Destination: New Hampshire

NEW HAMPSHIRE

DESTINATION NEW HAMPSHIRE

Mary Graham, High Slopes of Mount Washington, oil on linen, 48 x 36”. At The Lakes Gallery at Chi-Lin.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE

DESTINATION NEW HAMPSHIRE

Mary Graham, High Slopes of Mount Washington, oil on linen, 48 x 36”. At The Lakes Gallery at Chi-Lin.

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or a small state, New Hampshire is a big draw for fine artists and those who appreciate their work. Its dramatic landscape has inspired artists for generations, from the White Mountain painters of the 19th century to American Impressionists drawn to paint the state’s rocky shores. Artists have long found a home here. The famed MacDowell Colony, the nation’s first artists’ colony, in the state’s Monadnock region, has welcomed hundreds of fine artists from Milton Avery to Carrie Mae Weems. Waiting to be explored are

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world-class art museums, university galleries and intimate artist studios all over the state (you can get an up-close peek at more than 100 artists’ and craftsmen’s studios during NH Open Doors, a statewide shopping and touring event presented by the League of NH Craftsmen, November 3 to 4).

Start your art tour of the Granite State in the Monadnock Region, named for its most distinctive natural landmark, Mount Monadnock.

The Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College, features exhibitions of works by

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local, national and international artists. Through December 6, the gallery features Mark Hogancamp: Women of Marwencol and Other Possible Histories, a photo-series by New York artist Hogancamp (see column on page 18). The intricate miniature settings he creates, customized with doll characters and photographed, tell stories of conflict, love and loss. “It’s a series of images which are Mark’s interpretation of the massacre of Allied prisoners during the Battle of the Bulge,” says gallery curator and director Brian Wallace. “It challenges all the ways we think we know history.” Also

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NEW HAMPSHIRE showing through December 6 is cLIck\CliQue: A Warhol Experience, an exhibition of the gallery’s collection of Andy Warhol photographs and Tell Him What We Said About “Paint It Black,” a group exhibition addressing the emotional complexities of adolescence and identity with works by emerging artists including Sue de Beer, Todd Bienvenu, Katherine Bradford, Andrew Brischler and Al Freeman.

Head northeast towards Manchester, the state’s largest city. One of the city’s top attractions is the Currier Museum of Art, featuring an internationally renowned collection of European and American art (as well as the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Zimmerman House, an amazing example of Wright’s Usonian architecture). Through January 2019, the Currier features Myth and

Faith in Renaissance Florence: The Sculpture of Giovan Angelo Montorsoli and his Circle, an exhibition inspired by a four-foot tall, 16th century Montorsoli sculpture of John the Baptist in the museum’s permanent collection.

A student of Michelangelo, Montorsoli is known for restoring two famous Roman sculptures in the Vatican: Laocoön and His Sons and the Apollo Belvedere. “The exhibit traces the symbolism of the John the Baptist sculpture, Montorsoli’s work with Michelangelo and how the ancient world shaped his art,” says exhibition curator Kurt Sundstrom. Also, at the museum through 2019 is Hauling, an installation of hand-drawn, panoramic murals by Ethan Murrow (see column on page 16); and The Blue Trees, an environmental community art installation by

artist Konstantin Dimopoulos that temporarily transforms trees in the area to a brilliant blue using environmentally-safe pigment.

A short drive from the Currier is Hanover Street, a vibrant commercial area near the historic Palace Theatre. Here you’ll find Kelley Stelling Contemporary, a cutting-edge art gallery focusing on works by a variety of compelling New England artists. From November 1 to December 1, the gallery presents We Used to Have Parties, a group exhibition inspired by a poem of the same name by Justin Marks. The show includes edgy cityscape paintings by John Bonner and Mike Howat as well as portraits by Patrick Cunha and Catherine Graffam. Opening December 6 is Food Porn, an exploration of women’s roles in the world through “traditionally female”

The sculpture of

GIOVAN ANGELO MONTORSOLI and his circle

Street Level Gallery Working Studio Workshops (see website) Commissions

October 13, 2018 to January 21, 2019

studioverne . com verne orlosk // 603.490.4321

81 hanover street // manchester, nh (across from the historic Palace Theatre) /vglassy_studioverne

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Myth and Faith in Renaissance Florence

Manchester, New Hampshire currier.org Image: Montorsoli, John the Baptist, 1530s.

Terracotta. Currier Museum of Art.

/verneorlosk

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NEW HAMPSHIRE crafts including papier-mâché, embroidery, beadwork and tapestry. “Everyone throws around the phrase ‘food porn’,” says gallery co-owner Bill Stelling. “Artists Julie Gray and Katie Commodore explore the term literally.”

Gray’s food tableaus include fake, papiermâché cookies and cheese plates. Commodore explores female sexuality through tapestry, beadwork, embroidery and even wallpaper.

Continue west on Hanover Street to Studioverne, the working studio and gallery of fused glass artist Verne Orlosk. A former instructor at the Currier Museum Art Center, Orlosk’s intricate glass pieces are shining examples of how the medium can be used (her most recent exhibit, Fall Footsteps, featured delicate, brilliantly colored fused glass leaves).

“Fused glass allows me to combine my fine

art background and create pieces that are painterly and sculptural,” she says. Visitors to Studioverne can watch her create while perusing the works she has for sale. Unlike blown glass, fused glass is heat-processed in a kiln. Orlosk explores the technique in-depth through workshops and classes. Her November classes focus on creating dichroic (two-color) glass snowflakes; on December 1, students can create a fused glass snowman ornament.

From Hanover Street, it’s a short drive to the McIninch Art Gallery at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). The newly renovated gallery features two exhibitions simultaneously running November 1 through December 15: Modernism and Its Legacy, curated

by Joanna Fink of Boston’s Alpha Gallery, and Nikki Rosato: Voyager. “Modernism coincides with

a course here at SNHU being taught by Dr. Vanessa Rocco, a scholar in modernism,” says Debbie Disston, director of the gallery. The show of paintings, sculpture and works on paper juxtaposes the works of early Modernists like Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann and Arthur Dove with contemporary artists influenced by the movement. Voyager features figurative works by Washington, D.C.-based artist Nikki Rosato, who takes traditional road maps and cuts out the spaces between the roads. “They’re intriguing,” says Disston, “because way-finding is an integral part of human nature.”

Cruise over to I-93 for the 20-minute drive north to Concord, the state capitol, and home to the headquarters of the League of NH Craftsmen, one of the country’s oldest craft organizations. The League promotes fine craft

New Hampshire Art Association Regional Artists / Exhibits Change Monthly

Autumn Morning -Renee Giffroy

136 State Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801 603-431-4230 / www.nhartassocation.org PEA055_artne_3E_Southern Open Tue-Thu 11-5, Fri-SatRites.qxp 11-7, Sun9/26/18 12-5 7:56 PM Page 1

Arthur Dove, Landscape, 1933, watercolor, 7 x 5".

At The McIninch Art Gallery.

SOUT H E R N

RIT ES GILLIAN LAUB

OCTOBER 25 – DECEMBER 15, 2018 RECEPTION: Thursday, October 25, 5-7pm

Lamont Gallery Phillips Exeter Academy Southern Rites is organized by the International Center of Photography, New York The Lamont Gallery showing of Southern Rites is supported by Marina and Andrew E. Lewin © Gillian Laub, Amber and Reggie, Mount Vernon, Georgia, 2011, Inkjet Print. All images courtesy of Benrubi Gallery

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NEW HAMPSHIRE and craftspeople through its eight galleries around the state and during its Annual Craftsmen’s Fair, which features the work of more than 300 juried craftsmen in a beautiful outdoor setting on Lake Sunapee. Through December 21, the gallery at the League’s Concord headquarters features Head to Toe, an exhibition of one-of-a-kind clothing and accessories, including jewelry, belts, bags and hats. Visitors can also take a tour through the state’s history of craft, from 1932 to the present, through the Grodin Permanent Collection Museum. Named for a prominent donor, Edith Grodin, the museum features works by League members including potters Vivika and Otto Heino, woodworkers Melvin and Mark Lindquist and potters Edwin and Mary Scheier.

As you leave Concord, be sure to drive

through downtown, along Main Street. The thoroughfare is dotted with public art, including sculpture by Gillian Christy, Murray Dewart, the late Beverly Benson Seamans, Rob Lorenson and others. Local artist Pam Tarbell worked with the city to choose the pieces; sculpture is one of her passions. A stop at Tarbell’s Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden, a short drive west of Concord, is a must. Established in 1996, the gallery shows original paintings, prints, photographs, pottery and more. Outdoors, the focus is on sculpture: a year-round sculpture garden features more than 20 works by a variety of New England artists. Through December 24, the gallery’s Fall Art Exhibit features paintings by Tarbell as well as Stephanie Bush, Dustan Knight and Soo Rye Yoo. Also in the galleries is a bronze by Michael

Alfano and a carved dolomite marble sculpture

by Josie Campbell Dellenbaugh.

Take I-89 north to the Upper River Valley, named for the Connecticut River which runs along New Hampshire’s western border with Vermont. Drive into Lebanon to the AVA Gallery and Art Center. Located in a former factory building, the AVA Gallery serves both New Hampshire and Vermont residents through its exhibitions and educational programs. The gallery’s second annual 10 x 10 Exhibition and Fundraiser, featuring 10-x-10-inch paintings donated by regional artists, concludes on November 9, with a sale of works in the show. On December 1, the gallery hosts its annual open house, with demonstrations in metalworking, ceramics, stone carving and woodworking. It’s held in conjunction with

Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden Featured: Katie Commodore Tapestry

Fine Art and Fine Crafts

236 Hopkinton Road, Concord, NH 03301 Tues–Sun 11–5 or by appointment www.themillbrookgallery.com

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH ART. year round exhibitions classes and workshops for all ages and abilities innovative community programs live storytelling

221 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH

11 BANK STREET, LEBANON, NH P AVAGALLERY.ORG

kelleystellingcontemporary.com

NEW HAMPSHIRE MADE GIFTS

Shop our fine craft galleries located throughout New Hampshire Concord • Hanover Hooksett • Littleton • Meredith Nashua • North Conway Center Sandwich

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an exhibit of Prints & Drawings, 10/19 - 12/1

M att B rown F ine a rt

Or shop online at nhcrafts.org/webstore

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Ocean Song II, color woodblock print, 11” x 15”

Mary Mead: Forces oF Land and sea 1 Main St. Lyme, NH mbrownfa.com, 603-795-4855 Gallery open Fridays & Sats, 11 - 6 pm

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NEW HAMPSHIRE the gallery’s annual holiday exhibition and sale, offering visitors an opportunity to purchase artwork in all media, from handmade ornaments to fine jewelry, hand-crafted by AVA members.

Hop on Route 120 in Lebanon, then take Route 10 north, one of the state’s most scenic roads, to Lyme, a rural community on the Connecticut River. On the town common is Matt Brown Fine Art, a former artists’ cooperative that now shows and sells works exclusively by current (and former) residents of Lyme and nearby Thetford, VT. In addition to showcasing and selling Brown’s work—he creates woodblock prints in the Japanese hanga method and collects and sells kabuki actor prints by Japanese print designer Utagawa Kunisada—through December 1, the gallery

features Mary Mead: Forces of Land and Sea. The exhibit features prints and drawings by Mead, a former Lyme resident who is a woodcut printer. “Mary is a surfer and the show is shaped by her sensibilities as a surfer,” says Brown. “The show has to do with water and movement, reflecting the constancy of movement and change.”

Continue on Route 10, then meander over to Route 25 and head east towards the college community of Plymouth, in the foothills of the White Mountains. The aptly named Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University explores the history and culture of the state’s White Mountain region. Through December 12, the museum highlights its own collection in Spotlight on the Museum Collection: Sharing the Mountains. “This is a historical

overview,” says director Cynthia C. Robinson.

“It looks at how people have shared the White Mountain landscape, through viewbooks, photographs, glass plate negatives and a variety of materials.” Also, on view November 7 to December 12 is FRESH: Work by PSU Art Faculty. Representing a variety of mediums from graphic design to ceramics, painting and drawing, the show features the innovative work of Plymouth State faculty members.

From Plymouth, continue north on I-93 through the heart of Franconia Notch to the town of Bethlehem. The quaint town’s proximity to the mountains and area ski resorts makes it a year-round destination as well as a retreat for artists and musicians. A cornerstone is the Colonial Theatre, one of the oldest continuously operated movie theaters in the

SINCE 1915

Contemporary New England & Asian Art

THE LAKES GALLERY AT CHI-LIN Mark Hogancamp, Marwencol (detail), digital photograph; image courtesy One Mile Gallery.

Mark Hogancamp, Marwencol (detail), digital photograph; image courtesy One Mile Gallery.

cLIck\CliQue: A Warhol Experience installation view; image courtesy Al Karevy.

Andrew Brischler, Promises, Promises (Lavender and Grape Study), colored pencil on paper; image courtesy Gavlak Gallery.

cLIck\CliQue: A Warhol Experience installation view; image courtesy Al Karevy.

Promises, Promises (Lavender TH O R N E-SAG EN DO R P H A R T Andrew G A Brischler, L LERY and Grape Study), colored pencil on paper; image courtesy Gavlak Gallery.

Your Cultural Center in the White Mountains

TH O R N E-SAG EN DO R P H THORNE-SAGENDORPH ART GALLERY

(603) 358-2720 THORNE@kEENE.EDu

6 0 3 - 55 6 -9 3 8 4

kEENE.EDu/TSAG

thelakesgallery. c om

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A R T G A L LERY

Featuring national touring artists, independent feature films, film festivals & series, children’s programs, community events, and much more— from May through October.

MAIN STREET, BETHLEHEM, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Stay up to date at BethlehemColonial.org

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NEW HAMPSHIRE U.S. Open since 1915, the theater was built to serve the once-booming “Grand Hotel” industry.

“Hollywood studios used to test their films here because Bethlehem was one of the largest summer resort communities in the Northeast,” says Stephen Dignazio, executive director of the Colonial. A newly completed $800,000 renovation has made the theater a state-of-theart venue to enjoy live music and performances as well as movies.

It’s a short 10-minute drive from Bethlehem to the town of Littleton, near the Vermont border. New Hampshire’s public radio station once noted that Littleton is becoming “younger and hipper.” One indicator may be the popularity of the Littleton Studio School, operated in partnership with the League of NH Craftsmen.

With a mission to be “a center for creative

FRIENDS | ART | LEARNING littletonstudioschool.org

Our vision is to be an inspiration for artistic growth and a center for creative expression.

23 AMMONOOSUC

23 Ammonoosuc St., Littleton, NH 03861 (603) 444-1066 info@littletonstudioschool.org

expression,” the school offers students of all ages a range of hands-on art opportunities from ceramics and painting to basket weaving, jewelry making, and felting; many of the classes are taught by juried members of the League of NH Craftsmen. The school’s new location, a stone’s throw from the Ammonoosuc River, also has ample studio space, as well as a lobby to exhibit student artwork. On December 8, the school presents its 10th annual holiday student and instructor sale, featuring cards, pottery, jewelry, metalwork and more by artists of all ages.

Now that you’ve explored the White Mountains, head back south on I-93 to the Lakes Region, named for the area’s four scenic lakes: Lake Winnipesaukee, Lake Winnisquam, Squam Lake and Newfound Lake. Close to Lake Winnisquam in a 1780 farmhouse is The Lakes

Gallery at Chi-Lin. Owned by artist and poet Suzanne Lee, the gallery presents The Curvature of Light & Water (November 3–December 16).

The exhibit highlights monoprints by New Hampshire artist Maryellen Sakura; limitededition woodblock prints by Boston artist Sachiko Furui; and woodblock prints by Deborah Weiss, an artist from Connecticut.

“Deborah’s work is focused on water and its atmospherics,” says Lee. “The textural parts of Maryellen’s work come from water and Sachiko’s prints mostly feature water elements affected by light.” Lee also hosts poetry readings in the gallery throughout the year.

Next, drive southeast to the Seacoast, New Hampshire’s much-beloved 18 miles of coastline. First stop is the historic town of Exeter, the state’s capital during the American

FORM + FUNCTION ARTISAN FAIR Saturday November 17 Sunday November 18

Find inspired gifts for you and yours this holiday season.

10am - 4pm Free to attend

Featuring 25+ artisans in the Gallery, Performance Space, and Lobby at 3S Artspace.

Unique and handcrafted textiles, housewares, jewelry, metal work, accessories, ceramics, prints, and more!

319 Vaughan Street, Portsmouth, NH

For more info about form + function and upcoming Gallery exhibits, visit 3sarts.org.

The McIninch Art Gallery Modernism and its Legacy

Curated by Joanna Fink, Director, Alpha Gallery, Boston

Nikki Rosato: Voyager

Curated by Matthew Weldon Showman | Director, Johnathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA

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2500 N River Rd Manchester, NH 03106 603.629.4622 www.snhu.edu/art

November 1 through December 15, 2018

Gallery Hours Mon. through Sat., 10am to 3pm and Thurs., 5 to 8pm

Left Image: Suzanne Hodes, Broadway Boogie-Woogie with Cabbages (Detail), 2009, acrylic, collage & oil on paper, 22” x 30” Right Image: Nikki Rosato, Maggie, St. Mary’s County, MD, (Detail), Hand-cut Road Map. Images courtesy of the artists and Johnathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA.

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Opening Receptions: Thursday, November 1, 5 to 7pm

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NEW HAMPSHIRE Revolution, and the Lamont Gallery, a non-profit art gallery on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy. Through December 15, the gallery features Southern Rites, an evocative exhibition by photojournalist Gillian Laub. The show, which showcases Laub’s skills as photographer, filmmaker, storyteller and visual activist, documents teen life in Mount Vernon, GA, and examines the realities of racism and segregation. “The show explores youth experience in rural Georgia,” says Wes LaFountain, the Lamont Gallery’s interim director and curator. “Our English faculty (at Phillips Exeter) is using the show as a starting point for discussions about racial justice. It’s great to teach from.”

From Exeter, it’s a short drive to the charming coastal town of Portsmouth. A city that prides itself on its fine art, historic and cultural happenings, Portsmouth also energetically embraces the holidays with a month-long celebration of its historic sites, vibrant theater scene and shopping. One of the city’s cultural hubs is 3S Artspace, a nonprofit arts and entertainment space that features a variety of interesting community events. From November 23 to December 30, in its art gallery, 3S hosts Rock/Paper/Scissors, an exhibition pairing abstract fiber micro/macro “environments”—called the Universal Forest—of Juliet Karelsen alongside layered paper cutouts by Dylan Metrano. 3S also hosts its first-ever form+function Artisan Fair November 17 to 18, a holiday shopping showcase featuring unique, hand-crafted textiles, housewares, jewelry, metal work, ceramics, prints by artists from Maine and New Hampshire.

Take a short walk from 3S through downtown Portsmouth to the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, operated by the New Hampshire Art Association (NHAA). The gallery offers the largest selection of original art by regional artists on the New Hampshire Seacoast. Founded in 1940, the NHAA has 300 juried artist members from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, representing mediums such as painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and mixed media. The Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery is open year-round; NHAA also shows member works seasonally at the Sheafe Warehouse in Portsmouth’s Prescott Park and at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair in Sunapee. At the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery through December 2 is the 19th Annual

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Joan L. Dunfey Open Juried Exhibition, featuring the works of more than 50 NHAA members and area artists in a variety of mediums reflecting the theme “Unforgotten.” On November 16, NHAA hosts an on-site auction of member works.

Despite its small size, New Hampshire offers day trippers, weekenders and back-road-artexplorers a wealth of art experiences. From

intimate artists’ galleries and studios to the world-renowned collections of the Currier Museum of Art and area colleges, the state’s art history closely mirrors its rich culture and distinctive landscape. In this instance, the saying “great things come in small packages” rings true.

—Debbie Kane

Konstantin Dimopoulos, The Blue Trees, 2018, environmentally safe pigment on trees, installed at the Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH. Photo: Alana Johanson.

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