BRATTLEBORO-Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 181–183 Main St., presents two solo exhibits opening with a reception for the artists on Saturday, May 18, from 5 to 7 p.m.: "Paul Bowen: Woodlark," with sculpture fashioned from scavenged seaside material, along with his works on paper; and "Space: an odyssey," featuring artist Fran Bull's acrylic paintings inspired by cosmic imagery from the James Webb space telescope.
The exhibit continues through June 30. Artist talks are scheduled 5–7 p.m.; Bull's will be June 8, and Bowen's, June 22.
Bowen has centered his life around the ocean, particularly the beaches of Provincetown. "As an inveterate beachcomber," say organizers, "he collects the humble bits and remains of human commerce, led by his curiosity and appreciation for the random objects forgotten, abandoned and washed ashore." The artist combines and balances his weathered items into carefully realized sculpture, often to be mounted on a wall.
Bull painted and sculpted as she advanced her creative life, then majored in music at Bennington College, studying voice and singing opera. Her early paintings were firmly planted in the Photorealist movement, and she enjoyed gallery representation in New York.
"My abstract art has always borne a relationship to photographic images coming to us from Outer Space," Bull wrote. "The process whereby I make this work is the cause. Something about setting into motion paint of varying viscosities and colors, is aligned with how gasses and stars interact in space."
The artist "sets her paint into motion," adding and painting over, circling, drawing and highlighting until "(sometimes) you'll see very recognizable images because they were somehow there and I coaxed them from nebulous fields of color."
For more information about the gallery and the exhibit, contact them at 802-251-8290 or [email protected], or visit
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