Dialogue in Color

The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery, at the Fairfield Public Library, is pleased to present Dialogue in Color, a juried exhibition, from May 1-June 10, 2011.  The public is invited to meet the artists at the opening reception on Saturday, May 7th from 3-5pm. At 4pm, three award winners will be announced.  The award winners will be granted a three person show at the Bruce S. Kershner Gallery during the 2012 exhibition calendar.  The work in the exhibition was selected by juror Adrienne Ruger Conzelman from ARC Fine Art, LLC. 

 Dialogue in Color, co-chaired by Janine Brown and Elizabeth Katz, is the second juried exhibition for the Kershner Gallery.  Brown and Katz are area artists who volunteer on the gallery’s Curatorial Committee. For the exhibition, artists from New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were encouraged to submit up to two artworks that related to the theme of color.  The library received 153 entries from 78 artists, mainly from New York and Connecticut.  Ms. Ruger Conzelman, an art dealer and advisor, carefully considered all of the submissions and selected 28 artworks created by 26 artists for the exhibition. 

 In the Juror writes, “For Dialogue in Color, I have selected 28 works in a variety of medium. The works selected exuberantly express the varied approaches to color that artists employ today. While their modes of expression vary from hard-edged, geometric abstraction to luxuriant, painterly passages of land and sea to bravado splashes of autonomous painting, the 26 artists on view share a common passion for color.  For some, this interest becomes paramount, and ultimately the subject of their art; while for others, it becomes the means through which form, emotion, and light emerge.  While abstraction reigns as the predominant mode of expression, within the abstract works, there is a shared interest in all-over patterning and the use of geometric forms resulting in stimulating and often rhythmic designs.  Regardless of the style or the medium, these artists utilize color in a multitude of ways to evoke and provoke, ultimately drawing the viewer in.”

The juror, Ms. Adrienne Ruger Conzelman, possesses nearly 20 years of work experience in the art world.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Art History from Hamilton College and Williams College, respectively.  Between 1995 to 1997, Ruger Conzelman worked as a specialist in the American Paintings Department at Christie’s, and then from 1998 to 2002, she researched and wrote a private collection catalogue titled, After the Hunt: The Art Collection of William B. Ruger, published by Stackpole Books.  Ruger Conzelman has also held numerous volunteer positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Williams College Museum of Art, the Emerson Art Gallery, and the Whitney Gallery of Western Art. Artists represented by ARC Fine Art, LLC include area artists, Olivia Munroe and Jaanika Peerna. For a complete list of artists represented by ARC Fine Art visit www.arcfineartllc.com.

The artists selected for Dialogue in Color are: Kaya R. Wielopolski (Astoria, NY); Tina Sommers (Bridgeport, CT);  Dana Goodfellow, Karen Vogel, Lori Glavin and Mary Manning (Darien, CT);  Kathy Davidson (Easton, CT);  Catherine Sippin (Fairfield, CT);  Hyun Joo Jung (Meriden, CT); James Travers (Newtown, CT); Roberta Friedman (North Haven, CT); Katherine Draper ( Norwalk, CT); Shaw Stuart (Riverside, CT); Vivian Bergenthal (Scarsdale, NY); Mary M. Quinlan (South Norwalk, CT); Barbara Post Campbell,  Mari Gyorgyey (Stamford, CT); Frieda Howling (Stratford, CT); Alexandria Donovan, Anne Lester, Catherine Zappi, Chantal Soustra, Claudia Mengel, Joan Miller, Marlene Siff and Toby Michaels (Westport, CT).

The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery is open during the Fairfield Public Library hours which are M-Th 9am-9pm; Fri 9am-6pm; Sat. 10am - 4pm; and Sun 1 - 5pm.