The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Almost like a New York gallery’
BACA fall exhibit showcases work of area artists at former Denali
BRANFORD — Molly Sullivan McDonald was standing near her wall-sized painting splashed with intense oranges, yellows and reds, and shaking her head.
“I was working on painting a woodland scene in my backyard and it was incredibly frustrating,” she recalled amid a packed house of art enthusiasts at a recent reception for the opening of the BACA Fall Gallery at the former Denali on Main Street.
BACA, short for Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance, is a local nonprofit organization with a mission to provide opportunities for local musicians, writers, performers and artists to present their work to the public.
Among those is McDonald, who recounted what happened next.
“I walked away from the painting, and then I came back, and I sort of spritzed the canvas with water, and then I said ‘OK, let’s go,’” she said.
McDonald was one of 26 area artists exhibiting their work in a range of mediums from painting and sculpture to photography and ceramics to jewelry and fiber arts. The 4,000-square-foot Main Street space opened in July as a pop-up gallery.
That’s thanks to the
generosity of property owner Frank Vigliotti and his family, according to BACA president Frank Carrano.
“Artists often display their work in places that are really found spaces, and not a dedicated gallery like this one,” he said, as guests sipped wine and sampled hors d’oeuvres. “This venue gives artists an opportunity to showcase their work.”
It’s also, he said, a place for “anyone who may have never been to a gallery to experience some really fine art.”
To hear Carrano tell it, the benefits of the space go beyond the exhibit itself.
The group is raising funds through commissions from the sale of members’ work to support an arts enrichment program for Branford Public Schools students. The program includes scholarships for students planning to pursue a career in the arts, as well as grants for teachers to bring students to the gallery and other shows.
“We’re providing students with the opportunity to do things that are not found in the school budget,” Carrano said.
For Alexandra K. Sellon, who was displaying her works in watercolor and ink, the gallery gives “cultural cachet” to Branford’s Main Street.
“The way they hang the work was very clever,” she said, of the steel upright strips connected by wires that range through the area. “It gives everything an airiness and a real sophistication, almost like you’re in a New York gallery.”
Across the space were the surreal Day-Glo photographs of Nancy Iddings, a Milford artist. Iddings, who uses time-lapse photography and colored filters to depict domestic interiors, has her work housed in the permanent collections of the Baltimore Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She said she heard about the Branford pop-up and decided to give it a go.
“It’s a beautiful space,” she said. “Branford is fortunate to have it.”
Pamela Snetro, whose collection, “Homage to Jackson Pollock,” was displayed near the entrance, agreed. The works, she said, “explore the spirit and use of color inspired by the prolific master.”
“I’m just thrilled to be here,” said Snetro, a former wealth manager, who also credited Frank Vigliotti and the Vigliotti family for allowing area artists to use the space. “This is an event with a great diversity of art that everyone can enjoy.”
Sellon sounded a similar refrain.
“So much about being an artist is being able to share your work rather than having it propped up against a wall somewhere in your studio,” Sellon said. “This is truly a gift.”