Can Art Take On The Pain of Gun Violence?

Two new exhibitions at Five Points in Torrington, Conn., are tackling the intersection of children and American gun violence. Outdoors on the campus of Five Points Arts Center artists Martha Lewis and Margaret Roleke are making a bold stance on the lawn with a crucifixion-shaped figure constructed in multicolored empty shotgun shells which almost look like Christmas bulbs or sprinkles, child-like in their bright, candy-color paint coating. Margaret Roleke's attention-grabbing work has previously included the silkscreen series "Fired" at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven, Conn., a rallying cry in the form of visual collages that combined images of Donald Trump, Disney animals, shooting range targets and the imagery of the NRA's eagle mascot. Roleke has spoken about being connected to families who lost children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and in 2019 at the New York City art fair Spring/Break, she was told she had to remove an image of then-President Trump surrounded by a barrage of falling handguns from the window which faced Trump World Tower from the second floor of 866 United Nations Plaza, where the fair took place.

At Five Point Gallery's East Gallery, Peter Brown is now showing a provocative and nightmarish series of pinhole camera and flatbed scanner images, that he wrote in an artist statement, "portray perceptions/memories from a past personal traumatic/dramatic episode in my life, an armed home invasion." Like Roleke's work, Brown juxtaposes handguns, bullet shells, and sniper targets with eerie, warped depictions of childhood playthings. The child's room is invaded not just speciously by the presence of violence, but psychologically, the teddy bears, dolls, and even Jim Henson's Kermit the Frog take on a fearful, warped blend of anxiety and shock, and perhaps even a perverse, taunting glee.

"Thoughts and Prayers," a collaborative outdoor installation by Margaret Roleke and Martha Willette Lewis will have an opening reception on Saturday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. Peter Brown will discuss "Disguises: Put Your Hands Up" in person on Friday, Aug. 18, at 6:30 p.m.