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September 04, 2011
Art and Activism: A One Day Event
“ART AND ACTIVISM”: A ONE DAY EVENT AT PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY IN CONJUNCTION WITH GREEN MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION GROUP
CENTER SANDWICH: Art and Activism is a one day event featuring work that addresses the issues facing not only New Hampshire but also our world today. Join us at the gallery on Saturday, September 17th from 5 – 7 p.m. for an exhibit of painting, and sculpture that talks about clean water, conservation, our environment, endangered species and our sociopolitical problems. Blair Folts both an artist and conservationist will give a short talk about the work she has been doing with the Green Mountain Conservation Group. Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street. A percentage of sales will benefit the GMCG. For more information please visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.
There is nothing new or mysterious about art and activism. For years artists have been protesting against social movements through their creative efforts. Perhaps Picasso’s politically charged painting, “Guernica” is the most famous example of activist art. Our exhibit includes work by local artists who wish to express their thoughts about today’s issue.
Several months ago Blair Folts asked me to jury an exhibit that the Green Mountain Conservation group, together with the Youth Coalition (a pilot program of the GMCG to invite youth to learn and advocate for natural resource conservation) was organizing in Eaton, NH. The exhibit contained art by professional artists as well as some work by young artists still in high school. The purpose of the exhibit was to make people more aware of the problems facing our region . At the time I offered to bring the exhibit to the gallery and to add to it with the hopes of generating more interest for the work of the GMCG, Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery has been interested in Conservation since its inception.
“The Green Mountain Conservation Group is a regional conservations organization founded in 1997. Its geographic scope is primarily the” Ossipee Watershed” – of the Saco Watershed in New Hampshire, including the Ossipee and Bearcamp Rivers, Ossipee Lake, Silver Lake and Lake Cocorua, other surface waters…” Among towns with a majority of their lands in this watershed is Sandwich.
“GMCG’S primary natural resource focus is water. Natural resources such as water, forests, soils, wildlife and air quality are interconnected and are influenced by human, commercial and recreational activities. GMCG advocates the wise use of land in a way that will not violate the integrity of the natural resource.”
Our speaker, Blair Folts, holds a BA in English and Art from the University of Maine, Orono and a graduate certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She is founder and Executive Director of the Green Mountain Conservation group and has received numerous awards for her environmental work in the Ossipee Watershed.
It is our hope that you will join us for an interesting evening of art and conversation on Saturday, September 17th.
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August 17, 2011
James Kao: Paintings from Artist Residency at Mead Base
JAMES KAO: “PAINTINGS FROM MEAD BASE,” PRESENTED BY PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST‘S ARTIST IN RESIDENCY PROGRAM, THE ARTS ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE THE FRIENDS OF MEAD BASE CONSERVATION CENTER.
CENTER SANDWICH: Earlier this year Chicago painter, James Kao, was named White Mountain National Forest artist in residence. The artist in residence program is new this year and is partnered by the White Mountain National Forest and the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire. Kao’s residency began in early August and will end later this month. His mission has been to create new work inspired by the forest. He has been staying at Mead Base from where he can be deep into the woods after a very short walk. James Kao is an abstract painter. He sees not only trees that you and I see, but also he sees the shapes in between them. These shapes are essential components of his paintings. Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is happy to present James Kao’s paintings from his residency at Mead Base. The opening reception will be Sunday, August 28th from 5 to 8 p.m. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. A part of the proceeds from the exhibit will benefit The White Mountain National Forest, The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire and the Friends of Mead Base Conservation Center. For more information call 284 7728 or visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com.
In July Frumie Seltzen of the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire called me up to tell me of James Kao, the new Artist in Residence, who would be staying at Mead Base and painting the National Forest as part of the Artist in Residence program. She mentioned that it would be nice to exhibit the work he would create while here and was looking for a possible venue. An image of many trees flashed through my mind but Frumie had been certain that I would like the work so I got off the phone and onto Google. James Kao is to my mind an exceptional artist whose work is fresh , serene and perhaps even a bit playful His shapes are suspended in a quiet space that makes the viewer want to gaze forever.
I include a quote from his artist statement which perhaps has everything to do with the work he is creating here:
“July, 201l
Hokusai envisioned thirty-six views of Mount Fuji. Cezanne gased at Mont Saiinte-Victoire with fresh energy over sixty times. I, too, am looking for my earthly motif that rnages into the heavens.
I am dreaming of white mountains cast in numberless shades of summer green”
The AIR program is a partnership of the WMNF and the Arts Alliance, which is coordinating the White Mountains Cultural Festival:8 Days of Weeks, a celebration of the arts, heritage and environment in the White Mountains and the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act - - the law that helped launch the eastern national forests, including the WMNF. The residency program seeks to use art and creative expression to explore the ways in which people relate to forests in general, and to the WMNF in particular.
Thank you to the White Mountain National Forest and The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire for bringing such talent to our area and thank you for beginning a program which I hope will be vibrant and alive for years to come. Thank you to Mead Base for making housing an artist for an exceptional program.
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August 07, 2011
Terra, Terra: From Paris to Provence to Squam and Beyond
“Terra, Terra: Landscapes from Paris to Provence to Squam Lake and Beyond” will open next week at Patriicia Ladd Carega Gallery, 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. The opening reception will be on August 18th from 5 to 7 p.m. This summer the gallery has received some very beautiful landscapes and gardenscapes from its artists working abroad and here in the Lakes Region. Among exhibiting artists is Donna Balsan who lives in Paris and Melvin Village. Her new work includes studies of roses and paintings of trees in oil on kraft paper. Mark Stewart painted charming landscapes in watercolor remembered from his ride on the train from Paris to Nice while Saira Austin’s work reflects her studies last summer in Provence. Sandwich artist, Sallie Wolf, exhibits new lake views and panoramas of Sandwich Bay. Jen Van Cor’s new work remembers vacations on the Maine Coast as well as time spent in her garden in Effingham. Gail Robertson’s moody work from Mill Valley, California is as ever soft and quiet while Moultonboroough artist, Kay Ives has given us a different perspective to local s scenery. Rushing brooks define Kathryn Field’s paintings while Liz Nelson’s work begins with a photograph and ends with a painting. For more information on the exhibit visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.
Landscape painting primarily depicts natural scenery. This exhibit uses the term loosely as not all the work is representational of rivers, lakes, mountains or even sky. Vignettes of landscapes are featured along with abstract renditions of classic “landscapes”.
The tradition of painting landscape goes back thousands of years. The two principle types of landscape painting derive from Western Art and Chinese Art. The earliest example of the Western tradition comes from a fresco found in ancient Greece (60-40 BC) while the earliest example from the Chinese tradition dates back to about 600. Throughout the years landscapes have been a favorite subject of artist and collector alike. Nature is a spiritual subject and thus landscape painting offers a peace and majesty to the viewer.
WORKSHOP: On Saturday, August 20th at 11:00 a.m. Sallie Wolf will give a workshop on basic drawing: “All drawing uses a basic, simple vocabulary to create simple or complex drawings. Learn this basic vocabulary and experiment with drawing in a free, one hour workshop at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Taught by Chicago and Sandwich artist, Sallie Wolf, this workshop is appropriate for ages 6-106. Materials will be supplied, and feel free to bring whatever drawing materials you already have. Says Sallie, “I believe I can teach anyone to draw. What you may learn is that drawing isn’t what you think it is.” Please call the gallery at 284 7728 to reserve a place.
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July 10, 2011
Opposites Attract
“OPPOSITES ATTRACT”: SANDWICH ARTISTS JOIN OUT OF TOWNERS IN AN EXHIBIT OF FIGURATIVE AND ABSTRACT ART AT PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY
CENTER SANDWICH: On July 20th “Opposites Attract” will open at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Have you ever turned a figurative painting upside down? If it is a good painting, it will work perfectly as a balanced abstract piece. Thus the idea for this exhibit that explores the similarities and differences of abstract and figuratvie work . The viewer is asked to compare the the composition, color, light, depth, perspective and balance of each work. Participating artists for Team Abstract are Ashley Bullard and CC White, (both from Sandwich), Michael Rich, Cathy Stark and Barbara Brady. For Team Figurative artists are Michael Doyle and Frances Hamilton (both summertime visitors), Gay Freeborn, Stoney Conley and Susan Landor Keegin. Summertime resident Andy Tavarelli perhaps fits both catagories as his work is figurative in process but abstract in thought. We look forwrad to having your opinions and reactions to this exhibit. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 12 to 5. For more information contact the gallery at 284 7728 or visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com.
Team Abstract artists are faithful to their process and technique. Perhaps they have reduced a landscape to forms or even blocks or they may simply be interested in expressing ethereal ideas through line and color. Mostly working in oil but also in mixed media, collage and watercolor the abstract artist uses color as a way of expressing emotions. Light is flat or absent but depth finds its way into the work as the viewer is pulled back into a space beyond. Forms can appear to float in a composition and marks add balance. Collage gives texture as do brush strokes, palette knives, and blobs of paint. Though both figurative and abstract artists may use the same techniques, abstract painting begins with the process of reduction.
Team Figurative artists tell their stories through a more classical approach. The direction of light , the arrangement of the composition and color are true to the image the artist wishes to paint. The luminosity of water, the texture of fabric, the detail of an interior are all important components in figurative painting. Perspective may be linear or aerial. Light may come from the front , the back or the side depending on how the artist wants to depict his scene. Light may also be flat. The figurative painter is less apt to combine media and different techniques in his or her work. Oil, watercolor or acrylic are the usual choices. Where the abstract painter reduces his or her subject, the figurative painter builds his or her subject up.
We hope that this experiment in hanging “Opposites Attract” will be both educational and entertaining particularly to those who wonder what they are looking at in an abstract piece.
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June 21, 2011
Inside and Out: Objects and Sculpture
On July 6th Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery will open an exhibit of objects inside the gallery and outside on the lawn. The exhibit is entitled Inside and Out. Outside Boston artist, Madeleine Lord’s Flower Garden is already installed. Flowers made from scrap metal gleened from her local dump have become ingenious specimens of nature. Inside the gallery Bridgewater artist, Shandra McLane’s new fused glass bowls are colorful and instantly intriquing. Sandwich artist Robin Dustin exhibits her skillful wood turned vessels and Kathryn Field, also from Sandwich, exhibits her metal work combining her talaent as a painter and sculptrice. The exhibit will continue through late July. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. For more information visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 603 284-7728.
Madeleine Lord gives new life to metal and steel scraps found at the dump. The transformed pieces become flowers, dogs, fish, birds, clothing and anything her grand imagination can conceive of. To visit her studio is to encounter old refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers awaiting new life. On view at the gallery is her latest creation: Madeleine’s Garden. It is fun to try to identify some of the pieces she has reworked to realize her flowers. In Beg Red an old type writer is the flower’s center. In Sun Flower the top of a grill is the flower’s center while horse shoes climb the stem. Madelienie Lords pieces are energetic, intriguing, playful and simply ingenious.
This season Shandra McLane has created a series of magnificent fused glass bowls. The simplicity of the bowls‘ form combined with vibrant color woven into the designs are instantly appealing. These bowls are each sculptures that command their own space and presence. McLane writes about her work: “ Luminous , strong….clear, direct…delcate yet bold. These complementary opposites in glasswork are evident, both in the material itself, and in the design and process I employ in my studio. Light, color, form and texture are combined at its essential core.” Last year the gallery presented McLane’s work for the first time, this season’s work is spectacular.
Sandwich artist, Robin Dustin, is becoming a household name when it comes to woodturning. Her bowls, plates, platters and rolling pins continue to fascinate visitors to the gallery. Incorporating the pattern of the wood’s grain into a piece, or sometimes leaving holes just where they are….no, not a salad bowl…are part of Dustin’s inspirations that perhaps separate her from other woodturners. Adding color and sometimes other creative materials give her pieces a very special artistic quality. Dustin began woodturning five years ago when joined a group of woodturniers at Kennett High School. A passion was begun and Dustin’s work only gets better as she grows and challenges her skills.
Kathryn Field is a teacher at The Holderness School, a sculptrice, painter and most important an artist who dares to explore a host of different media to combine her talents. For several years the gallery has exhibited her metal “sculpture paintings”. Laser cut images are incised into steel sheets. Landscapes, fish and birds are Field’s subjects. Most often the pieces are painted on one side. Light passes through the cuts in the piece and reflects the images on the wall behind it. These pieces combine Field’s talents as both a sculptrice and a painter. They have been exhited at the gallery for the past two years and have attracted a great deal of attention and interest. The work emphasizes a marriage of the artist’s talents.
Patricai Ladd Carega Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5, and Sunday from 12 to 5. For more information visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 603 284 7728.
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June 13, 2011
The Peregrine Press Portfolio at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery
CENTER SANDWICH: On Saturday, June 25th Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery will hold a reception featuring the Peregrine Press Portfolio. For the first time prints from the Portfolio collection are available for individual sale. The exhibit demonstrates the variety of print making techniques and the skill involved in accomplishing a master print. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. The reception to meet the printmakers will be from 5 – 7 p.m.
“The Peregrine Press was founded in 1991 as a non-profit, fine arts printmaking cooperative in Portland, Maine….Currently there are 33 active members who work in a variety of printmaking techinques such as colograph, woodcut, monotype, etching, photo-etching, lithography, and other mixed media processes.”
Three years ago Peregrine artists conceived the Portfolio Project. Twenty four artists each made a print of the same size in an edition of ten. Each of these prints were placed in ten Portfolios. One of the Portfolios was framed. This work is now on view at the gallery along with one entire Porfolio. Seven of the Portfolios have been sold. The Portfolio is now contained in such permanent collection as the Portland Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, Colby College Museum of Art and Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
Reading a review of the exhibit in the Maine Sunday Telelgram, I especially liked Philip Isaacson’s comments. He writes: I left “First Impressions” inspired. That’s not a frequent feeling for me. I felt that I had been close to a congregation of artists who were reaching out in behalf of a form of art – printmaking- and that their effort was for my benefit as a viewer and not an opportunity to out perform one another.”
Four artists who regularly exhibit at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery are members of the Press (some of whom live and work in New Hampshire). Last summer the idea was born to have an exhibit of Peregrine Press artists. When the Portfolio was suggested, it seemed a wonderful exhibit to bring to New Hampshire.
Gallery hours are from 10 to 5 Monday through Saturday and 12 to 5 on Sunday. For more information, visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 603 284 7728.
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May 23, 2011
Bunty Walsh: A Retrospective
During the month of June Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery will concentrate on the art of printmaking. The opening exhibit, will be a retrospective featuring the etchings and lithographs of Sandwich artist Bunty Walsh (1927-2005). Though the exhibit opens on Memorial Day weekend, the Opening Reception for the show and the season will be on Saturday, June 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome and especially those who remember “Bunty”. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich.
Bunty Walsh was the first person I met when I moved to Sandwich. She impressed me as being a Renaissance woman: She was at once a real estate broker, a painter, printmaker, antiques dealer and rarely missed an auction. Bunty spoke Italian and French. The languages and her artistic talents gave us much in common. Bunty’s daughter, Nina, has filled in a bit of her history:
“Her nickname came from the lead character - a bonnie and clever lass of 20 who
managed to find a way out of very awkward situations -1910 Scottish play "Bunty
Pulls the Strings" by William Graham Moffat.
She was born in NYC and raised in Greenwich to appreciate the arts. She went
from Brearly to Putney to University of Chicago. She started drawing early and
then painting. In her 20s she worked with clay, kept a kiln in the kitchen of
her Georgetown townhouse and in her 40s she studied lithography at the
University of Maryland.
Her parents bought the farm on Basket Street in 1940 and Bunty from all accounts
made a splash. After her mother died she moved her husband Dick and three
younger children to Sandwich full time and she opened the Sandwich Gallery,
featuring her lithographic prints and paintings. After her father died in 1982,
she moved the family - expanded to include goats and chickens and a horse - to
the house on Basket Street where she continued to run the Sandwich Gallery until
opening the shop on Main Street [now Mocha Rizing].
Although she was 49 years old when she moved to Sandwich, she thought of the
town as her true home. She would have loved this show.”
Bunty Walshes work exudes charm. Her etchings and lithographs encompass subject matter from Sandwich lore to historical studies. She is artist and storyteller. The generous use of lyrical line breathes life into her compositions, Nymphs, horses, and figures dance across her paper. Landscapes depict Squam Lake and the town of Sandwich. Bunty Walsh was a talented artist ever ready to experiment with new technique and new ideas. Her humor and energy will always be remembered. The gallery is happy to present her Retrospective.
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March 21, 2011
Searching for a Gallery?
Over the winter I have had several conversations with a some of my artists about how to approach galleries when searching for gallery representation. It has been said that galleries do not respond,when contacted by artists and therefore make the artist feel like a second class citizen whose work is perhaps not worthy of a reply, In most cases this is far from the truth. Galleries are inundated with work to review. There are too few of us to represent all the artists looking to show and sell. Add the recent downturn in the economy which has closed many businesses, and the result is not easy for either artist or gallery. Though we try to look at all work that is sent to us and are happy to do so, we are guilty of not always responding in a timely fashion. As a result of these winter chats, here are some ideas for those in search of placing their work in new venues.
I am speaking personally but I am sure that many dealers, like myself, are wedded to their computers. That means that email is the best way to get my attention. It is a lot easier for me to click on someone's website and/or view several images included in an email than it is to have to refer to CDs and letters that pile up on my desk where they probably will remain piled for years. CDs are okay but better for later use than initial contact with a gallery. It takes just a few seconds to view an image and know whether it is of interest or not. That quick second could make or break a future show.
If I like what I see in the initial email, I will move on to bio, resume, and artist's statement. If I really like what I see, I will ask for a studio visit. Having said all of this it is a good idea for artists to have their work easily available on line. Websites are the best but there are alternatives such as facebook, flickr and other internet sites. It is most important that Google can find you.
When searching for a gallery, try to match your work with the gallery you are approaching. There is little point in presenting a dealer in realism with abstract art.
Do not necessarily feel you have to stay close to home. The more important part of the equation is to find galleries that love your work and can sell it. This does not mean you should not solicit nearby galleries, it simply means don’t be afraid of distance.
If you have a lot of friends or family in a place or you can bring a crowd of supporters to your show, it is also interesting to a gallery. Not a vital point but your supporters are new supporters for the gallery.
Finally if you live near a lot of galleries patronize them. Go to openings and follow what they are doing. After deciding that this is the gallery for you make an appointment with the director. Tell him or her how much you admire, enjoy their space and ask them if they would mind critiquing your work. Flattery could get you everywhere!
If anyone has thoughts from you own experiences to add to this blog I hope you will feel free to do so.
Enjoy the Spring and we are looking forward to a great season for 2011.
Patricia
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December 14, 2010
December: A Celebration
Soon it will be December 21st, the shortest day of the year, the winter Solstice. I love the coziness of the short days with crackling fires, hearty food and the promise of the new year soon to come.
December is a time of festa, fiesta,and fete. 'Party' just doesn't sound quite as magnificent. Perhaps the best word is "celebration". It is a word that reminds of lights, hats and blowers, fire works and music but it also reminds of all that we have to celebrate: family, friends, animals, nature and the love that surrounds all the above. We give presents at this time of year and we receive them too, but most of all we remember those who have touched our lives and our hearts.
On the first weekend of December, I went to Miami. Talk about a celebration!! The whole city celebrates ART. Different Art Fairs take over the city. Sculpture, painting, photography, prints and work in all media are on view. Dealers come from all corners of the world to exhibit. The largest fair is Art Basel at the Miami Convention Center. The most important dealers from art capitols participate in this fair. As I walked through, it seemed I was looking at "who's who in Modern art..... Certainly a feast for the eyes.
The next largest fair is Art Miami. Located in a large white tent in the design district, this venue is a lot airier than the convention center. Again artists from around the world are on exhibit but the focus seemed to be more contemporary. I saw some wonderful work that was both fascinating and refreshing. Color was everywhere. Sculpture was innovative and work was engaging. Though there were lots of visitors, it was not a problem to tarry a while in front of a favorite piece.
Next came the smaller art fairs: Scope, and Red Dot are also in tents in the Design District but I did not have time to visit either. Instead I moved back up town toward the Convention Center where Holly Manneck was exhibiting with a Miami Gallery at a small art fair called Verge. Verge, Aqua, Zoom and a few other small fairs are located in hotels that become small art centers for the weekend. Usually the beds are removed, but sometimes not. Some of the spaces are lit better than others but all in all it was fun to see art exhibited in these alternative spaces.
As we move on to Holiday time and New Year's, we approach the biggest celebrations of the year. The gallery wishes you light, color, beauty and peace as 2010 comes to a close. For the New Year we wish you good fortune, happiness, joy and freedom. We look forward to seeing you again next summer but in the meantime stay in touch through the website and remember art is an everlasting celebration!
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November 21, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving in my house means brisk walks in the chilly New England air, the tantalizing aroma of roasting turkey, and family and friends gathered around a sumptuous table. In my dining room the art on the walls is a reminder of many years of art collecting. The work has grown with me and continues to challenge and nourish those seated at my table. Michael Rich, CC White, Amy Stacey Curtis and Philip Jamison join older masters Alfred Jonniaux and an unknown artist whose wax portrait of George Washington has been with me since childhood. My collection is unquestionably eclectic.
On Thanksgiving Day I am thankful for all of those special people who have the need to create. I am most thankful for the art that I have collected for it continues to engage me in a very personal dialogue each day.