20 ART NEW ENGLAND November/December 2011 FOCUS ON: New Haven, CT Special Advertising Section B eyond its role as a home for Yale University, enduring historical sig- nificance, and unrivaled cultural offerings, New Haven is an astonishingly beautiful and welcoming city. Whether it is the stunning gothic revival architecture or its world-class galleries, New Haven is an ideal locale for any artis- tic sojourn with a surprising number of exhibitions and museums. Concretizing New Haven’s role as a pre- mier creative hub, the Arts Council of New Haven serves a region of fifteen towns through its well-regarded arts programs. Through the Greater New Haven Arts Stabilization Project, the Arts Council has directly served eight other member organi- zations and currently serves over 100 regional arts organi- zations and 500 indi- vidual artists. Each December, the Council hosts the Art Awards to honor the artistic excellence and outstand- ing achievements of visual, performing, and literary artists, as well as arts organizations, art educators, architects, advocates, and administrators whose contributions enable the arts to thrive in the region. Near the border between New Haven and Fairhaven sits an edgy, artist-run gallery known for its avant-garde pieces and vibrant atmosphere. Established in 2003, City Gallery serves as a showcase for seventeen artists and photographers, many of whom have won numerous awards and secured notable solo exhibitions. The frenetic wire sculptures of Shelby Head, the celebrated paper work of Jennifer Davies and Karen Wheeler, as well as the mixed media pieces of Jane Harris can all be perused here. At the very center of Westville, a scenic township just north of the city, stands a small gallery that is very big on fine art. The DaSilva Gallery offers an array of cross-cul- tural works. The fun, surrealist works of Chris McLoughlan mix religion and current events with an eye to renaissance masterpieces of the late fourteenth century. This eclectic show will be followed in 2012 by a series of 12/12/12 exhibitions featuring twelve shows from twelve different Latin American artists hailing from twelve separate countries. All of the artists involved examine their shared cultural heritage through diverse media. After perusing the calmer environs of Westville, take a short ride to the energetic New Haven green, an expansive park in the heart of the city, adjacent to the campus of Yale University. A short and scenic walk from the green’s towering Trinity Church is the Institute Library. This New Haven landmark Seton Art Gallery Exhibiting contemporary art and diverse interdisciplinary projects 300 Boston Post Road West Haven, CT 06516 www.newhaven.edu/setongallery ® 80 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT 203.562.4927 | creativeartsworkshop.org Through Dec 24: Shop for unique gifts at the Celebration of American Crafts New Haven’s Community Art School Work by Clint Jukkala at Giampietro Gallery.
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20 ART NEW ENGLAND N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1
FOCUS ON: New Haven, CTSS pp ee cc ii aa ll AA dd vv ee rr tt ii ss ii nn gg SS ee cc tt ii oo nn
Beyond its role as a home for YaleUniversity, enduring historical sig-nificance, and unrivaled cultural
offerings, New Haven is an astonishinglybeautiful and welcoming city. Whether itis the stunning gothic revival architecture
or its world-classgalleries, NewHaven is an ideallocale for any artis-tic sojourn with asurprising numberof exhibitions andmuseums.
Concretizing NewHaven’s role as a pre-mier creative hub, theArts Council of NewHaven serves aregion of fifteentowns through itswell-regarded artsprograms. Throughthe Greater NewHaven ArtsStabilization Project,the Arts Council hasdirectly served eightother member organi-zations and currentlyserves over 100regional arts organi-zations and 500 indi-vidual artists. Each
December, the Council hosts the Art Awardsto honor the artistic excellence and outstand-ing achievements of visual, performing, andliterary artists, as well as arts organizations,art educators, architects, advocates, andadministrators whose contributions enable the
arts to thrive in the region. Near the border between New Haven and
Fairhaven sits an edgy, artist-run galleryknown for its avant-garde pieces and vibrantatmosphere. Established in 2003, City Galleryserves as a showcase for seventeen artists andphotographers, many of whom have wonnumerous awards and secured notable soloexhibitions. The frenetic wire sculptures ofShelby Head, the celebrated paper work ofJennifer Davies and Karen Wheeler, as well asthe mixed media pieces of Jane Harris can allbe perused here.
At the very center of Westville, a scenictownship just north of the city, stands a smallgallery that is very big on fine art. TheDaSilva Gallery offers an array of cross-cul-tural works. The fun, surrealist works of ChrisMcLoughlan mix religion and current eventswith an eye to renaissance masterpieces of thelate fourteenth century. This eclectic show willbe followed in 2012 by a series of 12/12/12exhibitions featuring twelve shows fromtwelve different Latin American artists hailingfrom twelve separate countries. All of theartists involved examine their shared culturalheritage through diverse media.
After perusing the calmer environs ofWestville, take a short ride to the energeticNew Haven green, an expansive park in theheart of the city, adjacent to the campus ofYale University. A short and scenic walk fromthe green’s towering Trinity Church is theInstitute Library. This New Haven landmark
Seton Art GalleryExhibiting contemporary art and diverse interdisciplinary projects
300 Boston Post RoadWest Haven, CT 06516www.newhaven.edu/setongallery
®80 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT203.562.4927 | creativeartsworkshop.org
Through Dec 24: Shop for unique gifts at the Celebration of American Crafts
SS pp ee cc ii aa ll AA dd vv ee rr tt ii ss ii nn gg SS ee cc tt ii oo nn
N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 ART NEW ENGLAND 21
New Havenwas founded in 1826 and is Connecticut’s old-est standing independent literary institution.Make sure to see its Out of Nature exhibition,featuring work by Amy Jean Porter and PaulDaukas who record and revise the naturalworld through their entrancing prints andpaintings. Elegant photographs of rurallibraries, created by Meredith Mill and RobRocke, also adorn this calming space.
Just a short walk northeast of the NewHaven green sits a spectacular Elizabethan-style manner house and a favorite of NewHaven’s famed Audubon Arts District. Built in1905, the John Slade Ely House is the city’svery first dedicated arts center, and boasts analways engaging selection of rotating contem-porary exhibitions. The Ely House is now cele-
brating its fiftieth anniversary with a specialexhibition comprised of artists who haveshown at the museum in the past. Thisanniversary exhibition includes JamesMontford, an African American artist widelyknown for his collage and performance art;Pawel Wojtasik, a celebrated photographerand videographer; and Colleen Coleman,noted installation and performance artist.
Also to be found amid New Haven’sAudubon Arts District is the Creative ArtsWorkshop, a nonprofit regional center operat-ing since 1961 and also housing the laudedHiles Gallery. Over the month of December,the Workshop will hold an exhibition and saleof pieces from more than 300 craftspeople, andon November 20, it will hold its Fifteenth
Annual Bowl-A-Thon in which attendees canchoose a handmade bowl or mug and fill itwith soup donated by local restaurants. Allmoney raised will go to support the communi-ty soup kitchen.
Those overwhelmed by such a concentra-tion of galleries might like to take a rest atTemple Plaza behind the Shubert Theatre.Look up. The stabs of vibrant red paint aboveare part of a recent installation curated by SiteProjects, a local nonprofit organization thatcommissions world renowned artists to createsite-specific projects in public spaces. Nearby,also take in a new media installation byAmaranth Borsuk and Brad Bouse that actual-ly travels on a portable platform. This exhibi-tion, also organized by Site Projects, is titled
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New Haven
Whispering Galleries, and uses interactive videoto dissolve the boundaries between artist andviewer.
On the University of New Haven’s sprawl-ing, tranquil campus, Dodge Hall attracts artaficionados to a shifting kaleidoscope of exhi-
bitions from the Seton Art Gallery.Focusing on works with a social or mul-ticultural bent, this gallery never fails toinvigorate its visitors and spur them onto effect positive change. Both MarionBelanger and Anna Broell Bresnick willbe on show. Belanger’s sensitive photo-graphs document the ravages the earth isfacing due to human development, whileBresnick, in a similar vein, producesevocative drawings and sculptures illus-trating the depletion of the earth’s eco-logical health.
Just a few minutes’ drive west onPeck Street sits one of the finest galleriesof American folk art and contemporaryart, the Giampietro Gallery. For morethan twenty-five years, Fred Giampietrohas been honing his collection and craftby dealing in folk art greats and up-and-coming contemporaries. This winter isabsolutely no exception, evidenced by astrong show of Keith Sklar’s celebratedmaximalist paintings in oil, acrylic, andthread. Sklar refers to his art as "reversetrompe l'oeil," a feeling elicited in histransformation of everyday objects (suchas a gurney, a sunset, and a fish) intoactive, abstract meditations.
And no matter where you find yourself inNew Haven this season, you will likely comeacross one of the striking establishments byProject Storefronts, a program created by theCity of New Haven Department of Cultural
Affairs to populate formerly empty retailspaces with innovative arts-related businesses.After negotiating with property owners for aninety-day window of access, ProjectStorefronts provides a competitive applicationprocess for creative entrepreneurs to maketheir dreams a reality. With a worldwideresponse to the program’s successful revital-ization of neglected urban spaces, ProjectStorefronts has inspired a number of sisterprograms and has recently entered its secondphase, in which more successful storefrontswill become fixtures of the city’s thriving artsscene.
At once elegant and charming, socially con-scious and culturally elite, New Haven is anexus of artistic activity. —Paul Adler
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Felice Varini, Three Black Circles in Air. At the New Haven Free PublicLibrary, commissioned by Site Projects.
