Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park and Artist Residency

(Verbier, Switzerland) July 7, 2011 – The 3-D Foundation is delighted to launch a high altitude Sculpture Park and Artist Residency in Verbier, in the Swiss Alps. This is the first time that this alpine region has welcomed such an ambitious and permanent artistic project. The first Residency has just concluded. It will recur annually with emerging and established artists from Switzerland and abroad creating monumental works with the Alps for backdrop and inspiration. The opening reception took place on the evening of June 25 in Place de l’Ermitage, in the heart of Verbier. All the artists were present alongside ArtBattles from New York.

For five weeks, acclaimed international sculptors invited to participate in the first year invitation only Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park Residency, took the resort by storm. ”I wanted to create a residency which reflected the power of the mountain using the energy of city-based artists, in order to create an international dialogue as a pioneering platform for free Public Art in the Alps,” says Madeleine Paternot, artist and co-founder of the 3-D Foundation. Working against the clock, these artists each built a monumental site-specific sculpture, able to survive in a harsh high-altitude environment. These sculptures are now in the sculpture park, a further four, including The Roses by Will Ryman, are in the village itself.

The artists chosen to create these public works for such a tough alpine environment are:Gregory Coates (New York), Donna Dodson (Boston), Timothy Holmes (London), Musa Hixson (Brooklyn), Andy Moerlein (Boston), Kiki Thompson (Verbier), and Zak Ove (London).

The energy and enthusiasm for the project is amplified by Verbier’s renowned extreme skiing terrain. “An evocative range of work was produced. Materials used include rubber, cement and steel, Styrofoam and truly massive wood blocks as well as prefab objects,” explains Gregory Coates, one of the participating artists and a member of 3-D’s board. “But the biggest challenge remains the alpine climate, we can’t take that out of the equation.” Once completed, the sculptures were placed on sheer mountain cliffs, against an epic backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Some of the sculptures required the artists to finish them on site, adding to the precariousness of the endeavor and the overall excitement of this public art project.

“Man’s relationship to the mountain is paramount to this project,” explains Paul Goodwin, curator of Contemporary Art, Tate Britain. “The power of art is its ability to articulate human emotions and values such as beauty and truth. On the mountain, faced with such sublime vistas, the visitor can experience these works of art in a totally new way, completely removed from the gallery or museum, directly confronting the ‘truth’ of nature. This is the true meaning of a museum without walls.”

This world-class spectacular sculpture park, or museum within nature, is not to be missed. It is similar in spirit and reach to Arte Sella and its Artenatura route just over the border in Italy, but in a very different setting. “The Commune de Bagnes is really excited about Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park and the opportunity it gives us to showcase our stunning surroundings and to offer such creativity and innovation year round to the local population and to our many visitors. It will be really interesting to see how these majestic sculptures change with the weather, they’ll look completely different each season, especially when it snows,” says Marie-Hélène de Torrenté, Advisor for the Commune. The Park spans a length of 3km, thus creating a natural pilgrimage between Les Ruinettes and La Chaux, at an altitude of 2,300 meters (7,545 feet), is free to the public and only accessible on foot or by bike, skis or dogsled. Over one million skiers ski in this region each year.

Other Swiss and American artists invited to show in Verbier are: Nathalie Delhaye, Etienne Krähenbühl, Edouard Faro, André Raboud, Josette Taramarcaz and Will Ryman.

The 3-D Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, founded by New York-based artist Madeleine Paternot and Verbier-based sculptor Kiki Thompson. Its mission is to promote contemporary art and culture, to focus on nature and community and to provide educational workshops. The curatorial premise is set by Paul Goodwin, in his capacity as an independent curator.

Update: Lexi Bella made a short video of the fire sculpture that was created by Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson for the vernissage of an ibex climbing a mountain. John Ivory made a video of Donna Dodson 'Giving Stork a Spine.'

Critters: A Show of Paintings and Sculpture Curated by Nancy Davidson

April 12 – July 20 2011

Opening Night Reception:
April 12th, 5-7 p.m.

June 10th, 4-5 p.m.
Curator Nancy Davidson and Alums

July 16th, 4-5 p.m.
Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein (creators of 20 ft. moose), their collaborations and individual sculpture

The Exhibition
“Critters” represents three groups of work – wildlife, farm animals, and pets – in situations that may be heartwarming, entertaining, or even poignant for the viewer.

The show not only includes the “critters” we interact with every day, but also those that may have been forced from their habitats as our human territory expands, and others that may soon disappear forever.

“Critters” will feature over 100 artists not only from Maine but also from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Florida.

This is the seventh “Critters” show that Nancy has curated during her long career as a gallery director. Past exhibits include three summer shows at the Cry of the Loon Gallery, South Casco, Maine; “City Critters,” at her gallery, Davidson and Daughters Contemporary Art, Portland Maine; “Critters,” presented at Studio E Gallery, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and “Critters Revisited” at The Gallery on Chase Hill, Kennebunkport, Maine.

There will be a broad selection of indoor and outdoor sculptures by Laura Balombini, Jeff Barrett, Lise Besu, Peter Beerits, Rush Brown, James Budish, Clara Cohan, Nantz Comyns, Squidge Davis, Donna Dodson, Dan Falt, Ed Friedman, Edwin Gamble, Eva Goetz, Don Gove, Craig Berube Gray, Carole Hanson, Charles Jenkins, Mark Kendschi, Nance Kahn, Al Kronk, Bernard Langlais, Cheryl Lichwell, Steve Lindsay, Lin Lisburger, Cabot Lyford, Lou Mastro, Andy Moerlin, Marjorie Moore, Bryce Muir, Jean Noon, Leo Osbourne, Elizabeth Ostrander, Patrick Plourde, Roger Prince, Riv Pyne, Andy Rosen, M.Ruth, Sharon Townsend, Edith Tucker, Tacha Vosburgh, Kitty Wales, Sharon Wandell, Ann Weber, and John Wilkinson.

Art Gallery
University of New England
Portland Campus
716 Stevens Ave., Portland, Maine

Gallery Hours
1-4 p.m., Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
1-7 p.m., Thursdays

Update: Edgar Allen Beem in his Yankee Magazine art blog reviewed the UNE Art Gallery's show "Critters."

Images: Elephant Oracle, 8 ft tall, cement, 2010; White Rabbit, 35" tall, wood, paint, 2006; Elk Goddess, 32" tall, wood, pigment, paint, 2004, photo credit- Peter Haines; Honey Bear, 46" tall, wood, paint, 2005, photo credit- Bruno Giust.

Birds, Botanicals and Nature

The Singer Family & Donna Dodson: Birds, Botanicals and Nature

If you’ve ever looked at drawings or paintings of birds, chances are you’ve seen the work of Arthur B. Singer. America’s most famous bird illustrator was a New York City native born, coincidentally, on Audubon Avenue. A graduate of Cooper Union, Arthur is best known for his bird guides: Birds of The World; Birds of North America and Birds of Europe. A portfolio of his paintings published in the mid-1950s in American Home magazine sold millions of copies. He was awarded the Audubon Society’s first Hal Borland award.

Arthur’s son, Alan Singer, followed in his father’s artistic footsteps and together they designed and illustrated award-winning U.S postal stamps honoring the birds and flowers of all 50 states. He also followed his father’s work with bird guides including: State Birds in 1990. Currently a teacher at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Arthur is an accomplished painter, printmaker and writer on the visual arts. His work has been featured in shows at the Smithsonian, the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Everson Museum in Syracuse.

A third artistic member of the family, Alan’s brother Paul, is an artist living in Brooklyn with his own design firm. His prestigious clients include: the National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. His work for them inspires his own paintings of seascapes and landscapes. The theme is carried further in his enthusiasm for building model boats. This unique exhibit of the Singer family’s works provide a look at nature, from the fine details and vivid colors of birds to the sweeping vistas of land, flowers, water and. Impressionistic abstracts.

Fitting in well with those themes are the figurative wood carvings of Donna Dodson, an artist from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Inspired by Egyptian, African and Native American art, Dodson crafts works from woods as diverse as osage, orange wood, ash, pine and maple. Female in form, her sculptures are meant to portray the mystical relationship between humans and animals. From the material to the finished figures Dodson’s work evokes an experience of nature that marries the primitive to a higher, nearly transcendent order of design.

Join us for music, wine, hors d’oeuvres and an eventful evening.
Opening reception Saturday, March 26, 6 to 9 pm.

On exhibit until May 7.
Gallery Hours: Fri & Sat 1-4 p.m.
Private showings by appointment.

Co-directors, Bill & Johanne Pesce.
Windsor Whip Works Art Gallery
98 Main Street, PO Box 7, Windsor, New York 13865

Phone: 607-655-2370
Email: Johanne@WhipWorksArtGallery.org
www.WhipWorksArtGallery.org

Update: Channel 34 featured this show on their Up to the Minute News Coverage.

Image: Seagull Cinderella, 15" tall, apple wood and paint
Photo credit: Cliff Pfeiffer

Polar Peacock

Lake Morey Resort
Fairlee, VT
Winter Carnival
February 18 – 20, 2011
Snow sculpture contest
Artist's Choice Winners:
Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein

The Tale of the Polar Peacock

The Polar Peacock is as elusive as the Northern Lights. Exotic and beguiling the icy white fowl has been part of northern folk lore on every continent. Reports of unspeakable iridescence and feathered protection from survivors of near freezing experiences have been repeated by elders to children around warm fires for thousands of years. There is no known substantiation for the bird. Why it appears to those in desperate freezing conditions, and why it is perceived as savior and provider of warmth at those moments of greatest need, is baffling. But the fact is that the Polar Peacock has been consistently imagined by a wide spectrum of lucid and competent explorers whose lives have brushed the precipice of death and then been miraculously spared. Our snow carving is a vain attempt to capture the enigma and magic that is this most rare of arctic phenomenon.

Image: The Polar Peacock, 8 ft tall, snow sculpture, 2011

Wood Work

For Immediate Release:

Exhibition Title: Wood Work

Artists: Michael Beatty, Newton, MA
Paul Bowen, Williamsville, VT
Rosemary Broton Boyle, Waltham, MA
Donna Dodson, Boston, MA
Stephan Fowlkes, Brooklyn, NY
Bob Lewis, Newton, MA
Greg Mencoff, Somerville, MA
Rob Millard-Mendez, Evansville, IN
Andy Moerlein, Bow, NH
Dawn Southworth, Gloucester, MA

Location: Clark University, Schiltkamp Gallery/ Traina Center for the Arts
92 Downing Street, Worcester
(Mailing address: 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610)

Dates: February 14 – April 17, 2011

Gallery Hours: Monday – Thursday 9AM- 8PM, Friday 9 AM- 4PM,
Saturday and Sunday 12-5:00
(The gallery will be closed March 5-13)

Opening: Wednesday, February 23rd
Artists’ Talk: 4:15 – 5:15
Reception: 5:15 – 6:30
Further Information: (508) 793-8818 Elli Crocker, Assoc. Professor and Gallery Director(508) 793-7349 Tina Zlody, Visual & Performing Arts Events Coordinator

This exhibition includes the work of ten artists who use wood as medium and conceptual source. In an era when technology has altered the realm of art making as much as everything else in our lives, these artists celebrate that most ancient and primal of raw materials - wood. While the material is the unifying theme, each artist creates unique forms that draw their inspiration from the inherent beauty, natural qualities, and enduring power of wood.

In many ways wood offers a corollary to the human body suggesting living, organic, sensuous form with trunks and limbs, heart and skin that is also subject to growth, change, and ultimately decay. Our interdependence with trees is so elemental that we breathe what they exhale and they “inhale” our exhalations. Indeed, many peoples of the world throughout human history have attributed animistic qualities to trees, including the belief in hamadryads or tree spirits. Trees and their fruits have sheltered us, warmed us, fed us, and inspired us. Connected to our survival in the most fundamental of ways, humans have also employed wood to create art - whether carving magical totems or fabricating new images from the scavenged detritus of a society. As an artistic medium, wood offers both strength and pliability, elegance and rawness, commonness and preciousness.


The ten artists exhibiting their art in Wood Work employ various processes from assemblage to carving, carefully selecting a specific wood variety to gathering salvage, working figuratively to non-objectively, and on the wall, floor, or pedestal. Paul Bowen, Rosemary Broton Boyle, Stephan Fowlkes, and Dawn Southworth collect scrap wood and convert this found material into transcendent form. The sense of time and history, the distressed surfaces, and hints of earlier uses inform the finished pieces that become impossible contraptions, shrines, or humorous musings. Donna Dodson explores the mystical relationship between humans and the animal kingdom, creating archetypal chimeras through the carving and polishing of carefully selected types of wood, revealing their unique grain and color. Rob Millard-Mendez describes his sculptures as large toys, employing dark humor to comment on human foibles. Blending folk art references and formal conceptual concerns, his art engages the viewer on several levels – both fun and interactive as well as provocative and challenging. Michael Beatty, who is a professor of art at consortium school, The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, borrows construction methods from traditional, functional forms of woodworking, boat building, and metal fabrication. Most recently he’s been interested in the correlation between the natural world and mathematics, seeking out the basic patterns underlying the complexity of what we see in Nature. Andy Moerlein also looks to Nature, exploring the interaction of human psyche and natural forces - whether the rapid fluctuations of weather or the gradual shifts of geology - ultimately creating highly personal narratives. In his richly process-oriented work, Bob Lewis creates mysterious and unsettling monuments to failed endeavors, lapsed dreams, and human hubris. Greg Mencoff, explores the psychology and implications of the built form and the architecture of ordinary things. Of his sculptures, he comments, “their content is a reflection of the process…instinct has us build, and through that process is learned something of ourselves, helping to define a culture”.

Associate Professor of Art Elli Crocker curated this exhibition with the help of students Molly Burman, Phoebe Cape, Scott Coffrin, Victoria Grogan, Nina Haglund, Ann Kerrin, Ashley McNelis, Claudia Olcese-Rivera, and Stephanie Richardson.

Paul Grignon from Worcester Magazine wrote a wonderful review about the show called 'Handworks of Art.'

Images: Baboon Mother, 24" tall, kou, 2008, Red Panda, 24" tall, wood + paint, 2005, photo credit Bruno Giust, Squirrel Girl, 19" tall, laminated wood and paint, 2003, photo credit Cliff Pfeiffer, Wolf Goddess, 29" tall, wood + paint, 2006