: "Characters: Scene II," a Director's Choice exhibition exploring
the return of characters in contemporary arts, opens March 20 at
Silvermine Galleries. A complementary exhibition, "Characters,
Scene I," is currently being presented at the Shore Institute of
The Contemporary Arts in Long Branch, N.J., through April 26.
A second Director's Choice exhibition opening March 20 at
Silvermine is "Edward Hopper & John Marin's New York," works
on paper from the collection of Theodore C. Rogers and the
Hirschl & Adler Gallery of New York City. Both exhibitions
are sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.
Two solo exhibitions also open that day - photography by John
Arabolos, "Chaotic Symmetries: The Fabric of Life Series," and a
mixed media installation by Hazel Usher titled "Twice Removed."
Avis Berman, author of the new book Edward Hopper's New
York, will give a slide talk, followed by a book signing, in
Silvermine Galleries from 1 to 2 pm on March 20, after which a
public reception will be conducted from 2 to 4 pm. All
exhibitions continue through April 21.
"Characters, Scene I & II" feature works by internationally
renowned and emerging artists who come from the worlds of fine
art and illustration. The exhibition was organized by Silvermine
Gallery director Helen Klisser During and curated by Helianthe
Bourdeaux-Maurin, an independent French curator living in
Manhattan.
Works in "Characters" present cultural, historical, stylistic and
technical diversity from artists who span the globe, from America
to Europe and Asia. Produced between 1980 and the present, the
works include paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photography
and videos. Artists represented include Robert Crumb, Philip
Guston, Nina Levy, D. Dominick Lombardi, Tracey Moffatt, Takashi
Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Michael Rees, Julian Stark, Cindy
Sherman, Shannon Plumb, Izima Kaoru and Joan Wheeler. An Easton,
Conn., resident, Ms Wheeler is the only Silvermine Guild artist
represented in this show.
The exhibition of works on paper by Edward Hopper and John Marin
illustrates how two artist contemporaries responded in different
ways to the visual and emotional dynamism of New York City in the
first quarter of the Twentieth Century.
Marin's early series of etchings and drawings celebrating the
changing cityscape of lower Manhattan began in the year 1910, and
stand among the most powerful examples of the modernist impulse
in American art. Conversely, Hopper's quiet and deliberate
etchings, executed between 1915 and 1923, are created in a
straightforward manner in rich blacks and brilliant whites. The
exhibition also includes a complementary selection of photographs
by major American photographers of the era, such as Alfred
Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Walker Evans and Berenice Abbott.
Silvermine Galleries is at 1037 Silvermine Road. For information,
203-966-9700, ext 20, or silvermineart.org.
