Opening Reception for Wits' End: A Retrospective of Works by Nina Bentley

The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in the Fairfield Library will exhibit “Wits End: A Retrospective of Work by Nina Bentley” from April 15th through May 27th.  The public is invited to the opening reception for the artist on Sunday, April 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. with a talk by Ms. Bentley at 5 p.m.

Ms. Bentley is a multi-dimensional artist who creates conceptual works with a social commentary.  “From early childhood, I have been moved both by aesthetics and the human condition. Not only matters that affect me personally, but those evident on a broader social scale,” states Bentley when asked about her work.  The exhibition,
which features work from a 40 year span, clearly brings to light the artist’s “scalpel-sharp wit”, as declared by Owen McNally from The Hartford Courant, is evident in such
pieces as, “The Time Out Room.” This installation is the artist’s take on today’s practice of punishing children with “Time Outs” as a consequence for their poor behavior. Although the artist is most recently known for her assemblages, the work in the exhibit includes earlier oil paintings, as well.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Bentley attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she studied fine art and graduated in 1962 with a bachelor's degree in History. She lived much of her adult life abroad in such places as Bologna, Frankfurt, London, Zurich, Santiago and Caracas. In the 1980s, Bentley, then living in Larchmont, N.Y, worked as executive director of the Rye Art Center and, now resident in Westport has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Westport Arts Center. She is also active with the Silvermine Guild Arts Center.

Bentley has had numerous one-person shows in both Europe and America.  In 2010, the Fairfield Art Center (now closed) held a solo exhibition of her work in a show titled, “A Taste of Her Own Medicine.” She was the featured artist for Barneys New York in a show called Art MeetsFashion in 2004 and was a New/Now Artist at the New Britain
Museum of American Art in 2001 where her large sculpture A Corporate Wife Service Award Bracelet is in the permanent collection.

Bentley has won numerous awards in regional juried shows including Art of the Northeast, the Mattatuck Museum, and the Katonah Museum. In the past year, Bentley’s work has been included in “Toy Stories” and “Memory” at the Westport Arts Center. Both exhibits were curated by Helen Klisser During.  As well as, “Continuum: Gender Identities”
curated by Nancy Moore at the Ridgefield Guild of Arts. The artist has also curated numerous local exhibits for the Flinn Gallery in Greenwich, the Westport Historical Society, the Westport Arts Center and the Rye Art Center.

Laura Einstein, a private art consultant who occasionally works with Bentley, writes, “It is the compelling combination of her own varied daily life as the wife of a
world-travelling corporate executive, and resident of Fairfield County's Gold Coast that Bentley draws on for her subject matter. Perhaps it is her own comfort level in having raised three successful children and her delight in her grandchildren as well as an active travel schedule that allows Bentley to both comment upon and embrace the life that she so thoughtfully examines.”  To find out more about her work, visit www.ninabentley.com.

The Bruce S. Kershner Gallery is located inside the Fairfield Public Library, 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. The gallery is run by a volunteer group of the Friends of the Fairfield Public Library.  The exhibitions in the gallery are sponsored by the Friends of the Fairfield Public Library, Elizabeth Fray, Raymond Poincelot, and Lisa Pollack (in memory of her mother).  It is the mission of the gallery to present a wide variety of art to inspire the community toward creative and intellectual growth. The gallery believes that art is central to the expression and
nurturing of the human spirit. For more information visit www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org.