Art and Snarls

There’s one gallery in Brattleboro which stands out, way ahead of all others. It’s not only a crafts gallery, selling wonderful wares by Vermont artisans (tremendous as they mostly are), this joint’s a fabulous melding of shop and high end art gallery. I found the MOST inspiring, thought provoking pieces there.

Sadly, the owner wouldn’t allow me to snap any pics but please DO check out the links. These artists are fabulous times 12. At the least.

Jen and I walked in the door and, directly in front of us was a great wall of Gwen Murphy’s shoe sculpture portraits -- hip yet funnily reminiscent of, maybe, the language and tone of a Jane Austen or Virginia Wolf . Yeah, you read that right. Go to the link and check her out -- fabulous stuff! I’ll wait right here. Yes, I promise.

Back? Way fucking cool stuff, n'est-ce pas?

Next we came upon the strange and beguiling sculptures of David Adix. I’d seen his work and fallen in love with it on last year’s Brattleboro visit with Helen.

A description from Mister Adix’s Flickr page:

The most consistent element throughout my work is the salvation and reuse of materials. I regard the components I use as a fossile-like evidence of what humans leave behind. Each has a story and a history unique unto itself. I choose materials I use because I enjoy the challenge of creating beauty out of what has been discarded. I see these components very organically. To me they are beautiful vestiges of time.

Honestly, you have to see these strange beauties up close -- be in the same room with one -- to truly feel the wild, ripping emotive force and crazy, creepy joy. They’re awesome in the truest sense of that word versus that hyperbole high with which I usually rock it.
Also too -- you can commission him to create one of these babies all personal-like (more info at the link). Imagine that -- like having your very own, current day John Singer Sargent-esque portrait of you, your Amazing Bob/Jen/Oni/Celeste/Sean or whoev.

This gallery carries Lydia Grey’s pottery -- funny, whimsical yet harsh or maybe lonely is a better adjective for some of the pieces.

Strangely and sadly placed in a basement space, I found Wendy Cross’ paintings. They were eerie, colorful and primitive yet not at all. Not naive like a Grandma Moses (who, by the by, is from Hoosick Falls!) but artless in a very artful way.

The three pics at right are from the wonderful Brattleboro Museum’s Red Groom’s exhibit. I'd not seen any of these pieces before -- a def treat.

Also discovered there were the pastels of Mallory Lake. When I think ‘pastel,’ soft, pretty colors, hazy outlines, a whole Monet-and-those-waterlilies vibe is conjured. Nope, these pieces are all film noir-ish trains, lonely library marble hallways, night and fog. Wow plus.

LOVE this museum. Last time there I was utterly transported, hit hard over the head by the museum’s show of Stephen Hannock’s work (2 paintings at left).

The joint is way solid about introducing me to artists who I really need to know.

Lemme just close with this -- I didn’t mention the name of the gallery with all the cool work (some blah stuff too but mostly all wickedly fab-ola) for one reason only.

Upon being asked if I could take pics (to accompany this post), the middle aged and deceptively kind looking owner, became tremendously condescending. her reply was more of a ‘no, you can’t, you presumptuous, unfashionable, filthy nobody’ than an actual rejection of my polite, smiling request.

OK, there’s more. Afterward, she followed me around the three gallery floors -- not asking if I needed help or wanted to know more about a particular artist. Nooooo! She stayed by the door watching me. Observing. Like I was some kind of criminal who’d pocket a five foot tall David Adix sculpture and make a break for the back door.

Then, even more odd, she told Jen to inform me NOT to write down artists’ names as I walked about, goggling over all the cool shit.

The hell? Why not speak directly to me? I imagine she’s never met a deafie before and was at a total loss as to how to communicate with something so alien.

I guess. Poor sheltered, stupid git.

Possibly, I scared her with my dismissive snarl when she got all uppish with me. I prefer that tableau.