Upcoming show!
Dawn Holder: The Idea of This Perfect Edenic Place
Hartford Public Library ArtWalk Gallery
Feb 19th- April 16th, 2010
This installation explores the concept of the garden, which from the artist’s perspective, is an infinitely malleable space. Its many incarnations may serve as a myriad of metaphors: for desire, abundance, growth, fertility, youth, possibility, community, stability, wealth, or the passage of time. The garden is a space of unrestrained beauty and hopefulness, a sensory explosion, a quiet moment of escapism, a joyous collaboration with nature, a perfect edenic kind of place.
Instead of cultivating a traditional outdoor garden, Ms. Holder has chosen to create the garden of her dreams in her studio. Rather than growing in the rich soil, handmade plants bud forth from her own innovative recipe of porcelain paper-clay. Ms. Holder chose to work with porcelain because of its purity of color; its pliability and receptive working qualities; and its history of preciousness. The clay's malleable nature allows her to create delicate, fragile, and detailed forms. The trees, plants, and flowers are not meant to replicate actual varieties of plants, but rather to capture the idea of flowers, as they live in the imagination.
Gardens, like all living things are not static. They transform over time, reacting to the elements, growing, flourishing, fading, withering. Similarly, this is not a static piece of art. Over the course of the exhibition, the work will grow and change as Ms. Holder creates and plants new vegetation in the garden. As a result, return visits to the gallery will reveal new experiences to the viewer.
Ms. Holder would like to thank her students, Hailey Schumacher, Katie Linke, Jess Schillinger, and Casey Hanrahan, for their contributions to this project.
Hartford Public Library ArtWalk Gallery
Feb 19th- April 16th, 2010
This installation explores the concept of the garden, which from the artist’s perspective, is an infinitely malleable space. Its many incarnations may serve as a myriad of metaphors: for desire, abundance, growth, fertility, youth, possibility, community, stability, wealth, or the passage of time. The garden is a space of unrestrained beauty and hopefulness, a sensory explosion, a quiet moment of escapism, a joyous collaboration with nature, a perfect edenic kind of place.
Instead of cultivating a traditional outdoor garden, Ms. Holder has chosen to create the garden of her dreams in her studio. Rather than growing in the rich soil, handmade plants bud forth from her own innovative recipe of porcelain paper-clay. Ms. Holder chose to work with porcelain because of its purity of color; its pliability and receptive working qualities; and its history of preciousness. The clay's malleable nature allows her to create delicate, fragile, and detailed forms. The trees, plants, and flowers are not meant to replicate actual varieties of plants, but rather to capture the idea of flowers, as they live in the imagination.
Gardens, like all living things are not static. They transform over time, reacting to the elements, growing, flourishing, fading, withering. Similarly, this is not a static piece of art. Over the course of the exhibition, the work will grow and change as Ms. Holder creates and plants new vegetation in the garden. As a result, return visits to the gallery will reveal new experiences to the viewer.
Ms. Holder would like to thank her students, Hailey Schumacher, Katie Linke, Jess Schillinger, and Casey Hanrahan, for their contributions to this project.
The Awesomest Art Thing Ever
The Awesomest Art Thing Ever
9 ARTISTS. 12 STOREFRONTS. AND YOU JUST DON'T STOP....
NOW THROUGH JANUARY 2010
MAIN STREET, PRATT STREET AND TRUMBULL STREET
Storefront Art has never been cooler than it is right this very second in Downtown Hartford. Nine Hartford artists were specially chosen to create installations in these storefronts based on the creativity of their proposal, how their artwork enhances the vibrancy of Downtown Hartford and for their overall awesomeness.
Ethan Boisvert
Inner Outer Space
10 State House Square, Main Street
Colin Burke
Window Shopping
54 Pratt Street
Jeff Cowie
"Given: The Illuminating Gas"
64 Pratt Street
Dawn Holder
Once Upon a Time in the Forest of I'm Not Sweet Enough...
42 1/2 Pratt Street
Ryan Iverson
Welcome to Hartford!
64 Pratt Street
Tao LaBossiere
Competition of the Contortionist
252 & 254 Trumbull Street
Joe Saphire & Joel VanderKamp
The Time Is
10 State House Square, Main Street
John Lepak
Graphic Design For the Awesomest Art Thing Ever
88 Pratt Street
54 Pratt Street
ABOUT THE AWESOMEST ART THING EVER:
Nine Hartford Artists were selected to install works ranging from full-scale three dimensional pieces to interactive artwork to graphic art. The unique projects will improve the physical appearance of the buildings and streets and enhance the vibrancy and marketability of the city of Hartford. Each space utilized for the project is for lease and the project intends to create additional visibility for developers and attract merchants interested in filling the storefronts permanently.
The Awesomest Arts Thing Ever aims to cultivate a new appreciation of the downtown area, encouraging pedestrian activity and engaging the urban environment in a creative dialogue. In addition, The Awesomest Art Thing Ever provides an opportunity for artists who have been affected by the economic downturn to display their creativity by transforming vacant storefronts into exhibition spaces that will present their artwork to a wider audience.
All artists are either residents of the City of Hartford or rent studio space in Hartford. All carpenters, installers, and support personnel are Hartford residents and materials were purchased from merchants and vendors within the city of Hartford whenever possible.
The Awesomest Art Thing Ever is being exhibited in storefronts provided by Northland Investment Corporation and State House Square and can be seen along Pratt, Main, and Trumbull Streets in Downtown Hartford through January 2010.
The Awesomest Art Thing Ever is a project of the Hartford Business Improvement District, funded by a grant from the City of Hartford's 2009 Arts & Heritage Jobs Program.
9 ARTISTS. 12 STOREFRONTS. AND YOU JUST DON'T STOP....
NOW THROUGH JANUARY 2010
MAIN STREET, PRATT STREET AND TRUMBULL STREET
Storefront Art has never been cooler than it is right this very second in Downtown Hartford. Nine Hartford artists were specially chosen to create installations in these storefronts based on the creativity of their proposal, how their artwork enhances the vibrancy of Downtown Hartford and for their overall awesomeness.
Ethan Boisvert
Inner Outer Space
10 State House Square, Main Street
Colin Burke
Window Shopping
54 Pratt Street
Jeff Cowie
"Given: The Illuminating Gas"
64 Pratt Street
Dawn Holder
Once Upon a Time in the Forest of I'm Not Sweet Enough...
42 1/2 Pratt Street
Ryan Iverson
Welcome to Hartford!
64 Pratt Street
Tao LaBossiere
Competition of the Contortionist
252 & 254 Trumbull Street
Joe Saphire & Joel VanderKamp
The Time Is
10 State House Square, Main Street
John Lepak
Graphic Design For the Awesomest Art Thing Ever
88 Pratt Street
54 Pratt Street
ABOUT THE AWESOMEST ART THING EVER:
Nine Hartford Artists were selected to install works ranging from full-scale three dimensional pieces to interactive artwork to graphic art. The unique projects will improve the physical appearance of the buildings and streets and enhance the vibrancy and marketability of the city of Hartford. Each space utilized for the project is for lease and the project intends to create additional visibility for developers and attract merchants interested in filling the storefronts permanently.
The Awesomest Arts Thing Ever aims to cultivate a new appreciation of the downtown area, encouraging pedestrian activity and engaging the urban environment in a creative dialogue. In addition, The Awesomest Art Thing Ever provides an opportunity for artists who have been affected by the economic downturn to display their creativity by transforming vacant storefronts into exhibition spaces that will present their artwork to a wider audience.
All artists are either residents of the City of Hartford or rent studio space in Hartford. All carpenters, installers, and support personnel are Hartford residents and materials were purchased from merchants and vendors within the city of Hartford whenever possible.
The Awesomest Art Thing Ever is being exhibited in storefronts provided by Northland Investment Corporation and State House Square and can be seen along Pratt, Main, and Trumbull Streets in Downtown Hartford through January 2010.
The Awesomest Art Thing Ever is a project of the Hartford Business Improvement District, funded by a grant from the City of Hartford's 2009 Arts & Heritage Jobs Program.
