Events

A Show of Trees

Jul 2, 2009 - Aug 3, 2009

Reception for the Artists

FRIDAY, JULY 10th    5-8 pm

From our own operatic landscape we have asked the Prima Donna of the forest, the tree, to give a solo performance.  Eight artists depicting trees in oils, pastels, collage, furniture and sculpture.

• Richard Britell 
  
• Peter Dellert
  
• Ann Getsinger
  
• Channing Lefebvre
  
• Carolyn Letvin
  
• Geoffrey Moss
  
• Anthony Nordoff
  
• Franco Pellegrino
  

     The idea for the upcoming show, "A nest of robins in her hair" at the Lauren Clark Fine Art gallery, came not from the owner, Lauren Clark herself, nor from one of the featured artists in the show, but from a longtime gallery and framing client.  Last December, Owen Lewis, a good friend as well, had just purchased a painting by Geoffrey Moss, by chance, one of the eight artists of this show.  "You should do a show about trees," Lewis suggested, "I've got lots of ideas for shows."  The concept of using trees for a show lingered with Clark over the winter and into the spring, before another artist in the show, Richard Britell, latched onto the theme to bring it all together.  "I remember," Clark says, "Richard immediately thought of the poem ‘Trees’ by Robert Frost ...which turned out to be by Joyce Kilmer."  Britell quoted the line "A tree that may in summer wear, a nest of robins in her hair" and the name for the show was born.  " An eminently forgettable name like 'The Tree Show' "Clark says, "seemed hardly worth considering."
     Besides Britell and Moss, among the other artists in the show is Peter Dellert, a Holyoke, Massachusetts-based woodworker and sculptor.  With an appreciation for nature, his emergence as an artist has been evolutionary, starting out as a biology major, later finding himself working with a potter and ceramicist, before becoming a carpenter, cabinetmaker, and now a furniture maker.  His art,  whether it be sculpture, furniture, or collage, always employs found objects and found wood.  He speaks of being “inspired by Albers and Klee, I seek to explore color and texture contrasts with a material that is seductive yet mysterious, in that it has been deconstructed and then reconfigured in such a way as to lose its identity.” Ever moving forward, he currently has an installation, in steel, in the season-long Sculpture Now exhibit in Stockbridge as well as permanent work on Allen Street in Pittsfield.
     Whether putting a vase of flowers on the dining room table or hanging William Morris-designed wallpaper in a bedroom, bringing the outdoors in is nothing new, but usually welcome.  This brings us to another artist in the show, Ann Getsinger.  Getsinger, a true fine artist,  combines landscape and still life painting to create unique images.  This juxtapositon of styles, combined with both the realism of her technique and the surreality of her subjects, creates work that is, to varying degrees, playful, quiet, moody, and enigmatic.  Getsinger, who lives, works, and gathers inspiration from her homes in New Marlboro, Massachusetts and Port Clyde, Maine, is working on a multi-panel installation for the Norfolk library in Norfolk, Connecticut beginning in October.
     Other works included in the show are paintings in oil and acrylic by painters Channing Lefebvre and Franco Pellegrino, respectively, paintings in oil stick on board by Carolyn Letvin, and pastels by Anthony Nordoff.
     As for the title of the show, there will be copies of the Kilmer poem at the gallery for anyone who wants to refresh their memory before viewing the art.  When one rereads the poem, there is a peculiar 19th century quality to the work, represented most notably by the line, "but only God can make a tree."  "It's interesting how the word 'God" is used several times in the poem," queries Clark.  All references to the Almighty aside, this show will be more secular.  And more contemporary.

      Lauren Clark Fine Art is located at 402 Park Street (Rte. 183), in the heart of Housatonic.  The show will run from July 2 to August 3.  A reception for the artists will be Friday, July 10, from 5 to 8 in the evening.  For directions to the gallery or for more information call 413-274-1432 or visit the website at www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com

A SMALL PREVIEW OF THE SHOW...

Beaver Tree by Ann Getsinger		November Gold by Franco Pellegrino		Road Work by Peter Dellert
Apple Tree by Richard Britell		Berkshire Sargasso by Geoffrey Moss		Rondo by Channing Lefebvre