\n7 Center Street
\nBrandon 05733
\n(802) 247-4956<\/p>\n
Hours:
\nTuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM
\nSunday, 10AM-4PM<\/p>\n
MAP<\/a> | WEBSITE\u00a0<\/a>| FACEBOOK<\/a><\/p>\n The Brandon Artists Guild is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a series of themed exhibits honoring our planet. The series runs from March through October with “Art of the Earth” as the first in the series.<\/p>\n The exhibit series represents a departure for the 20-year-old Artists Guild. “Rather than having our traditional single-artist exhibits, we decided to invite all our exhibiting members to contribute to four group shows based on a single theme,” says artist Judith Reilly, “and what better subject than the Earth, where we draw our inspiration from?”<\/p>\n This year is also the Chinese Year of the Pig, which ties into the BAG\u2019s history. In 2003, the Guild\u2019s first public art fundraiser, “The Really Really Pig Show,” caught the public\u2019s attention and put the young Brandon Artists Guild on the road to its current success. “We owe a lot to the pigs,” says Reilly.<\/p>\n The Year of the Pig also recognizes nature\u2019s elements, Earth, Wood, Water, and Fire. The BAG will devote its four exhibits to these elements. The “Art of the Earth” exhibit includes pottery by guest artist Amanda Ann Palmer.<\/p>\n (text adapted from the venue\u2019s press materials)<\/em><\/p>\n Image:<\/strong> Earth Appreciation<\/em> by Judith Reilly (fabric). Courtesy of the artist.<\/p>\n \u201cReinventing the View\u201d is a solo show of new work by artist and illustrator Ashley Wolff. Wolff has built a devoted following with her colorful watercolors, gouache paintings and children\u2019s book illustrations. The vibrant, celebratory pieces she has selected for “Reinventing the View” stem from a more personal source.<\/p>\n \u201cI chose the title, ‘Reinventing the View’, to mark being back in my home state of Vermont, but without either parent,\u201d Wolff said. \u201cAfter 34 years in California, I returned to live close to my mother. The lush bouquets of flowers painted in gouache are an outpouring of emotion following Mom\u2019s death in May. She loved saturated color and anything purple.\u201d<\/p>\n The other half of the show includes transparent watercolors. \u201cIt\u2019s a medium I first learned and practiced with my father, who died 30 years ago,\u201d says Ashley. \u201cSo it appears, without conscious planning, that I\u2019m honoring both parents with work they would have loved if they could be here.\u201d<\/p>\n (text adapted from the venue\u2019s press materials)<\/em><\/p>\n Images:<\/strong> “Fabrications in Clay” is a solo show of ceramic work by Guild member Deborah Goodwin, who lives in Stockbridge.<\/p>\n If Deborah\u2019s pieces resemble fabric, there\u2019s a good reason. \u201cI\u2019ve borrowed techniques from apparel manufacturing,\u201d explains the former fashion merchandiser, \u201cmaking a pattern and embossing clay slabs with fabric textures.\u201d The combination of supple fabric details and hard clay makes a comfortable, casual fit. \u201cAll my pieces are functional, with a, hopefully, fun twist,\u201d Deborah adds.<\/p>\n Deborah brings her fresh, tactile approach to familiar forms like platters, pitchers, ginger jars and serving ware. Strata,the largest piece in the BAG show, is a series of nine interconnected tiles, or trivets. \u201cI envisioned each trivet as an individual work but wanted the textures and colors to flow throughout the whole installation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Deborah holds a BFA in ceramics and sculpture from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. She discovered the Brandon Artists Guild during vacations in Vermont while working as a clothing designer in New York. In 2007, she and her family moved to Vermont and she rekindled her passion for ceramics. She joined the Brandon Artists Guild as an exhibiting member in 2017.<\/p>\n (text adapted from the venue\u2019s press materials)<\/em><\/p>\n Image:<\/strong> Dave Fifield grew up in Vermont and graduated from UVM, where he studied audio art and philosophy. He became interested in abstract art almost as soon as he started taking courses.<\/p>\n Fifield said, \u201cI am fascinated by the infinite possibilities of abstract art. I almost feel like it\u2019s more about discovery than creation. Not knowing how a particular painting is going to resolve is what is exciting about it. There is a freedom and wonder to the process that can be very satisfying. ‘Head in the clouds’ felt like a good phrase to encapsulate the work. It describes the work in several ways. First of all, some of the paintings look cloudy, as if peering out of an airplane window, seeing through the mist to discover unknown landscapes. It also describes where I like to be mentally when I\u2019m painting, in the clouds so to speak where imagination is least restricted. Also, I often find myself looking at cloud formations, which can be quite interesting, and they seem to just happen without obvious structure or planning, and for me that\u2019s a metaphor for how I like to work.\u201d<\/p>\n (text adapted from the venue\u2019s press materials)<\/em><\/p>\n Image:<\/strong> “Farm to Table” presents works in pastel by Middlebury artists Judy Albright and Cristine Kossow. Vintage tools, stacks of produce, farm animals–these are the Vermont staples from which Kossow and Albright draw inspiration.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m generally a still-life painter, says Kossow, \u201cbut when I came to Vermont I got so excited about cows, chickens, pigs. I love to paint cows.\u201d Relocating from the Hudson Valley, she finds no shortage of subjects in the Green Mountain State. A Parsons-trained graphic designer, Kossow rekindled her love of painting when she received a box of pastels as a birthday gift. \u201cI remembered my cousin, Judy, is a pastel artist,\u201d Kossow explains, \u201cso we reconnected. Now we live across the street from each other and are having a joint show.\u201d<\/p>\n Judy Albright, who earned a master\u2019s in art and education at SUNY New Paltz, moved to Vermont from Connecticut about a year ago. In Middlebury, she paints and teaches pastels. \u201cThe Vermont arts community and the public have been very welcoming to Cris and me,\u201d says Albright. \u201cWe never expected to have this kind of exposure. Then again, we\u2019re not shy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe theme of ‘Art from Farm to Table\u2019 is our way of honoring the spirit of Vermont,” adds Kossow. \u201cWe\u2019re very motivated to create art here.\u201d<\/p>\n Judy Albright serves on the board of the Vermont Pastel Society. Cristine Kossow is on the board of governors of the Pastel Society of America. Their joint show will include existing work and several new pieces. This show is part of Vermont Arts 2018–a year-long celebration highlighting arts events across the state, sponsored by the Vermont Arts Council.<\/p>\n (text adapted from the venue\u2019s press materials)<\/em><\/p>\n Image:<\/strong> Courtesy of the artists and Brandon Artists Guild<\/p>\n The Brandon Artists Guild presents its annual show of new artwork by area K-12 students. This celebration of creativity from the schools gives students an exciting opportunity to have their work displayed in a professional gallery setting. The exhibit also provides the public a rare chance to see talented student work in a wide variety of styles and media, including sculpture, collage, and paint.<\/p>\n The show includes work from students at Barstow Memorial, Leicester Central, Lothrop Elementary, Neshobe Elementary, Otter Valley Union, Sudbury Country, and Whiting Elementary schools.<\/p>\n (text adapted from the venue\u2019s press materials)<\/em><\/p>\n Image:<\/strong> The Brandon Artists Guild celebrates one of its founders, Warren Kimble, with an exhibition featuring the universally appealing folk art that has made him famous since 1987. The twist is that the folk art imagery he presents with this exhibition is a new body of artwork. When asked what a current show at the Brandon Artists Guild means to him, Kimble said, \u201cI feel very invested in the Guild. I have an earnest desire to sustain its importance to the arts in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimble\u2019s beloved version of Americana–art that tells stories of a simple, less complicated era–is the genre for which he is most known. In recent years, however, the prolific artist has delved into other subjects with timely content, such as the Widows of War<\/em> installations, or with humor and satire (The House of Cards<\/em> collection). And he has continued his insatiable exploration of abstract images, both in painting (such as the \u201cCosmos\u201d series, relating to Earth and the Universe) and in sculpture–the masculine assemblages shown at Burlington\u2019s Frog Hollow in March 2017.<\/p>\n Now, to the delight of his many fans, this exhibition at the Brandon Artists Guild shows Warren Kimble in a current mood of nostalgia, once again painting his signature animal, barn, and homestead scenes on antique wooden boards and other found objects. The artist combines his love of New England painting, architecture, and artisan imagery and applies this considerable knowledge of antiques and artifacts to the creation of his visionary folk art. The delicate details, gentle humor, and whimsy speak to the child in all of us, offering a peaceful retreat into a serene fantasy world of olden times.<\/p>\n (text adapted from the venue\u2019s press materials)<\/em><\/p>\n Image:<\/strong> Vermont artists William Barnard and Richard Conrad both find inspiration from observing nature, sometimes with scientific precision.\u00a0Photographer Richard Conrad started taking pictures in New York City in the 1960s. A move to Vermont in 1995 changed his focus. \u201cI enjoy photographing Vermont\u2019s varied countryside throughout the year as well as its small towns and villages,\u201d says Conrad. \u201cI also enjoy garden photography. My wife is an avid gardener and landscape designer. We get to see and share our visited gardens from two entirely different perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a vertebrate ecologist,\u201d explains William Barnard. \u201cThe beginnings of my interest in art are reflected in the pages of my field notes.\u201d Like nature itself, Barnard\u2019s carved wooden fish, birds and other animals have evolved as he experiments with new techniques and media. \u201cMy early carvings were intended to be as realistic as my skills permitted, lately I\u2019ve done a few more abstract pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nART ON VIEW<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/judith-reilly-earth-appreciation.jpg\")
<\/p>\nArt of the Earth
\nMarch 1-April 30, 2019<\/h2>\n
\nPREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/paintings-by-ashley-wolff.jpg\")
<\/p>\nReinventing the View: Ashley Wolff
\nAugust 31-November 5, 2018<\/h2>\n
\nleft: Flowers by Ashley Wolff
\nright: Abstract by Ashley Wolff<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/platter_IMG_2013-web.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFabrications in Clay
\nJune 29-August 28, 2018<\/h2>\n
\nplatter by Deborah Goodwin
\nCourtesy of the artist and Brandon Artists Guild<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dave_Fifield_Untitled_Painting_2-web-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n“Head in the Clouds”: David Fifield
\nMay 4-June 26, 2018<\/h2>\n
\nuntitled painting by David Fifield
\nCourtesy of Brandon Artists Guild<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/farm-to-table.jpg\")
<\/p>\nArt from Farm to Table
\nMarch 2-April 30, 2018<\/h2>\n
\n(left) Hard Boiled<\/em> by Judy Albright (pastel)
\n(right) Milky Way<\/em> by Cristine Kossow (pastel)<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/winter-blaisdell-lothrop-school.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAnnual Student Art Show
\nFebruary 2-27, 2018<\/h2>\n
\nby Winter Blaisdell, Lothrop Elementary School, Pittsford
\nCourtesy of Brandon Artists Guild<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/warren-kimble-sheep-on-blue.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWarren Kimble: “Folk Art 2017”
\nJune 30-August 29, 2017<\/h2>\n
\nSheep on Blue<\/em>
\nby Warren Kimble<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/richard-conrad-at-bag.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFish, Fowl, & Flowers:
\nWilliam Barnard & Richard Conrad
\nMay 5-June 27, 2017<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vermontartguide.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/brandon-artist-guild.jpg\")
<\/p>\n