during the reception which runs from 5:30 to 7:30.
The Hall Art Foundation in Reading holds its own version of First Friday. From 5 to 8 p.m. visitors are free to go through the galleries without a guide and at their own pace — and they also get pizza supplied by Lupo Pizza in Reading.
There are three shows currently on view at the Hall Art Foundation. “Hope and Hazard: A Comedy of Eros,” a show of more than 80 paintings on the subject of romantic and sexual love; “Ready. Fire! Aim,” a collaboration between the foundation and Burlington City Arts; and a solo show by David Shrigley. All run through Nov. 26.
Stephanie Gordon, who teaches art at Hanover High School, will show her landscapes, portraits and abstract paintings in the exhibition “80 Degrees: Encaustic Paintings” at the Howe Library’s Ledyard Gallery. There will be an opening reception Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the library. The show runs through Aug. 2.
The Norwich Public Library holds an opening reception Friday for an exhibition of work by elementary school students from Cornish, Woodstock, Lyme, Enfield, Unity, Thetford, Canaan, Norwich, Lempster, Fairlee, Lebanon, West Fairlee, Windsor, White River Junction and Hartland. The show closes June 30.
In a similar vein, the Betty Grant Gallery at the Converse Free Library in Lyme will feature a show of art work by students from the Lyme School. It opens Monday and continues until June 22. A reception is planned for June 21, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Art Classes
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio in White River Junction is offering a class on collagraphy taught by Nori Pepi on Saturday and Sunday, June 10 and 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $225, plus a $30 materials fee. To register go to trps@sover.net, or call 802-295-5901.
Call for Entries
AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon will present the biennial Juried Summer Exhibition beginning July 14 and running through Aug. 23. The Juried Summer Exhibition was an annual fixture at the gallery from 1993 through 2013 when the decision was made to make it a biennial exhibition. Today is the final deadline for entries. For a description of the criteria for entries, go to ava.org.
Ongoing
ArtisTree Gallery, Pomfret. “The Syrian Experience as Art,” a traveling exhibition of work by 11 Syrian artists reflecting on their country’s civil war and refugee crisis, continues through June 24.
BigTown Gallery, Rochester, Vt. An exhibition of photographs by Rosamond Purcell, the Boston writer and photographer, runs through July 29. Prints and sculpture by the late Hugh Townley are on view through Sept. 10.
Chandler Gallery, Randolph. “These Green Mountains,” an exhibition of work by Vermont artists and artisans, runs through June 17.
Center for the Arts, Lake Sunapee. The CFA sponsors three exhibitions throughout the Lake Sunapee region. An exhibition of landscape photography by James Mudie and photographs of flowers by Richard Gulezian is on view at the Lake Sunapee Bank’s micro gallery. Mary Beth Westward exhibits landscapes at Whipple Hall in New London. The second annual Center for the Arts exhibition, featuring oil, watercolor and acrylic paintings, as well as drawings and mixed media, is on view at the New London Inn. All three shows end July 29.
Cider Hill Art Gallery, Windsor. Cider Hill is open for the season with exhibitions of sculpture, painting and environmental installations by Steven Proctor, Herb Ferris, Gary Haven Smith, the Mythmakers and Gary Milek.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon. “Shedding Light on the Northern Forest,” a show of paintings by Kathleen Kolb with poetry by Verandah Porche, is on view in the Endoscopy Hallway Gallery, Level 4, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, through June.
Also on view at the hospital are: the annual employee and volunteer art show; paintings by Helen Shulman and Annette Jaret; photographs by Ron Levenson and oils and watercolors by Patricia Sweet-MacDonald.
Hopkins Center, Hanover. The Dartmouth Department of Studio Art ends the year with an exhibition of art by 19 graduating seniors who have majored in art. Their work is being shown in the Hopkins Center’s Jaffe-Friede and Strauss galleries and also in the Nearburg Gallery and Arts Forum at the Black Family Visual Arts Center. Through June 18.
League of N.H. Craftsmen Hanover Fine Craft Gallery. The gallery exhibits works by jeweler Deirdre Donnelly and fiber artist Tarja Cockell through June.
OSHER at Dartmouth, Hanover. Margaret Sheehan and Cindy Heath exhibit fiber art through June 28.
Philip Read Memorial Library, Plainfield. Prints by East Barnard artist Sabra Field are on view through July 1.
Roth Center, Hanover. Artist and textile designer Shari Boraz shows her works in “Continuing Explorations in Fiber” through June 18.
Royalton Memorial Library, South Royalton. “Frances & Friends,” an exhibition of fiber crafts, paintings, photographs, and drawings by six South Royalton-area artists is up is through July 14.
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish. An exhibit of large-scale, multi-media constructions by Brooklyn artist Katie Bell, who was a 2016 Saint-Gaudens Fellow, is in the Picture Gallery through July 16. There will be a reception on June 24, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.; Bell will give a talk at 5 p.m.
SculptureFest, Woodstock. The annual celebration of three-dimensional art generally ends when foliage season does, but 80 percent of the show is still on view. “Grounding,” a show of site-specific work curated by sculptors Jay Mead and Edythe Wright, is on view at the King Farm. For more information, go to sculpturefest.org.
White River Gallery, South Royalton. W. David Powell, of Underhill, Vt., shows his work in the exhibition “The Golden Era of the New Dawn.” An opening reception is planned for June 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. Through July 1.
Nicola Smith can be reached at nsmith@vnews.com.