Tag Archives: art exhibitions

I-Park Hosts Open Trails & Music Aug. 9

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An I-Park visitor explores Vision on the Pond by sculptor Foon Sham. Photo courtesy of Christina Goldberg for I-Park.

EAST HADDAM—On Saturday, Aug. 9, I-Park, the artists-in-residence program nestled in the woods, invites the public to engage with international artists, wander over the expansive system of trails with environmental art installations and enjoy live music.

I-Park’s Open Trails & Music event takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Visitors will receive a trail map of more than 40 environmental art installations integrated into I-Park’s meadows, woodlands and waterways.

Most trails are gentle and well-marked, allowing for a relaxed, self-paced visit that can last as little as 45 minutes or stretch into several hours. Guests are welcome to bring a picnic basket and unplug in the natural haven.

The Midnight Anthem will take the stage from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Known for its soulful sound and genre-blending style, the trio music mixes country, folk, rock, punk, and Americana into a performance that resonates across generations.

Local Honey Acoustic – described as a slightly sweeter spin on the River Valley’s beloved Local Honey Project – will play from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. The duo of Erin Smith and Abe Wilson features acoustic guitar, harmonies and hand percussion.

The family-friendly outdoor event will also include a nature-themed scavenger hunt and an interactive drawing table for children and adults alike.

Advance reservations are recommended, though walk-ins may register at the Welcome Table upon arrival. A $10 per adult is suggested. 

Meet the Artists: 

Jonathan Newman is a talented composer blending classical forms with pop, blues and jazz influences. His dynamic compositions are performed by orchestras and ensembles from around the world. His works are renowned for their emotional accessibility and rhythmic energy.

Sophia Sobers is a visual artist integrating sound and public art in urban and natural spaces. Her practice investigates the intersection of technology and nature, creating immersive environments that invite quiet contemplation.

Emily Gui is an interdisciplinary artist focused on climate, consumerism and ethical tension. Her work spans printmaking, installation and sculpture – often using salvaged materials to underscore the complexities of environmental responsibility.

Alice Miceli is a Brazilian photographer examining landscapes shaped by trauma and environmental degradation. She is internationally recognized for long-term projects that employ experimental photographic techniques to visualize the invisible aftermath of conflict and catastrophe.

Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of nine books spanning young adult, middle grade and graphic fiction. Rivera’s stories often center on Latinx identity, girlhood and resilience – and she is celebrated for her ability to blend speculative fiction with deeply grounded emotional truth.

Steven Pestana is a conceptual artist creating immersive environments that challenge perception. His work combines sculpture, performance and digital media to explore themes of uncertainty, belief, and the limits of understanding.

I-Park’s community engagement initiatives this year are supported by grants from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County.

Paintings at Lyman Allyn Chronicle Artistic Transformation of David J. Marchi

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David J. Marchi, Earth Wave, 2023, mixed media, 50 x 50 in. Image courtesy of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum.

NEW LONDON—The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is currently featuring an exhibition titled, David J. Marchi: Break on Through, a series of abstract paintings documenting the artist’s unexpected transformation. The show runs through Oct. 19.

The museum in a press release said Marchi had never painted before a life-altering boating accident in 2015. Suddenly compelled to paint, he left his previous profession to embrace the world of art.

He was subsequently diagnosed with acquired savant syndrome, according to the release. Marchi is one of only about 50 documented cases of this syndrome worldwide.

Layering colors, patterns, and methods of paint application, the museum said Marchi utilizes gesture, physicality, and unusual materials and methods to produce vibrant, large-scale canvases. He often works from vivid dreams that lay out colors and structures for him to follow.

Marchi has studied with artists Ronnie Landfield, Larry Poons, Pat Lipski and Peter Bonner at the Art Students League of New York.

Marchi also draws on his experiences to help instruct students with disabilities. His story shows creativity lives within everyone, regardless of experience or background, serving as a reminder that art can be a profound tool for recovery, connection, and transformation.

Lyman Allyn Art Museum Director Sam Quigley said working with Marchi to produce the exhibition was rewarding for everyone involved.

“His artistic brilliance, passion for life, and generosity of spirit is deeply appreciated,” Quigley said. “We are delighted to feature his work in our Near::New series of contemporary exhibitions, a series that celebrates the artists among us.”

This exhibition was made possible with support from an anonymous foundation, and from the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s Office of the Arts.

Juneteenth Celebration Brings Jazz, Poetry, Reflection to Old Lyme

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Witness Stones Old Lyme poets at the Juneteenth celebration. From left to right: Rhonda Ward, Antoinette Brim-Bell, Kate Rushin and Marilyn Nelson. All photos courtesy of Witness Stones Old Lyme.

OLD LYME—The north lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum earlier this month filled with music and poetry as the community gathered for a Juneteenth celebration honoring those who once lived enslaved in the historic town of Lyme.

The Avery Sharpe Quartet performing at the Juneteenth event.

The June 22 event in partnership with the Witness Stones Old Lyme organization featured a powerful performance by renowned bassist and composer Avery Sharpe and his Quartet—Zaccai Curtis on piano, Haneef Nelson on trumpet, and Yoron Israel on drums—whose dynamic jazz rhythms set the tone for an afternoon of remembrance and hope.

Artists gather at the Juneteenth Jazz & Poetry event on Sunday, June 22. Left to right: Poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward and Antoinette Brim-Bell with musicians Zaccai Curtis, Avery Sharpe, Yoron Israel, and Haneef Nelson

Interwoven with the music were readings by four of Connecticut’s most distinguished poets: Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell. Their verses, inspired by the lives of those commemorated through the Old Lyme Witness Stones Project, gave voice to the past and called listeners to deeper understanding and reflection. 

Audience members enjoy the sounds of live jazz and poetry on the lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum.

The poets, who began their partnership with the Witness Stones Project in 2021, created a cycle of poems that was later published in Poetry magazine. Their verse continues to serve as a poignant tribute to the lives, labor, and humanity of those long forgotten by history.

Photographer William Earle Williams signs copies of the exhibition catalogue for poets Rhonda Ward, left, and Kate Rushin.
Photographer William Earle Williams signs copies of the exhibition catalogue for poets Rhonda Ward (left) and Kate Rushin.

Following the program, the Florence Griswold Museum welcomed guests to view Their Kindred Earth: Photographs by William Earle Williams on its closing day. Drawn by his interest in the Witness Stones Project, Williams became the museum’s third artist-in-residence and made stunning photographs that reveal historic sites of enslavement in Old Lyme and elsewhere in Connecticut.

Witness Stones Old Lyme

Between 1670 and 1826 at least 300 enslaved and indentured African Americans and Native Americans labored in the historic town of Lyme.

Today, Witness Stones honor the humanity and the contributions of vital members of our community. The bronze plaques that mark sites of enslavement on Lyme Street restore forgotten history and serve as memorials to those once held here in bondage. 

Each of the 60 Witness Stone placed on Lyme Street, McCurdy Road, Old Shore Road, the Sill Lane Green and at the Lyme Public Library includes the name of an enslaved individual, along with details about their lives and circumstances derived from land records, emancipation certificates, and other available historical documents.

An interpretive sign installed on the lawn of the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library provides a map showing the locations of the small brass plaques that are installed flush with the ground on Lyme Street and elsewhere in the community.

For more information about the Witness Stones Project in Old Lyme, visit the Witness Stones Old Lyme website: https://www.witnessstonesoldlyme.org/

Editor’s Note: Liz Frankel is a member of the Witness Stones Old Lyme Committee.

Photographer Beth Green’s ‘Impressions of Connecticut’ on View at Saint Ann’s Through Labor Day

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Beth Green

OLD LYME –Photographer Beth Green’s Impressions of Connecticut exhibit will run at Saint Ann’s Episcopal Church through Labor Day. 

The exhibit, located in the church’s Griswold Room, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sundays from 8 a.m. to noon. 

The church in a press release said the show focuses on scenes of shoreline Connecticut and the Connecticut River Valley, from a bend in the Lieutenant River, to a red barn in snow, to sunlight on the Long Island Sound. 

It also includes several of her iconic sports photographs from the 1970s, when Green became known as the first female photographer allowed in a professional sports locker room. 

A printed guide to the show includes a QR code for each photograph leading to audio narration by Green. All the photographs are available for sale.

Green’s career includes work as a photographer for international wire services and then as a photo editor for Newsweek magazine. After a decade with the magazine, she switched to architectural and corporate photography with a continued focus on using her photography skills to tell stories from a female perspective. 

Green describes herself as a “a very traditional photographer” from the world of film and large format photography. 

“With the advent of digital photography, the use of digital manipulations in my work is minimal,” she said. “I believe in the play of light on the subject to create my images. I crop entirely in my camera and turn my camera on the world around me as it exists. Light is my paintbrush and is the tool for my artistic license. My main interest is the image as it is in the world at that moment. There is nothing new in the world, it is how you arrange it in your viewfinder and capture the image forever at that moment.”

Green has served as a guest professor at Rutgers University and Fordham University, and has taught for the New York Institute of Photography.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the church.

Three New Spring Exhibitions on View at Lyme Art Association Through May 29

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“Sunflowers for Ukraine,” an oil painting by Blanche Serban, will run as part of the “Sunflower’s Bloom” exhibition at the Lyme Art Association, April 18 through May 29.

OLD LYME – The spring season brings three exhibitions to the Lyme Art Association (LAA) beginning April 18. An Opening Reception will be held Friday, April 25, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Sunflower’s Bloom; Ship to Shore: A Marine Show; and Stillness: A Still Life, run through May 29 at the LAA gallery, 90 Lyme Street. 

The association in a press release said Sunflower’s Bloom is a juried exhibition dedicated to supporting Ukraine and its people. With the sunflower—Ukraine’s national flower—as its guiding symbol, the show highlights themes of resilience, hope, and beauty that flourishes even in adversity. All entry fees will be donated to UNICEF to aid Ukrainian children and families, and a portion of sales commissions from the exhibition will also contribute to this effort. 

The show is juried by Jenny Parsons, curator at the Florence Griswold Museum.

Ship to Shore: A Marine Show, will be juried by acclaimed marine artist Sergio Roffo. It features a range of subjects from tranquil harbors to turbulent seas.

Stillness: A Still Life is a juried show overseen by artist Justin Wiest. Inspired by the introspective nature of still life painting, the exhibition invites artists to capture the quiet beauty of everyday objects, offering viewers a moment of reflection amid life’s fast pace.

LAA Executive Director Elsbeth Dowd said the three exhibitions showcase artistic excellence and serves a greater purpose.

“With Sunflower’s Bloom, we are using art as a means to provide tangible support for those in need, while Ship to Shore and Stillness highlight the artistic traditions that LAA has long celebrated,” Dowd said. 

The gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information on upcoming shows, educational programs, and special events, visit LymeArtAssociation.org or contact Elsbeth Dowd at elsbeth@lymeartassociation.org.

Founded in 1914 by the American Impressionists, the LAA continues the tradition of exhibiting and selling representational artwork by its members and invited artists, as well as offering art instruction, lectures, and other public programs to the community.