The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Summer Sculpture Showcase opens June 5; reception set for June 10
Gilbert Boro, owner and sculptor at Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds in Old Lyme, announced that the opening of Summer Sculpture Showcase 2017 will be held on Monday, June 5.
This juried exhibition follows last year’s successful showcase, which drew large crowds and was extended into October to meet public demand.
This new exhibition on the grounds adjoining Boro’s studio and inside the Emily Seward Boro (ESB) Gallery on the property features works created by 17 widely acclaimed sculptors interspersed amongst Boro’s own sculptures, along with works by 22 other contributing artists.
More than 30 sculptors from across the country responded to the Call for Entries submitting some 60 works.
Summer Sculpture Showcase 2017 and The Golden Hour will be on view from Monday, June 5, through Friday, Oct. 27, and feature an opening reception on Friday, June 10, from 5 to 8 p.m. All are welcome to attend the reception; light refreshments will be served. Two live, outdoor performances at 6 and 7 p.m. feature the GUSTO Dance & River Valley Dance Project. All are welcome to attend the reception, watch the dance performances and wander the beautiful gardens to view the works.
Boro’s Sculpture Gardens are on 4.5 acres of his residence on historic Lyme Street in the heart of Old Lyme, Conn. The beautifully landscaped grounds slope down toward the Lieutenant River offering a unique plein air experience for the exhibition, which combines both large- and small-scale contemporary sculptures. Many of the works, which are in a variety of media, are for sale.
A second exhibition will be on view in the ESB Gallery located on the Studio 80 grounds during the Showcase. “The Golden Hour” will feature mixed media works by talented indoor artist Susan Hickman, who was born a twin in rural Ohio. She grew up in a small town and went on to study graphic design and photography at Ohio University. She moved to New York for a year before making her way up to the New England area where she has spent the last 15 years. She is currently a resident artist of Hygienic Gallery in New London. Hickman is an eclectic mixed media artist working with paper, acrylic, ink, oils, found objects, graphic design, clothing design, photography and more. She has also owned and managed several small galleries in New London including DEW ART Gallery, TAKEOUT Gallery and Down Gallery in Mystic. She utilizes studio waste, discarded paintings, and found textiles as well as new ones, thus creating a restorative process, making something new from the past. She enjoys experimenting with texture and color and finds making art of any kind an exploration and an escape.
The signature piece of the exhibition is Amulet by Gints Grinbergs, who works with a variety of metals, including copper, bronze, and stainless steel, to create open forms. Welding metal spheres and partial spheres, he creates modern structures, for indoors or out. Fascinated by pictures taken by the Hubble telescope and electron microscopes, Grinbergs makes associations with galaxies and molecular structures. The combination of a modern metal structure with rough, natural stone make these works unique sculptural forms. Grinbergs has a BFA and a BA. in architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and has studied at Massachusetts College of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His work has been featured at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park; Michael Beauchemin Gallery, Boston; and Lever House Gallery, New York, N.Y. and is Included in private and corporate collections throughout North America.
Greg Bailey’s Green Descent is a striking work featuring elongated cones creating a continuum in the shape of an arc. Bailey comments, “I am more than halfway through my life and besides some fleeting glimpses of awakening, I remain to be a predominantly unconscious individual. I am surprised that I have not grown past being manipulated by advertisements, angered by the news, or frustrated by the people around me. My hope is that by the end of my days I can learn to be present and at peace.” He adds, “The production of art offers opportunities for discovering unconscious motivations and rationalizations. In this way, working in the studio is a practice of introspection and clarification.”
Fox by Michael Alfano is a delightful, engaging study in realism. The sculptor explains that he has been, “… sculpting figures, monuments, and philosophical pieces for 20 years,” and comments, “If the artist taps into a universal truth, the piece is felt by everyone like clear mountain air.” He first studied at the Art Students League of New York with an emphasis on life size sculpture and anatomy. His formal education continued at Boston University, and was augmented by internships with several prominent sculptors. He continues his training with master classes, and occasionally teaches sculpture. Alfano exhibits his work at galleries and other public venues, and he is a regular entrant in art shows, where he has garnered over 60 awards. His sculptures are found in private collections throughout the world and can be seen in monuments and other public art on permanent display in the United States. Alfano’s work has been featured in newspapers, magazines, books, and on television.
The jurors for the exhibition were sculptor Gilbert V. Boro, art historian Barbara Zabel and photographer Christina Goldberg.
Boro has enjoyed an extraordinary and distinguished more than 50-yearcareer as a successful architect, sought-after international design consultant and an inspiring educator. With a BFA from Duke University and postgraduate degrees from Columbia University, NYC, his work explores the interplay of space, place and scale in a wide range of media including steel, stone, wood, metal, aluminum and fiberglass. Working in sculpture has been a compulsion rather than a possibility for Gil. While mastering the rigors of technical competence, he developed a deepseated passion for three-dimensional art, which continues to be the influential force behind his creations. He is both inspired and motivated by the creative freedom of sculpting, finding that abstract work is the means to fulfill his vision.