“Because, now is the time of monsters,” the summer group show at the Wassaic Project, held its closing reception on Sunday, Sept. 13. Like many exhibitions at the venerated arts gallery, incubator and cultural center, the space was packed full of innovative art of a wide variety of media..
Housed in the iconic Maxon Mills building, the show started on the first floor, just beyond the Project’s vibrant and funky gift shop. To name all the artists and mediums might take this week’s entire Compass section, but it’s worth highlighting some standouts.
Dennis Gordon is a retired firefighter from the South Bronx. His realistic architectural-model-style sculptures of abandoned buildings are eerily realistic and elicit the uncanny feeling of recognizing a place you’ve never actually seen.
The ceramic sculptural objects by Kelly Cox seem similarly pulled from a world of a failed capitalistic experiment, with an office chair, safety cones, and mouse and bear traps in dreamy colors occupying space along the narrow staircase that leads from gallery to gallery. Further up those stairs, Saul Chernick explores the possibilities of colors and simple shapes through painting, felt work and sculpture.
The doorway of the fourth floor was overwhelmed by a grand, site-specific sculpture by Samuelle Green, conjuring the likeness of angelic clouds of heavenly feathers, all made from the pages of old books. The grandeur and glory of the piece was inescapable.
Two full-room installations towards the top of the building tapped into parallel themes of home and imagination. “Protect Me From My Dreams” by Jessica Hargreaves, and “A Room of My Own” by Clarissa Pezone both explored unique interpretations of fear, safety, and the existence — imagined or real — of monsters.
“Protect Me From My Dreams” by Jessica Hargreaves at Wassaic Project.D.H. Callahan
While the summer exhibition has closed, the Wassaic Project continues to host events, including an author’s talk with writers and former podcast hosts Amy Stephenson and Casey Childers. A new exhibition featuring National Endowment for the Arts-commissioned works by photographer Liz Nielsen and fiber artist akeylah wellington will open on the same day, Oct. 3. That evening, musician Tim Love Lee will present the first of three “Resonant Reflections” performances in the Gridley Chapel, which are being described as “part nightclub, part ashram and a sonic bath for your heart and feet.”
On the weekend of Oct. 23, however, the monsters will reappear at the Wassaic Project’s Haunted Barn and Monster’s Ball. In the past, the Project has hosted their Haunted Mill, an artist’s rendition of a grand-scale haunted house with scares and sculpture given equal weight. This year, they’re moving to a barn building with fewer stairs and more possibilities for frights. On Saturday, Oct. 24, they’ll team up with Wassaic’s Lantern Inn bar and pizza restaurant for some serious celebration of the season. The Monster’s Ball is not for the casual observer. Costumes are required, and tickets sell out early. Show up with a ticket but no costume, and they’ll turn you away. But arrive in the appropriate attire, and get ready to boogie with the baddies.
To learn more about the Wassaic Project’s upcoming programs and snag your tickets to the Monster’s Ball, head to wassaicproject.org.
Justine and Victor Valla in their studio with a painting of Victor’s,”Jonah and the Whale.” Robin Roraback 
A ceramic vase by Kathleen Heidemann.Provided 
Joy Brown’s delightful ceramic sculptures.Provided 
Hundreds of items at Stateline Auctions, including a candy-apple-red Crosley pickup truck.D.H. Callahan
