A Party In The Woods … At The Top of A Mill

Go to the hamlet of Wassaic, N.Y., climb to the top of the Maxon Mills, the home of year-round artist colony The Wassaic Project, up seven flights of stairs showcasing the summer exhibition titled “Counting the Seconds Between Lightning and Thunder” and you will be thoroughly rewarded. Danielle Klebes, a young painter from North Adams, Mass., who also works as The Wassaic Project’s programming coordinator, has created something exceptional for the area in her fully immersive installation piece, aptly titled, “Seventh Floor Walk-Up.”

In an artist statement, Klebes describes her inspiration coming from a weekend rental at a “colorful man-cave.” “I felt an inexplicable sense of ownership and pride for that apartment. There was something so funny to me about a queer female and her queer friends existing in that stereotypically masculine space.”

On view through Sept. 16, Klebes recreates the convivial scene of lounging twenty-somethings in a three-dimensional optical illusion, with painted wooden cut-outs that imbue the room with a frenzied, live-in sense of clutter. Following the path of pop singers like Lana Del Rey or Ethel Cain, the friction between east coast indie sleaze and the iconography of working-class Americana melds into a poetic harmony as Klebes’ wry humor marries gas station Coors Light with alt-girl summer. Animal skulls and mounted deer heads hang as wall decor next to a vanity license plate that reads “ASSMAN,” but look to the bookshelf and you’ll find more sensitive book club reading, like Ottessa Moshfegh’s “My Year of Rest And Relaxation” and Michelle Zauner’s memoir “Crying in H Mart.” Vintage copies of Playboy are stacked next to the dizzying graphics of microbrewery IPA cans.

In her soft yet saturated palette, Klebes tenderly depicts her gang of bright-eyed individuals, tattoos across their warm skin, dark thrifted clothing wrinkled and paint-splattered. In her inviting world is the spirit of play and curiosity, as well as surprising pangs of emotional storytelling — the connection of friendship, and the way the strangest of trips, in the unlikeliest spots, takes on a real-time daydream nostalgia when you’re sparking up with your buds over a beer.

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Latest News

Racecars roar in NASCAR’s return to Lime Rock Park

High-speed action made for a weekend of excitement at Lime Rock Park Friday and Saturday, June 27-28.

Photo by Simon Markow

LAKEVILLE — For the first time since 2011, Lime Rock Park hosted National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing events June 27 and 28.

It was billed as the largest event in modern track history with an estimated 20,000 fans attending.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joseph Robert Meehan

SALISBURY — Joseph Robert Meehan the 2nd,photographer, college professor and nearly 50 year resident of Salisbury, passed away peacefully at Noble Horizon on June 17, 2025. He was 83.

He was the son of Joseph Meehan the 1st and his mother, Anna Burawa of Levittown, New York, and sister Joanne, of Montgomery, New York.

Keep ReadingShow less
Florence Olive Zutter Murphy

STANFORDVILLE, New York — It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Florence Olive Zutter Murphy, who went home to be with the Lord on June 16, 2025, at the age of 99.

She was born in Sharon, Connecticut on Nov. 20, 1925, and was a long time resident of the Dutchess County area.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chore Service hosts annual garden party fundraiser

Chore Service hosted 250 supporters at it’s annual Garden Party fundraiser.

Bob Ellwood

On Saturday, June 21, Mort Klaus, longtime Sharon resident, hosted 250 enthusiastic supporters of Northwest Corner’s beloved nonprofit, Chore Service at his stunning 175-acre property. Chore Service provides essential non-medical support to help older adults and those with disabilities maintain their independence and quality of life in their own homes.

Jane MacLaren, Executive Director, and Dolores Perotti, Board President, personally welcomed arriving attendees. The well-stocked bar and enticing hors d’oeuvres table were popular destinations as the crowd waited for the afternoon’s presentations.

Keep ReadingShow less