DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

-two shows by 

Maryanne Benns 

Accessories Sold Separately

and

Curiosities From the Anthropocene and Yonder 

Three Steps to Success, earthenware, porcelain, & found object, 2022, 12 “ x 10 ”

Sept. 26 through Nov. 10, 2022

HELD OVER THROUGH NOV. 30th!!!

Artist Reception Thurs. Oct 6, 4:30 - 6:30PM

With an informal gallery talk at 5:30

HRS: Mon. - Thurs. 10am - 5pm (during regular school sessions) 

Mitosis (detail)  earthenware and encaustic 7” x 4”

Accessories Sold Separately 

If toys are used to instruct children on future expectations, these sculptures- part action figure, part mythologic creature and 100 percent woman- are the dolls I wish I had to be better prepared for the real world. 

 

Curiosities From The Anthropocene And Yonder 

An immersive cabinet of curiosities, some tangible, some fantastical, reflecting my perceptions on what it means to be human, trying to fit in the orderly natural system, within the context of our geologic time and after.

-----------------------------------

 

Known primarily for her surrealist ceramic sculpture Maryanne Benns uses art to represent her personal visions and unique observations of the world.  For nearly two decades she has been studying and exploring the endless creative possibilities of clay, and for the past seven years she has been sharing that knowledge at senior centers, on line and studios around the Pioneer Valley.  Her work has been shown in  galleries, museums and hardware stores east of the Mississippi.   An alumnus of Holyoke Community College She credits her extensive time in the Visual Arts Department as the most transformative and important period in her life.  You can see more of her work on her website at Maryannebenns.com or at her studio at Papercity studios in Holyoke Ma.

 

Call to Artists who Studied with Alix Hegeler 

Photo credit: Lourdes Lebron

The Bat Cave and Beyond

You are invited to participate in “The Bat Cave and Beyond,” an exhibition honoring the memory of beloved artist and teacher Alix Hegeler who passed last October after a brief battle with cancer. The Taber Gallery is accepting your submission of artworks that have been influenced by Alix, and/or created while you studied with her.  

Art works in all media will be accepted. You may submit up to three pieces of art. Art work should be ready to hang. Though we will try to include all submissions, space is limited, so our decisions will ultimately depend on the overall number of artworks received.

EXHIBITION CALENDAR: 

Monday April 4th and Wed, April 6th from 10:00AM to 5:00PM:  DELIVER ARTWORK to the Taber Art Gallery. Enter through the Campus Library in the Donahue Building.  Work must be delivered and picked up in person. 

If you are living out of town and unable to deliver work in person, please email Amy Johnquest ASAP at: ajohnquest@hcc.edu to discuss possible options.

April 18 through May 9th - The exhibition will be open to the public during regular gallery hours.

Thursday April 28 - RECEPTION and celebration of Alix Hegeler.

Tues. May 10 and Wed. May 11, 10am - 5:00pm - PICK UP ARTWORK -All work must be picked up in person. 

HELP! We are trying to reach as many folks as possible. After thirty five years of teaching art at HCC, Alix influenced a countless number of  students.  Please help spread the word and forward this invitation to anyone you may know who worked with Alix over the years. 

 

PAGES

Paintings by 

Frank Cressotti 

Jan. 31st - March 10, 2022

HELD OVER through March 24th!

Gallery talk - Thursday Feb. 17, 9:30am

Hours: Mon - Thurs. 10am-5pm (during regular school sessions)

COVID protocols are in place https://www.hcc.edu/about/covid-19/visitors

Artist’s Statement

Several years ago I was making mostly figurative paintings. A regular feature of the painting process involved the use of newspaper as a blotting agent. The newspaper pages used for blotting were saved and re-used. Over time I found I had several stacks of blotting paper. These pages became interesting in themselves as painted surfaces. I discovered I liked the way the newspaper accepted the paint. I began to work with these pages, expecting that they had possibilities in a painterly direction. I liked the idea that their visual impact resulted purely as a function of the painting process. I tried to keep the structure of the painting simple. The idea was to let the paintings develop on their own as much as possible, with me driving the action. The paint would take care of itself. My responsibilities would be to stay busy with the working process, and pay attention to the moment by moment changes on the painting surface. I selected a few simple formats, without trying to premise specific resolutions. Periodically I would review the many pages that had resulted from this activity. I would occasionally select a page that seemed to have a certain presence. It was almost always a surprise to discover such a page. Since this was a new experience, I felt I was always trying to catch up with the pages. I had to learn a new aesthetic.

The more I handled the pages the more I found myself aware of the material nature of each page. The paper was delicate, flexible, and light weight. I was used to working with larger stretched canvases, or  heavy paper mounted on large drawing boards. Just moving them around was becoming a physical struggle, especially as I was working in a confined space. But, the pages were worked freely, without being stretched. I could proceed from page to page easily. The only practical problem was finding enough flat space for them to dry between applications of paint. I had to use floor space in the house away from the studio.

The flatness of the picture plain was a focal point of studying painting in the sixties. I had taught that principle, and I firmly believed in it. But, with repeated handling of the pages I realized the fact of flatness. I further realized that no matter how much effort I made per page, there was only a skin of paint separating the viewer from the paper surface. Another reality was the newspaper, itself. I never looked for content or narrative in the paintings, but I was constantly engaged with the print copy: news, sports, advertizements, obituaries, recipes, graphics.  I could not escape the fact that my personal reality as a painter was connected in some way with the reality of the news. And, the news was people.

The paintings themselves would always be about the process that produced them. But, I could not ignore my place in the community.