Grubbs Gallery 2015-16 Season

The Exhibitions This Year Feature Bold Style and Mixed Media

Waltz of the Chicken, Linda Batchelor
Waltz of the Chicken, Linda Batchelor

This year’s exhibitions in the Grubbs Gallery will focus on mixed media and bold style.

That’s particularly true with a series of artists who specialize in multi-dimensional work. The first exhibit features a husband and wife team (Agnes de Bethune and Thomas O’Flynn) who together combine painting and found-object sculptures. December’s artist, Linda Batchelor, features the unification of painting and collage, while Jessica Tam, whose exhibit is in January, uses such materials as acrylic, oil, etching ink, and spray paint on paper. I am hoping that these artists will inspire our students to push beyond using one medium in isolation and will make them want to experiment with combinations of materials in both their two-, and three-, dimensional work.

Several artists in this year’s lineup share a bold style. Artist Eric Wolf (February 2) uses  india ink on paper primarily to depict abstracted and stylized Maine landscapes. Painter Dave Gloman (October 1) will return to the gallery after a recent spell on the road. He spoke in the gallery a few years ago as he was about to set off for a painting trip in the southwest in a modified studio-on-wheels truck (which he showed to our students). This year’s exhibit will feature paintings from that trip of southwestern landscapes and will be an excellent follow-up for some of our students who remember his first exhibit and gallery talk.

"Art in America" Agnes de Bethune Oil on canvas, 2014 64" x 46"
“Art in America”
Agnes de Bethune
Oil on canvas, 2014
64″ x 46″

Both Mr. Wolf and Mr. Gloman share a striking, graphic, and non-traditional approach to landscape painting—with very differing results. I anticipate that this will influence our students, who respond well to large, straightforward, and high-contrast work (as we all do).

In April, the gallery will feature the work of our Visual Arts faculty. We generally hold a faculty exhibit every few years because of the incredible energy and excitement it causes in our Arts Department (for both students and faculty) and throughout our community in general.

After the faculty show, we will have our first ever student-curated exhibit. This will give a student, or several, a chance to conceive of, and produce, a student show based on a theme they choose. In this way, students can experience the flip side of gallery management. This is the beginning of increased student involvement in the running of the gallery, which we hope to grow into an exciting and comprehensive program in the future.

Grubbs Gallery Shows 2015-16

"The Red Queen" Thomas O'Flynn Assemblage, 2015 40.5" x 26.5"
“The Red Queen”
Thomas O’Flynn
Assemblage, 2015
40.5″ x 26.5″

September 9-29: Thomas O’Flynn and Agnes de Bethune
Reception: Saturday, September 26 —cancelled

October 1-29: Dave Gloman
Reception: Saturday, October 10 from 1:00-3:30 p.m.

November 2-January 5: Linda Batchelor
Reception:  Saturday, November 7 from 1:00-3:30 p.m.

January 6-28: Jessica Tam
Reception: Saturday, January 9 from 1:00-3:30 p.m.

February 1-March 18: Eric Wolf
Reception: Saturday, Feburary 20 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.

March 21-April 29: Faculty Show
Reception: Saturday, April 23 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

May 2-12: Williston’s Student-Curated Show

May 16-June 1: Williston Scholars Exhibit

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