Jumping Off Of Cliff: A Tribute to H.C. Westermann

Jumping Off Of Cliff: A Tribute to H.C. Westermann
September 20 - November 1, 2010
Opening reception, October 17th, 2-4pm
Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Galleries
The Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center
College of Liberal Arts
University of Southern Indiana
8600 University Boulevard
Evansville, IN 47712-3596

At first I thought of making a baboon-headed man or a mandrill headed man for this show. I am responding to the craftsmanship of H.C. Westerman’s work and his use of color. I was thinking that ‘Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea ‘ was a signature piece and his most famous piece and that I had to use the same colors, red, white and blue, in my sculpture. H.C. Westerman to me is impenetrable. His work is enigmatic. His art is outside the cannon and in it. He seems not to be responding to other works of art in history or historical art movements but entirely caught up in his own world. Another famous image is of himself, shirtless, in a James Dean pose. I thought a rhinoceros better captured his physique and also his nature. Hence a rhino-man. With color, I usually don’t like to impose color like a mascot on my pieces or use it as a statement or a banner. I usually try hard to use color in a way that responds to the feeling of the wood or the wood grain. Hence the subtle grays, pinks and browns in the wood became silver, copper and gold in my piece. Yet the juxtaposition of metallic paint and natural wood grain seemed like an anomaly: like H.C. Westerman himself.

Rhino Man, 16" tall, maple wood & enamel, 2010 By Donna Dodson

Four Legged Art Exhibit

The Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Gardens

is pleased to present
Four Legged
Celebrating our
Animal Kingdom
Sept. 17- Nov. 14th

Please note: September 17-19
A percentage of each sale will benefit
the Concord-Merrimack Country SPCA

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Reception:
Sunday
September 19th
1 pm - 5 pm

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Join the cavalcade of animal lovers at Mill Brook Gallery for an artistic celebration of the animal kingdom.

Twenty-nine artists showcase their talents in this exciting visual arts menagerie featuring premier area artists.

You can lend your support to a noble cause! In addition to this truly astonishing exhibit, we are hosting a fund-raiser for the Concord-Merrimack SPCA. We appreciate and recognize all of their efforts on behalf of New Hampshire's animals.

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Artists:
Megan Bogonovich, Walker Boyle,
Jane Butler, David Carroll,
Megan Chapman, Rosemary Conroy, Jeffrey Cooper, Elli Crocker,
Donna Dodson, Peter Dudley,
Liz Fletcher, Gary Hamel,
Mary Iselin, Al Jaeger,
Carol Lake, Wendy Klemperer,
Madeline Lord, Heidi Lorenz,
Glen MacInnis, Victoria Mauldin,
Melissa Miller, Annette Mitchell,
Andy Moerlein, Gloria Najecki,
Fleur Palau, Lynn Peterfreund,
Ilene Richard, Adele Sandborn,
Bob Shannahan and Patricia Verani

Gallery Hours
Tuesday - Sunday
11-5 and by appointment


The Mill Brook Gallery
& Sculpture Garden

236 Hopkinton Road
Concord, NH 03301
603.226.2046
www.TheMillBrookGallery.com

Silver Fox, 25" tall, wood, pigment & paint, 2009
Elephant Clown, 26" tall, wood, pigment &paint, 2009

Two Sculptors in Two Dimensions

Two Sculptors in Two Dimensions: Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein

Prints and drawings by sculptors Andy Moerlein of Bow NH and Donna Dodson of Boston MA are currently on view at University of New Hampshire School of Law, Two White Street, Concord NH. This show features two dimensional works paired with photographs of Dodson’s and Moerlein’s completed sculptures. The experimental nature of the art on display represents uncharted paths for these two sculptors. The exhibit is open to the public, free of charge, daily from September 7th through October 29th. For exhibit information, please call the University of New Hampshire School of Law at 603- 228-1541. The exhibit is on view on weekdays from 8 AM – 5 PM and weekends from 10 AM – 5 PM; closed on all legal holidays. The public is invited to meet the artists at a reception on Saturday October 9th, from 1p – 3p during Art Concord.

These well-known artists, each of whom has extensive portfolios of individual sculptural work, collaborated in the public arena on several large installations this summer. “Moose Myth” is a 22-foot-high structure built of saplings that dominates Bicentennial Park in Nashua NH. A twin “Moose Myth” sculpture is installed in Market Square in Portsmouth NH. In August, Dodson and Moerlein created and then burned a 22-foot-wide winged Phoenix as a part of WaterFire, the spectacular art event in Providence RI.

Dodson’s and Moerlein’s drawings and prints, paired with photographs of their sculptures, reveal their process of working. In particular, monoprints evoke their investigation of the “Moose Myth” concept and show a deep imagining of moose and human mythology.

Donna Dodson relates her two-dimensional work to her sculptural vocabulary. “Sculpture is the result of methodical decision making. My carved wood pieces represent a commitment to the material as well as an investment of time. Every gesture results from multiple carving techniques and tools. My drawings and monoprints, on the other hand, are more spontaneous and have a raw immediacy.” A series of monoprints depicting Dodson’s iconic elephant goddesses show her process of using flat works to explore various possibilities of form and color. These investigations invigorate her as an artist.

Andy Moerlein says, “My drawings are a necessary step in creating the work and they document my process of working. I must plan on paper what I hope to build, especially for any large scale installations. Because my outdoor sculptures often require vast amounts of material and assistance, I have little time on site to challenge proportions, scale, color or design.” Included in this exhibit is a series of prints “Hanging by a Thread.” These vivid images are explorations of ideas for a yet unrealized work.

Both sculptors are represented by Mill Brook Gallery in Concord, NH and are members of the Boston Sculptors Gallery.

Update: There will be an artist talk at the Bedford Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, NH 03110 on Monday September 13th at 8pm, sponsored by the Manchester Artists Association. The artists will present their individual & collaborative works.

Moose Myth I, monoprint, 2010 by Donna Dodson
Moose Myth, graphite, 2010 by Andy Moerlein

Sculpturefest 2010

Featured artists this year: Donna Dodson and Dimitri Gerakaris
Sculpture Fest 2010 will open with a reception for the artists and community
on Saturday September 4th, 4pm - 7pm, BYO Picnic
304 Prosper Road, Woodstock, VT.

Hathor is an Egyptian goddess who is depicted as a cow with a disc in between its horns or as a woman with cow ears. I imagine Hathor as a cow headed female figure who is similar in coloration to a Guernsey cow. She is not an anonymous member of the herd, she is distinctive in her long red gloves and daring in her unique array of markings. She is many things: daughter/mother, archetypal/individual, traditional/avant-garde. In short, a very complex creature.

Director Charlet Davenport has worked as an artist in Vermont since 1963. Currently her work in ceramic sculpture is influenced by many years of acting as Director of Sculpture Fest. Initially her ourdoor art installations were created on fibre glass mesh and installed in public spaces (St. Gaudens Historic National Park, The Rotunda at Dartmouth College Hopkins Center, the Vermont Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, the bank of the Hoosic River on Williams College Campus, Slater Mill, Pawtucket, RI, the TW Wood Art Center and a variety of other public and semi-public spaces.)

Peter Davenport, Co-Director of Sculpture Fest, is the one-man landscape force. Along with his duties as curator of the exhibition he aids artists in installing work, clearing sites, creating the signage, keeping everything clear for visitors as well as caring for the grounds throughout the exhibition time.

Upcoming Events: October 3rd
Noon: walk & talk with Featured Artist Dimitri Gerakaris
1PM: presentation by Featured Artist Donna Dodson
2PM: "Southwest Sculptors: Works Sited in the Land or Influenced by the Land," a talk by Moira Geoffrion, visiting from the University of Arizona at Tucson
Starting at noon: at the King Farm, Jeff Levison and young friends will build a dome on site.

Image: Hathor, 8 ft tall, styrofoam, cement & paint, 2010 by Donna Dodson

Update: Andy Moerlein made a video of Moving Donna Dodson's Hathor

Boston Sculptors Gallery: Small Works

In 2008, I sculpted the Elephant Princess out of a piece of white cedar that was given to me by my friends in Weston, Massachusetts. The finished piece was 19” tall and I took the wood sculpture up to CaddEdge in Londonderry, NH where it was scanned in 3D using a hand held laser device. The digital file was then manipulated in Sensable 3D software with a haptic device and sent to a 3D printer where it was printed at ¼ scale, approximately 6” tall. These limited edition 3D prints were fabricated out of gypsum, sand and an adhesive resin composite.
This rapid prototyping technology allowed me to create my artwork at a smaller more intimate scale. The abstraction and simplification of these figures added a new dimension to my sculptural vocabulary. Making this body of work meant satisfying my curiosity about new media, new materials and new possibilities.
This fall I will be exhibiting four of my small scale limited edition 3D computer prints at the Boston Sculptors Gallery in the front windows. My work will be on view from September 2010-December 2010 in this new mini gallery space that was designed to feature small works by artists who are members of the gallery. Save the date for the upcoming SOWA First Friday receptions on September 10, October 1, November 5 and December 3 from 5-8pm. Boston Sculptors Gallery is located at 486 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118, Tel. 617-482-7781, Email: bostonsculptors@yahoo.com, Website: www.bostonsculptors.com.

Images: Elephant Princess, 19" tall, wood, 2008; E.Princess, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010; Elephant Nun, 32" tall, wood, 2007; E.Nun, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010; Pregnant Kangaroo, 29" tall, wood, 2006; Pregnant.K, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010; Lilac Rhino, 27" tall, wood, 2003; Lilac.R, 6" tall, 3D print, 2010.