Reconsidering Color


n interesting show opened at the


Ober Galleryin Kent, where Tracey Jones is showing paintings that are complex and layered, thick with pigment from which mysterious yet distinct shapes emerge. In the works of "Signs and Fences," Jones layers on the paint so thickly that the canvases are loaded with crusty color. They have a fierce physicality to them, appearing from a distance almost like textured, nubbly fabrics. Then, from the depths of color, shapes emerge: In "Sign 2," a horizontal gold band with three stripes, like an off-center three-legged table, comes from a sea of blue/black. "Fence 4" is subtler, with green, rust and brown blocks of color seemingly swimming atop a layer of blue. These paintings aren’t pretty in the traditional sense and they aren’t "about" anything. They simply challenge us to reconsider color and complexity and perspective. Through Oct. 29. Hours: Thursday, 1-4 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. www.theobergallery.com. Tel: 860-927-5030.

 

Elsewhere, around and about:

Lots of new shows to see and a couple of openings, to boot!

The White Galleryin Lakeville, which has been temporarily housed behind The Boathouse restaurant while fire damage was fixed at the gallery, is moving back home this weekend. In celebration, the gallery is reopening with a new show, "Art of the Figure." The show features work by Mary Close, David Dunlop, Betsy Podlach, John Greene, Raine Kiernan and Nikhil Bhandari. The gallery opening and artists’ reception is Saturday, Oct. 25, 5-7 p.m. Through Nov. 30. Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. www.thewhitegalleryart.com. Tel.: 860-435-1029.

 

At

Hotchkiss, a show of works by Norman Gorbaty opens this weekend, with an artist’s reception on Saturday from 4-6 p.m. "Works of a Modern Master," including drawings, wood carvings and paintings, runs through Dec. 17. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, noon-4 p.m. www.hotchkiss.org/arts.

 

Wonderful works by Ann E. Coulter are showing at

Argazzi Artin Lakeville through Nov. 30. Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tel.: 860-435-8222.

 

And just in time for Halloween, the

iO galleryon Kent Road in Cornwall Bridge, which never ceases to probe and provoke, presents "the weird and wonderful world of CircusFreaks," featuring works by Joshua Clay, Leslie Ditto, Se7en, Oliver Hibert. Hours: Thursday-Monday, noon-5 p.m. www.theiogallery.com. Tel.: 860-672-6631.

 

Thee new shows in Kent: Abstact expressionist Dennis Hartley shows at The Morrison Gallery on Barn Rd. through Nov. 16. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday, 1-4 p.m. www.themorrisongallery.com. Tel.:860-927-4501. Works by Patricia Traub, Gregory Beylerian and Kirill Doran just opened at Bachelier Cardonsky Gallery on Main Street. Through Nov. 16. Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. www.bacheliercardonsky,com. "By Land & Sea," works by maritime painter Paul Arsenault, are at the Kent Caboose Gallery through Nov. 16. Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. wwwinfo@kentcaboosegallery.com. Tel.: 860-248-8800.

Here’s one that looks interesting: "Portraits of a Lady" is a show of portraits of Justice Sandra Day O"Connor by members of The Painting Group, is at the Warner Gallery at the Holbrook Arts Center at Millbrook School. The group, which has met every Wednesday evening since 1958 in New York City to paint from a mdel, had Justice O’Connor sit in October of 2006. There are 25 portraits in the show, ranging from likeness to caricature. Through Nov. 3. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Tel.:845-677-8261, ext. 166.

 

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