Hours:
Noon to 5pm Sunday & Monday
10am to 7pm Tuesday
10am to 5pm Wed - Sat
Phone: 802-985-5124
FEATURED ARTISTS
1st floor Merrill Community Room - Nancy Chapman, oil paintings
Chapman’s work stems from memory. She is aware of nature’s active dialogue. Painting can be a way for her to touch what cannot be literally touched. Her work celebrates natural beauty through form, texture, line and color with oil paint on canvas and/or on paper. Her goal is not to describe a scene for the viewer, but rather to render the setting’s spirit; to reveal the story.
2nd Floor South Gallery - Matt Larson, acrylic paintings
From the earliest times, we have tried to systematize our observations of the natural world even though we often experience the world as chaotic. For millennia, our very existence depended on interpreting the landscape and living within the rhythms we discovered. This study of the natural world led to the study of relationships, which eventually led to the notion of pattern.
In nature, patterns are regularities of form that recur in different contexts and at different scales across the landscape, including symmetries, spirals, meanders, ripples, tessellations, cracks, and bands. These patterns are generated by processes that occur at many different levels, from ageless ecosystem processes (water and nutrient cycles, energy flow, and community dynamics, for example) to the relatively new disruptions that arise from human activity (community fragmentation, loss of habitat, and degradation of connectivity, among others). As time passes and these processes transpire–sometimes slowly, sometimes cataclysmically–the transformations that ensue are recorded as complex, unpredictable patterns.
This framework–the shifting mosaic of ecological patterns that contextualizes our passage through time and place–inspires Matt’s work. He strives to balance randomness and accident with order and reason in a manner that emulates natural processes, altering and obscuring what came before, leaving glimpses of initial conditions visible through the overlaid patterns and juxtapositions of subsequent events, and thereby facilitating the emergence of abstractions of the natural world that embody the connections between ourselves and the landscape.
For more information or to purchase please contact Kate Ashman at Burlington City Arts: 802-865-7296 or kashman@burlingtoncityarts.org
Community Gallery (Front Foyer): VT Arts & Crafts, Luciana McAllister - Hi, my name is Luciana and I am the creator behind VT Arts & Crafts. I live in Shelburne, Vermont with my husband and daughter. I love to use a plethora of colors and textures to create movement in my weavings! I source the majority of my materials from other small, women owned businesses. When you purchase my art, you are not just supporting me, you are supporting so many other makers and artists! This also means that I often use hand or indie dyed yarns and Hand spun Art yarns that are unique and often one of a kind pieces of art in their own right.
Garden Orb Collection - For this collection, I wanted to capture the feeling of being surrounded by lush colorful gardens that will never wilt. Whether you are a gardening enthusiast or not blessed with a green thumb, my Garden Orb Collection will bring Springtime to any space in any season.
Beaded Collection - For the Beaded Collection, I used different kinds of beads to accentuate the movement and flow of the wool…and of course to add a little sparkle! Each bead was meticulously placed to fit into the overall aesthetic of each weaving, creating an abstract feast for the eyes.
Community Gallery (Hallway): I Am Your Playground explores the shifting sense of self and identity as a parent/caregiver within the lens of play. As a parent, your body is often at the mercy of your child’s play and exploration. You become a jungle gym to climb, a bridge to crawl under, a pony to ride on, a doll to dress up, a road to drive cars on, or playdough to manipulate. Through my drawings, I depict a variety of these very physical identities while also exploring the emotionality of them. There is the mental, emotional, and physical toll of the invisible labor of caregiving and parenting. Simultaneously, the fierce love and connection that is built through physical touch and being the safe space that fosters your child’s expansive imagination.
I hope this body of work prompts conversation for anyone wishing to engage: As our identities shift as parents, how does that influence our sense of self within and outside of our caregiving role? As we focus on the development and growth of our children and create environments for them to thrive, how do we also nurture our own growth?
If you’d like to share your thoughts on these prompts, there is blank paper and a jar in the corner of the exhibit where you may leave a note. Responses will only be shared anonymously.
Children's Room: Deirdre Gill
Deirdre Gill is the author and illustrator of the book OUTSIDE, which Kirkus called in a starred review “a splendid debut” with “glorious illustrations”. She also illustrated TRAINS DON'T SLEEP, by Andria Rosenbaum, whose illustrations were praised by The New York Times Book Review as “monumental and ethereal…” and “truly transporting.” She lives in South Burlington with her husband, Jason Chin, also a children’s book author and artist, and their children.
The illustrations were done in oil on canvas paper. For information on sales of originals or prints please contact the artist at deirdre@deirdregill.com