John Frederick Walker is an author of note: His “Ivory’s Ghosts,” a passionate history of ivory and the slaughter of elephant herds over the centuries, was a best seller. Walker is also a visual artist, and an exhibition combining both of his interests opens June 5 at Ober Gallery in Kent. In “Bookworks,” Walker has altered old books and journals to tell new stories, recall old ones and give entirely different meanings to the originals. Because Walker has long been obsessed with multipanel work — diptych, triptych — the book gutter divides two panels on which to tell his new narratives or hint at hidden meanings. Especially touching is an open book with two elephants, each bound with chains, one on each side of the gutter. They are stoical, sad and frightened. Another arresting piece is a black book splayed with its board covers and red spine facing us. Through jagged trapezoidal cutouts the same young face — nose, open, red-lipped mouth, one pink cheek only — shows through on each side. Is the face boy or girl; is the mouth singing or screaming? These pieces are worth a visit. Over at The Morrison Gallery, also in Kent, another multi-artist show will end its run on June 11. The most dramatic and accessible pieces are by Warner Friedman and his wife, Janet Rickus. Friedman paints the outside from the inside: landscape or sea or outdoor scenes are always viewed through man-made structures. In “Blue Pier,” the water is framed by a box of weathered wood with a plank floor. As usual the canvas itself has been shaped to give a sense of depth and dimension. Rickus paints meticulous, colorful and often luminous still lifes. They are always seen from eye level and often arranged on white table linen. Her fruits and vegetables, frequent subjects, are intensely real and positioned so that they relate, almost seem to communicate. They are also quite sensual: Ober Gallery is at 6 North Main St. in Kent; 860-927-5030; www.obergallery.com The Morrison Gallery is 8 Old Barn Road in Kent, 860-927-4501 or www.themorrisongallery.com
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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