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The Private Rooms of Painters

The Private Rooms of Painters
Juried show winner Colleen McGuire 
Photo by Leila Hawken

The local art scene was well represented at the opening of the latest juried exhibit at the Sharon Historical Society in Sharon, Conn., on Saturday, May 13. The show is titled “A Room of One’s Own.”

At first look, each piece of art interprets the show’s title from a vastly different perspective, but the sense of community felt among the artists and friends who gathered in celebration brought the show together. The historical society gallery had become a room belonging to the town.

Fifteen artists had submitted a total of 27 works to the exhibit that was judged by Jack Geary of Millerton, N.Y., who moved the contemporary art gallery, simply called Geary, he owns with his wife Dolly Bross Geary, from New York City's Lower East Side to Millerton’s Main Street in 2022.

Winning First Prize in the show was Colleen McGuire’s “Still Life with Fishbowl,” an oil on wood panel, depicting an invitingly private home space containing an aquarium with two goldfish in the foreground.

“I’m very honored and appreciative of the historical society supporting local artists. When I learned the theme, I knew I had to enter this piece. It’s a personal space,” McGuire said.

The second prize went to “Bath,” an acrylic on wood panel painted by E. Tilly Strauss, and the third went to “Morning Milking," an oil by Wayne Jenkins.

The Crowd Pleaser award, by a vote of those in attendance, was won by Laura Polirer for her “Shoes,” an acrylic on rag matboard.

On view at The Sharon Historical Society through July 7.

Leila Hawken

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