Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Paint and pour-overs: art and coffee return to Falls Village

Paint and pour-overs: art and coffee return to Falls Village

Passages #3 by ErickJohnson (oil on paper).

Provided

When the Furnace – Art on Paper Archive opens “Passages,” Erick Johnson’s first solo exhibition at the Falls Village gallery, it won’t just be the art that beckons. The coffee will once again be flowing from the café next door.

“There’s a door right into the café,” said gallery director and artist Kathleen Kucka, walking into the adjoining room. “The opening will spill in there. It always does.” The Falls Village Café closed in October, much to Kucka’s dismay, but is set to reopen as Off the Trail Café.

“Without the café,” Kucka said, “it just didn’t work. Not to mention my own hunger. So Ijust closed for the winter, which actually worked out really well.” With the reopening, there is a revived enthusiasm fueled by art and caffeine.

Johnson’s paintings and works on paper that ripple with color mark a bold step forward for the artist. While his abstractions have long played a quiet presence in group shows and the gallery’s flat files, “Passages” offers the first full spotlight with all eyes on the shifting geometries, the softened edges, the negative space that Kucka called “meandering.”

Johnson, who splits his time between Tribeca and Hillsdale, is steeped in the art world. He was the assistant for landscape painter Wolf Kahn for over a decade. He knew de Kooning. “And the work has only gotten more inventive,” said Kucka. “The stacking. The shapes. Even the way he’s using the brush. It’s like woven fabric.”

Two of the works in the show are paintings in the formal sense — paint on stretched canvas — while the rest are pigment-rich explorations on thick paper. “There really is a distinction,” Kucka explained, and a difference in the impact from the smaller to the larger pieces. And yet, the through-line is unmistakable: color as a portal, form as an exploration.

So come for the conversation, stay for the coffee. But mostly, come for the work — vibrant, unfolding, and, as Kucka put it, “just beautiful.”

The opening reception is Saturday, June 7, from 4 to 6 p.m. The show will be on view through July 6 at Furnace – Art on Paper Archive at 107 Main St., Falls Village.

Latest News

Join us for

Join us for


Keep ReadingShow less

Sam Lardner returns to the Northwest Corner for Vecinos Seguros 2 benefit

Sam Lardner returns to the Northwest Corner for Vecinos Seguros 2 benefit

Sam Lardner and Barcelona will play a benefit for Vecinos Seguros 2 at Salisbury Congregational Church on Friday, July 24.

Virgo Martinez

On Friday, July 24, musician and educator Sam Lardner and his band, Barcelona, will take the stage at Salisbury Congregational Church for a benefit concert supporting Vecinos Seguros 2, an all-volunteer organization that provides emergency assistance and rapid-response support to immigrant families in Northwest Connecticut affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.

Lardner, who attended and later taught at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville before moving to Spain in 1997, still considers the Northwest Corner his home in the United States. “It’s such a special place,” he said.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Karina Powers and the power of tradition

Karina Powers and the power of tradition

Karina Powers teaches traditional dances from Mexico in Millbrook.

Lucia Iandolo
This is an art and the arts unite nations.
—Karina Powers

Karina Powers began dancing at 4 years old. A professional dancer, singer, performer and Mexican folklore dance professor from Baja California, Mexico, she is the youngest of three sisters who were all involved in the arts. Powers now teaches traditional Mexican dances to adults through her company, Compañía De Danza Folklórica Regional Mexicana, in Millbrook. She said she has a strong passion for the history and art that exist within the dances she teaches, and she hopes to instill that passion in her students.

“Many of them have never danced this type of dance,” said Powers. “They’re from Mexico, but they came to the United States at a young age to work. They have that dream to learn, and now they have this opportunity.”

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Across generations at Litchfield Jazz Festival

Across generations at Litchfield Jazz Festival

Bucky Pizzarelli and Brandon Goldberg at the Litchfield Jazz Festival in 2017.

Lindsey Victoria Photography

The Litchfield Jazz Festival opens its 2026 season on Friday, July 24, at the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Connecticut. The evening will feature a gala and a concert led by saxophonist Don Braden featuring the Litchfield Jazz Fest Dectet.

The festival began in 1996 and has been going strong ever since. The list of past performers reads like a who’s who of modern jazz greats, including Christian McBride, Soulive, Joshua Redman, Dave Douglas, Brad Mehldau and John Scofield, all of whom helped revive the genre for a new generation of fans at the turn of the millennium. Vocalists like Diana Krall, Dionne Warwick and Dr. John have made appearances as well. And, of course, the festival has been graced by established masters like saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Wayne Shorter; guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli; bassist Rufus Reid; drummers Roy Haynes and Tito Puente; the Preservation Hall Jazz Band; and pianists Dave Brubeck and local legend Ahmad Jamal.

Keep ReadingShow less
music festival

No grumbling here: Children’s theater camp returns

No grumbling here: Children’s theater camp returns

Danny Saed, assistant director of “Pinocchio”; his mother and co-founder of Grumbling Gryphons Leslie Elias; theater arts camper Joyce Sun; artist and counselor Natalie Resto; and Steven Sun, Joyce Sun’s father.

Jack Sheedy

Leslie Elias wants you to understand something about the group she calls Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater: “I like to say that we try not to grumble.”

For 46 years, she has used the nonprofit to educate and entertain children in the performing arts. Summer after summer, young campers learn about acting, singing, mask-making, costume-making and scenery painting. This year, as in years past, a five-day theater arts camp will culminate in a live performance of one of Elias’ original plays, guaranteed, she hopes, to quell all grumbling.

Keep ReadingShow less
camps

Sea bass and shrimp gumbo

Sea bass and shrimp gumbo

Sea bass and shrimp gumbo

Bobby Graham

Each month, Dugazon owners Bobby Graham and Matthew Marden share a recipe inspired by the traditions, stories and sense of welcome at the heart of their shop in Sharon, Connecticut. Visit Dugazon at 19 W. Main St. Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and online at dugazonshop.com.

This month we’re sharing one of our favorite comfort foods: sea bass and shrimp gumbo. While gumbo has a reputation for being a labor of love, this version skips the traditional roux, making it surprisingly approachable. The ingredient list may seem long, but once everything is prepped, it comes together quickly, rewarding you with a rich, flavorful bowl that’s perfect any time of year. Many of the pantry staples you’ll need for this recipe can be found right here at Dugazon.

Keep ReadingShow less
what's cooking at dugazon?
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.