Gallery on the Green presents fine art shows

Gallery on the Green is presenting its newest fine art show, titled Members’ New Work, plus solo shows by Mark Rich and Judy Cantwell.

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The show is free and open to the public through Saturday, April 17, and the gallery is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The gallery is located at 5 Canton Green Road in Canton, near the intersection of Dowd Avenue and Route 44.

Canton Artists’ Guild members exhibit their work in the Members’ New Work exhibition. For many members the current constraints on travel, employment and social interaction have served to intensify their effort and concentration.

See the results in paintings, drawings, graphic arts, sculpture, ceramics, fiber/beadwork and photography. The guild's membership consists of more than 100 artists from over 30 area towns. Established in 1960, Gallery on the Green is the longest continuously-operating artists' guild in Connecticut.

Mark Rich has 18 new paintings in his solo show, entitled Less is Never More. In studio space partially supported by Five Points Gallery, Rich had the opportunity to closely observe downtown Torrington. He was struck by the distinctive signage, old buildings and “post-manufacturing decay in the air” reminiscent of neighborhoods he had known in New York City in decades past.

Rich created these paintings in October 2020 through February 2021 as a tribute that “resists the melancholy of corona and political angst with optimism and humor.” Sale proceeds from five paintings will be donated for the benefit of the Fish Homeless Shelter and Torrington food bank.

Painting by Mark Rich — Evening Hydrant — 12" x 12", oil paint and wax on cradled board, 2021

His style is abstract, improvised and sometimes random. Rich has been working with oil paint and wax for over 40 years. His work is dense and multilayered and pays homage to his New York School and Post New York School abstract expressionist influences.

Meanwhile, Judy Cantwell's solo show is entitled Smalls. It includes a collection of small works, some utilizing colorful semi-transparent gel transfers layered one over another to meld into scenes that are familiar yet exotic. In addition, three-dimensional shadow-box works utilize found objects and industrial-based pressed, gilded and painted components.

A past president and board member of the Canton Artists' Guild, Cantwell first exhibited her art at Gallery on the Green in 1967. Her award-winning art has been shown in dozens of locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

She is an elected artist of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and the Kent Art Association, a member of the Housatonic Valley and New Hartford Art Leagues, and part of the mixed media artists group called MIXUS.

Gallery on the Green is following Connecticut's COVID-19 reopening guidelines. All visitors are required to wear a mask and observe social-distancing protocol. The gallery is housed in a former schoolhouse, circa 1872, with three spacious galleries and an outdoor sculpture garden. The gallery's main floor is handicapped-accessible.

Info: www.galleryonthegreen.org — 860-693-4102

e-mail: cantonartistsguild@gmail.com

Source — Gallery on the Green