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CALENDAR

Spring 2008 Schedule (MS Word document)
(Publication Archive, 1972-2006—MSWord document)

MAIN GALLERY

Photography Gallery | Corridor Gallery

“What is it Worth? Public Fundraising Event”

May 31, 10am-3pm

A public fundraising event for the Fine Arts Center Galleries that answers the question, “What would it bring at auction?” Bring in up to 3 of your paintings and works on paper for expert consultation on what your objects would bring at auction. Appraisals by Skinner, Inc. of Boston and Bolton, Mass. associated with the popular antique series of PBS. Modest appraisal fees apply.

PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY

Main Gallery | Corridor Gallery

NEXT: “Encountering America”

by David Graham

September 16—October 30

David Graham,
Route 64 west of Route 89, Arizona, 1986
chromogenic color print for “Encountering America”
© the artist

Tirelessly traveling the US, Graham (based Pennsylvania) describes the colorful, sometimes surreal, and often bizarre, in the thoroughly American landscape. Graham’s subjects mark a singular freedom of expression. He examines roadside attractions, general oddities and incongruities across the USA: toys and trompe l’oeil signs found in suburban settings, idiosyncratic sculptures and eccentricities.

This special exhibition will focus on Graham’s cultural landscapes—sometimes troublesome, sometimes tongue-in-cheek commentaries on locales ranging from Watsonville, California to Bath, Maine. Graham chronicles the American scene through a unique sensibility that acknowledges the ever-popular genres of American photography— the snapshot, the family portrait and vacation pictures. Graham is tremendously well published, with books made by Aperture, Hyperion, Alfred A. Knopf, St. Martin’s Press, and Pond Press, among others.

CORRIDOR GALLERY

Main Gallery | Photography Gallery

"TOXITROPES"

by Gary Richman

April 4—May 18, 2008

"Toxitrope," 2008, collage-painting

“The theme of the show, flowering plants that live on toxins rather than water or sunlight, is motivated by environmental concerns,” proffers Gary Richman, as he tries to throw us off course concerning the content of his upcoming exhibition.

Using the blossoming flower as a tongue-in-cheek metaphor, Gary Richman is a self-reflective artist as he plays with renewed originality on the traditional theme of birth/bloom/decay. As a senior Art professor at the University of Rhode Island Richman opposes the short-lived, uniformity/conformity type beauty of “pretty cut flowers.” He opts instead for what he calls TOXITROPES -- resilient perennial species that are idiosyncratic and can withstand abusive environments. “Here on the grounds of the horticultural college, heirloom varieties endure unperturbed by the exigencies and exegeses of the cut flower market,” he writes in his loaded Artist’s Statement. To push the metaphor, Richman is determined to embrace uncertain growth and its dark side, rather than the apparent buoyancy of a short-lived spring bouquet. In these ways, Richman cleverly connects the theme of his show to his own body of work and attitudes toward his career. (Press Release: html | MSWord)