Hera Gallery

2012-01-27T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody! My name is Emily Humphrey and I am the 2012 spring intern here at Hera! I grew up in South County and attended Exeter West Greenwich High School, where, under the guiding hands of the wonderful Elizabeth Lind, my journey as an artist began. I am currently a freshman at URI studying art and soon to be landscape architecture. I love to play soccer, be outdoors, and go hiking, biking, boating, and adventuring! :) I also enjoy spending my time with my wonderful family and volunteering around my community for Save The Bay, Girl Scouts of RI, and EWG Youth Soccer.

As an artist and a student I am striving to reach my full potential while pursuing what I am most passionate about: art and nature! My ultimate goal is to use my education in art and design to have a positive impact on todays world. My interest in architecture has grown from this goal, and I hope to help our culture integrate our way of life with our changing environment through the architecture of our landscapes and buildings. When it comes to studio art, I tend to focus on the natural world and my connection with it. I love to paint, and I am looking forward to doing that in my free time while working on some of my drawing skills this semester. Speaking of which, it's going to be an incredibly busy semester! But I am very excited to get a jump start on some landscape architecture classes, and of course, work here at Hera!

In the past few years Hera has played a great role in my experience as a growing artist; I won the announcement card competition for the Young Adults Art Exhibition in 2010 along with two of my peers, and was exhibited here for the second time during the 2011 EWG Senior Portfolio Art Show. I am so grateful to the Hera community for those experiences, and can't wait for more!

Here is some of my work:

A Drawing from my Drawing I studio last semester

One of my favorite mediums...charcoal

A piece I had in the Young Adults Art Exhibition at Hera last year

25th Children's Exhibition

2012-01-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hera Gallery Is Pleased to Present:

25^th Children's Exhibition

January 28^th – February 18^th

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 28^th, 10:00am – 4:00pm

An exhibition featuring artwork from elementary and middle school aged artists from across Rhode Island.

Hera Gallery artists receive RISCA grants!

2011-12-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

Hera Gallery artists receive RISCA grants
Myron Rubenstein, Carl Dimitri, Viera Levitt

Hera Gallery is pleased to announce that three artist members of Hera have recently been awarded grants from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Myron Rubenstein, Carl Dimitri, and Viera Levitt. Additionally, Hera Gallery also received an organizational grant for the gallery’s 2012 exhibition schedule. To have 4 of the 76 awards granted to artists within the community of Hera Gallery is unprecedented, and reflects the caliber and dedication of the artists associated with the gallery.

Hera Gallery received a project grant to support two major exhibitions scheduled for 2012. The first show to benefit from this grant is the Annual Children’s Art Exhibition, which features over 300 pieces of artwork made by elementary and middles school aged artists from across Rhode Island. This show is highly anticipated by the artists, families, and teachers involved, and provides children with their first professional exhibition experience. The second event that the RISCA grand will fund is an exhibition exploring the intersecting between technology and craft, aptly named Technocraft. This curated show will be generously hosted by the Jamestown Art Center due to Hera’s impending eviction from its Main Street gallery space.

Myron Rubenstein was awarded a Project Grant to help fund a printmaking project titled Head, Feet, Brains. This endowment will enable Myron will make a series of Intaglio prints that will be colored by ink and watercolor and shown both at Hera Gallery and The Newport Art Museum. Having blended medias for the duration of his artistic practice, Head, Feet, Brains will continue in his tradition of mixing media to create communicative images that delve into ideas of the subconscious.

Carl Dimitri won a Fellowship in Painting award. This award is a portfolio based awarded on the caliber of Carl’s artwork. A self-professed experimenter, Carl’s paintings swing between painterly aesthetics and those of a more anti-art aesthetic. Recently, he has been focusing on concepts of ‘painterliness’ itself, trying to subvert the idea from the inside by using crude color and lines and by beating the imagery into abstraction with all varieties of paint.

Viera Levitt was awarded a Project Grant for Beauty in the Beast: Photography of Brutalist Architecture. As director of CCRI’s gallery, Viera curated an exhibition about CCRI’s Knight Campus concrete brutalist “megastructure” in Warwick, that inspired discussion and a new creative look on this architectural style from 1950s to 1970s that prioritized massive geometric forms and use of concrete. Using this show as a stepping off point, Viera will utilize her grant to photograph other structures in New England that exhibit similar architectural styles to this ‘megastructure’. She intends to visit locations such as Brown University’s Sciences Library in Providence and the Fall River Government Center.

Images: Myron Rubenstein, Head, Feet, Brains, intaglio print, 2011. Carl Dimitri, Thinking About Charlotte Bronte, mixed media on panel, 2011. Viera Levitt, The Fifth Floor, photo, 2011.

Under Cloud Sevan presents: The Year-end Artistic Collective

2011-12-14T12:44:00.000-08:00

The Year-end Artistic Collective featured at Hera
will provide a combination of visual arts with the performances of live stage arts. The examples on display will be arranged with no regard to order creating a new whole that others may interpret openly. Opening night will take place on Friday, December 30th at 8PM and the closing night will take place the following Friday, January 6th at 8PM. There is no cover to attend we ask that you bring new or slightly used children’s books, art or school supplies to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rhode Island. Art may be purchased during gallery hours or by appointment.

écriations

2011-12-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hera will be featuring a wealth of young artists in its up and coming exhibition écriations that will take place this January. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 14 and the show will remain in our walls throughout the following week. A closing reception will also be held the following Saturday, January 21.

Below you find a quick look at two of our exhibiting artists. These first two images are paintings done with oil and mixed media by New Hampshire artist, Alec Harding, including a self a self-portrait. The following two are local artist, Kyle Sellon, who also features a self-portrait...

Erica Knowles displays at the Worlds Smallest Art Gallery

2011-12-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

Erica Knowles’ photographs will be on display in The World’s Smallest Art Gallery*
through January 15, 2012.

Erica is a self-taught photographer, a URI student studying journalism and gender
studies, and an aspiring photo jouranlist. Erica says she took her lead in photography from her sister Ashley Knowles. Ashley is a wedding photographer in Charleston, South Carolina. Check out her blog at http://suitcasephotographer.blogspot.com/ .

Lots of people take photographs and share them with family and friends on
Facebook. However, Erica’s are different. They are better; more vivid, more colorful,
more mysterious and suggestive, more engaging. To look at them is to be introduced to a
new place you’d like to get to know and simultaneously to be reminded of a place from
your past you’d like to revisit. Now that is a neat trick!

*The World’s Smallest Art Gallery is: • A kiosk on the South County Bike Path (http://southcountybikepath.org/). It is located in Peace Dale where the bike path crosses Route 108. The kiosk is a beautifully designed and built structure that has two display cases. Each measures 42” X 41” x 2”. The cases are weatherproof and have sturdy locks. • A joint project of Hera Gallery (http://heragallery.org/) and Peace Dale Neighborhood Revitalization, Inc. (http://www.peacedale.net/). • A place to show your artwork. Hera Gallery will be managing the kiosk as a place for artists to display their work. You may have a six-week, one-person show in the kiosk on a first come, first serve basis. Work is not juried, but must be “family friendly.” Artists are asked to choose work that does not depict nudity, sexuality or violence. Neither Hera Gallery nor PDNRI will insure the work. Artists display work at their own risk. • A way of having your work seen by a lot of people. The bike path has very heavy traffic, especially during the Spring, Summer and early Fall. Many bikers, runners and walkers pass by every hour. There will not be sales from the Kiosk, but your display can include your contact information. Hera Gallery will publicize The World’s Smallest Gallery on its website, blog, and Constant Contact mailings. A Facebook page will be developed. • A way to beautify the community. The stretch of the bike path where the kiosk is located contains other artwork including murals, sculpture, mosaics, and landscape architecture. The World’s Smallest Art Gallery will add to the beautification of this area. John Kotula is the coordinator of this project for Hera Gallery. If you are interested in showing your artwork on the bike path contact John at johnkotulapchn@yahoo.com to get more details and to schedule a show.

HYDRA: a group of artists from AS220

2011-11-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

HYDRA was a hit! The gallery was full with in and outs who enjoyed the opening reception this last Saturday. Big thanks to everyone who came out to support the cause! Below are a few pictures taken during the show...

HYDRA was a hit! The gallery was full with in and outs who enjoyed the opening reception this last Saturday. Big thanks to everyone who came out to support the cause! Below are a few pictures taken during the show...

Casey Wiebust exhibits at the World's Smallest Art Gallery

2011-10-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Casey Wiebust is Exhibiting in The World's Smallest Art Gallery from October 15, 2011 through December 1, 2011.

Casey's Artist Statement: My goal as an artist is making the surreal and magical world I often imagine believable. My imagination takes me to a world of supernatural beings and settings in which I wonder, "Is there really a 'middle earth’ with witches, goblins, wizards and fairies?” My artwork has revolved around this theme for the past few years. My interest in the fantastical world derives from my childhood; I grew up in Jamestown Rhode Island, my house surrounded by woods, brooks, gardens and of course, witches, fairies and gnomes!

The World’s Smallest Art Gallery is: • A kiosk on the South County Bike Path (http://southcountybikepath.org/). It is located in Peace Dale where the bike path crosses Route 108. The kiosk is a beautifully designed and built structure that has two display cases. Each measures 42” X 41” x 2”. The cases are weatherproof and have sturdy locks. • A joint project of Hera Gallery (http://heragallery.org/) and Peace Dale Neighborhood Revitalization, Inc. (http://www.peacedale.net/). • A place to show your artwork. Hera Gallery will be managing the kiosk as a place for artists to display their work. You may have a six-week, one-person show in the kiosk on a first come, first serve basis. Work is not juried, but must be “family friendly.” Artists are asked to choose work that does not depict nudity, sexuality or violence. Neither Hera Gallery nor PDNRI will insure the work. Artists display work at their own risk. • A way of having your work seen by a lot of people. The bike path has very heavy traffic, especially during the Spring, Summer and early Fall. Many bikers, runners and walkers pass by every hour. There will not be sales from the Kiosk, but your display can include your contact information. Hera Gallery will publicize The World’s Smallest Gallery on its website, blog, and Constant Contact mailings. A Facebook page will be developed. • A way to beautify the community. The stretch of the bike path where the kiosk is located contains other artwork including murals, sculpture, mosaics, and landscape architecture. The World’s Smallest Art Gallery will add to the beautification of this area. John Kotula is the coordinator of this project for Hera Gallery. If you are interested in showing your artwork on the bike path contact John at johnkotulapchn@yahoo.com to get more details and to schedule a show.

2011-10-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

LIVING ARTS of Tulsa is accepting proposals for artwork of every sort. SEND: a written proposal with description of the work to be presented video documentation, CD/Audio tape, 10-15 slides of work, or CD or DVD (Mac/PC) with images in jpeg format (900 x 1200 maximum). Be sure to title and correspondingly number your work as well as include media, size, artist bios/ phone numbers/ addresses/ e-mail addresses/ technical requirements for work's presentation

SEND TO: Steve Liggett at 307 E. Brady Tulsa, OK 74120

for more info please visit
steve@livingarts.org

phone:918-585-1234

2011-10-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

HEY EVERYONE! October 15 from 6pm-8pm will be yet another NOT SO SILENT Auction. Tickets ARE ONLY $5 at the door! There will be hors d'oeuvres and live music so stop in for all the festivities...

2011-10-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

These first two images are prints that dealt with experimentation of opposition. I was upset with these prints as a whole but later realized that it was because I had grown accustom to the reverse image that I had been carving. These prints are called "Erra Erra" which I found to be an amusing title.

These next two images are great examples of the style of graffiti that I developed over the years. I try to be attentive and creative with my letter placement and combination. The overall goal is to make the letters flow into one solid image. The piece on top; "Yesir" and the below; "Angel"

NEWEST INTERN: Leander JL Jaques

2011-10-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! My name is Leander Jaques and I am more than excited to be meeting all of our associates throughout the upcoming months. I am a born and raised Rhode Islander from the Wickford area in North Kingstown and absolutely love this state. I am currently taking studio art classes at URI and am a big fan of instate tuition. Following the 2012 spring semester I am returning to the New Hampshire Institute of Art for my senior year where I will receive my BFA in Illustration as well as a minor in Printmaking.

Art is something that has surrounded me for my entire life. With a tattoo artist for a grandfather, mother, and aunt, I have been exposed to a vast breed of characters in the art world. And with a grandmother who lives for traveling, I have been privileged to experience some of the world's most beautiful art from the Vatican and all its wonder to the mesmerizing halls of the Louvre. It is this clash of artistic exposure that has influenced my style of work and has broadened my appreciation for the work of others.

I was introduced to the art of printmaking in my second semester of sophmore year at NHIA. In that semester, our class was responsible for doing a monotype linoleum, reduction relief, intaglio, lithograph, and multi-layered silkscreen. I enjoyed each process but was most fond of working with linoleum and silkscreening. While at URI my focus has remained with these two mediums but used in separate situations. Now in printmaking III with Gary Richman, my reduction relief prints have improved greatly and I have been experimenting with a combination of cutting styles. I generally work with precision when illustrating and had always transferred that attention to detail to my prints. However, I have recently been applying a looser cutting style along with other layers of precision for a controlled abstraction.

I have always been interested in the art of lettering and this is prevalent in many of my pieces. Starting at a very young age I was taught the many techniques of sign painting and boat lettering. I have been taught the ancient technique of goldleaf as well as the new form of lettering with vinyl. I have been using several layering techniques with silkscreening to create a battle of lettering styles that I find most interesting and ranging from calligraphy to graffiti. I primarily do my silkscreen work on t-shirts because I feel it is the best way to advertise to the public while remaining affordable for both parties. I have a small art studio in The Shady Lea Mills in North Kingstown which is right off Rt.1 and I am studio 217. Feel free to stop by whenever!

I will be posting images of my work in the very near future which I hope you all enjoy! Again, I would to like say how much I can't wait to meet you all and have some fun with the gallery this semester. It should be a good one!

Opening Reception for our Associate Members Exhibition

2011-10-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

The gallery was abuzz with great artwork and phenomenal people last Saturday night for the opening reception of our current show, NEW WORK, featuring six of our associate members.

Check out the pictures below, all courtesy of Claudia Flynn:

Islay Taylor Exhibiting at the Worlds Smallest Art Gallery

2011-09-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

Islay Taylor is the current exhibiting artist at The Worlds Smallest Art Gallery, a tiny little kiosk in Peace Dale situated on the Washington County Bike Path. She has put a selection of laser cut pieces of jewelry on display, along with the larger sheets of scrap neoprene that the pieces have been cut from. She likes the concise framing of the presentation, it makes the work on display look otherworldly.

Thanks to John Kotula for taking on this fun project that gets art out of the gallery and into the public sphere!

BCC exhibit provides plenty to contemplate

2011-09-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

By Keith Powers

Contributing writer

September 29, 2011 12:00 AM

"Liminal" is not a commonly used word, but its various meanings are filled with artistic possibilities. "Between," "transformation," and "dislocation" are some. "Liminal" refers to that period when things are in transition, when possibilities for danger, change, and mystery exist in equal measure. It is also the defining feature of a new exhibition of works by Lin Lisberger, Michael Yefko, and Phyllis Ewen in an appealing exhibition on display at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Gallery at Bristol Community College.

Anything "liminal" offers possibilities, challenges and perspective. The three artists, using visually similar materials but with vastly different approaches, all gaze at the intersection between the natural world and our involvement in it with curiosity and reticence.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Review: Picking out a cornucopia of gallery highlights this fall

2011-09-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

By Doug Norris/Features Editor

...A bit farther afield, the artists of Hera Gallery in Wakefield are exhibiting as part of an exchange with AS220 in Providence. The show, "Hera Works," running through Saturday at AS220 Project Space, serves as a sampler of new work by 16 Hera artists. (AS220 artists will reciprocate at Hera later this fall.)

Eclectic and edgy, the exhibition illustrates Hera's strengths as one of the most consistently provocative arts collectives in Rhode Island. Among the most powerful works on display are slightly disturbing and surreal but strangely compelling pieces by Claudia Flynn and Hera Gallery Director Islay Taylor.

Flynn's "Danseur Noble," in which she combines a piece of driftwood with the plastic head of a doll, is a striking coupling of found objects - one a gift of nature, the other a thrown-away toy that resonates with lost innocence and the ravages of time. The forms work together to create an expressive, emotive whole. Every viewer may see something different in the doll's expression, but a certain toughness and stoicism - and, yes, nobility - come through, a sense of surviving despite hardships, suggested by the full extension of the driftwood's four limbs.

Equally creepy and captivating are Taylor's pieces of jewelry-like brooches titled "Biopsy," referencing samples of living tissues cut from the body for the purpose of diagnoses. Made from plastic, glass, retro-glo thread, enamel, copper and surgical steel, the brooches stick to a wall like large barnacles and are jarringly depicted in a photograph affixed to a woman's body, the white forms repeated on a white shirt in a scene that both disturbs and fascinates.

Using found or reclaimed objects, artist Troy West creates an eloquent plea from nature that alludes to manmade environmental disasters like the BP oil spill. The piece, "Apocalypse," made from wood and copper, combines text and an abstracted shore bird in a simple construction that serves as a poetic call to arms in the fight against societal indifference.

Intriguing contributions from other Hera artists - including Linda Denosky-Smart, Cynthia Farnell, Michael Yefko, Elizabeth Lind, Carl Dimitri, Roberta Richman, Jeannette Jacobs, Jill McLaughlin, Myron Rubenstein, Barbara Pagh, Alexandra Broches, John Kotula and Susan Hayward - make Hera's Providence experiment worth the detour if you find yourself anywhere near the Big Blue Bug in the next couple of days.

>Read the full article here.

Review: 'This American Life' lies at the heart of Hera Gallery exhibition

2011-09-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

By Doug Norris/Features Editor

Thursday, September 1, 2011 11:07 AM EDT

WAKEFIELD - Two artists take different paths as explorations of America's living spaces in the latest exhibition at Hera Gallery. "Alexandra Broches: Landscape" and "Michael Yefko: Shed," each occupying a separate room in the gallery, are wildly different in approach, technique and execution, yet complement one another as expressions of cultural identity and the impressions that we make upon a place.

Broches presents a new series of color photographs - eight in all - each 32 by 40 inches. Despite their large size, the photos act almost as subversive postcards, given their concentration on sense of place, distinctive detail and some ephemeral sense of nostalgia, longing or memory.

"Liberty, Delmarva Peninsula" is a striking image of an undersized replica of the iconic statue spied by commuters out the window of the Staten Island Ferry, strangely placed in a nondescript patch of land in the unique convergence of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia properties that make up the peninsula. The sky dominates, diminishing the statue, which, although centrally positioned, seems just another element in the landscape, equal to the surrounding cell tower, telephone poles and street lights.

"Horse Ride, Virginia Beach" is even more ambiguous. The title is derived from the lone sign on a stretch of sandy beach. The sign, propped up against an empty metal corral-like enclosure - the kind you see at carnivals - reads "Horse Ride" with blank space underneath, presumably to chart times for the ride. The emptiness of the scene - sand with a few footprints, ocean, sky and the missing horse ride - evoke a number of feelings, from mystery to nostalgia. Is the ride a relic, a remnant of tacky beach day fun gone by, or is it merely on winter hiatus until the crowds return?

>> Finish reading the article here.

HERA2010

2011-09-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Preview our recently released book, HERA2010, which features our current membership and an introduction by Katherine Veneman.

HERA 2010 by Hera Gallery/Hera Educational Foundation | Make Your Own Book

Click the links in the preview window for more information. Or click here to go to Blurb.

Michael Yefko's current exhibition

2011-09-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Please click on the showcard to enlarge it...

Alexandra Broches showing at Wadleigh Gallery at Chester College of New England

2011-09-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

Alexandra Broches will be presenting new photographs at the Wadleigh Gallery at Chester College of New England. The show will open on September 6th, and will run through October 6th; with an opening reception on the evening of Wednesday September 14th at 5:00pm.

Mara Trachtenberg at Krause Gallery

2011-09-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery member, Mara Trachtenberg, will be presenting her series Photographs from A Decadent World at Krause Gallery in Providence. The show ill be up from September 8th through the 23rd, with a reception on September 15th from 5:00 - 9:00pm. Please visit www.mosesbrown.org for more information and directions to the show.

Help Cynthia Farnell support her photo essay with Kickstarter

2011-08-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

From our previous Gallery Director, Cynthia Farnell:

Dan and I returned from Myrtle Beach last Sunday after wrapping up our final shoot for Wish You Were Here - our photo essay on Waikiki Village, a small family- owned motel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The series will be exhibited at the Franklin G. Burroughs & Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum of Myrtle Beach from January 8 until February 26 , 2012. We have been raising funds on Kickstarter and need your help! We have until Thursday August 18 at 7:58PM (that's tomorrow!) to meet our Kickstarter goal!

Aspects of this project have been supported by the South Carolina Arts Commission. We have also applied for funding from the Humanities Council South Carolina, but support from artists, educators and arts professionals such as yourself is vital to Wish You Were Here!

Please take the time to check us out on Kickstarter and follow us on Posterous (http://farnell-powell.posterous.com/) - any donation is welcome and rewards are available!. I'll be glad to answer any questions.

Thank you!
Cythia and Dan

Mural Project

2011-08-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

For the past two days, John Kotula, Jerry Shippee, Evan Hanson (a.k.a. 90sevan), Ross Gronvold, Melanie Bicknell, Harry Kenyon, Jesse Kenyon, Wayne Quackenbush, Fred Cahill and Amber Swann have been hard at work creating the new mural to be hung on the side of Hera Gallery. According to Barbara Pagh, this is to be the fourth incarnation of the Hera mural. The first was created by John Mascartola who worked with at risk high school students to create individual panels. The second was four panels of the Saugatucket River that were created in conjunction with an exhibit. Beth Schenke worked with young art students and painted the pieces in the back room at the gallery. Eventually the pieces were given to the Saugatucket River Heritage Coalition. The current mural of a woman reading to a group of students is in need of replacement due to the effects of New England weather. The new mural includes a variety of images such as a pair of roosters, graffiti and cartoon style designs.

Micro/Macro (PNSNE)

2011-08-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

NEWPORT, RI: Twenty-four members of the Printmakers' Network of Southern New England
(PNSNE) have assembled a diverse and arresting array of original prints for "MICRO/MACRO," opening at the Newport Art Museum on September 3 and running through December 31, 2011. Each artist responded to at least one of two size-related challenges. Talks, workshops and other programs are planned throughout the fall to coincide with "MICRO/MACRO." The Museum hosts a reception for exhibitions opening in September on Friday, September 9, 5 - 7 pm, 76 Bellevue Avenue. The reception is free for Museum members. A $10 donation is suggested for non-members.

Participating in "MICRO MACRO" are Grace Bentley-Scheck, Shirley Bernstein, Joan Washburn Cole, Claudia R. Fieo, Carol Strause FitzSimonds, Jenni Freidman, Donna M. Frustere, Elizabeth A. Goddard, Eric Goldberg, Sarah H.Gustafson, Joan Jacob son-Samore, Victoria Jutras Kniering, Melody Knight Leary, Amanda Lebel, Jim Lee, Rhea Nowak, Barbara Pagh, Margot K. Rocklen, Margot Rubin, Kim Tester,Carmela Venti, Jo Yarrington, Yuemei Zhang, and Elizabeth Bonner Zimmerman.

For more information about "MICRO/MACRO: Printmakers' Network of Southern New England" and associated programs visit www.NewportArtMuseum.org or call (401) 848-8200.

Calling all poets and artists, an invitation from Lori Roeleveld

2011-08-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was greeted this morning by an exciting email in my 'inbox' from a poet friend. There is in the works, a four week poetry/art series that is being put together to present visual and word artists to the public at the Wakefield YMCA. The format seems to be an informal share and tell that will do a good job engaging the public. Please take a moment to read the call for participants below... and feel free to email Lori Roeleveld about participating.

Artists and Poets for Lunch at the South County YMCA on alternate Fridays running from 9/23 through 12/2 .

I'm hoping to line up one poet and one artist to come in from 12:00-1:15 to share their work and talk a little bit about their process. We have a large senior population here around that time but also lots of empty nesters. I'm also approaching area restaurants to ask them to support the arts by donating one healthy buffet lunch. They can showcase their menu and advertise their business as well as support the Y and the arts.

With 6 time slots, I'm looking for 6 poets and 6 artists. I really believe that creativity is part of a healthy lifestyle and want to find ways to promote that concept through the YMCA.

You can reach me through FaceBook, or at my YMCA email: Lroeleveld@gpymca.org or my YMCA phone at 783-3900 ext 137. Thanks!

Dates for the Lunches:
September 23
October 7, October 21
November 4, November 18
December 2

Narragansett Times Review

2011-07-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery opens new ‘In and Out of the Box’ exhibit

July 24, 2011

Shaun Kirby

skirby@ricentral.com

Hera Gallery will feature “Out of the Box,” a new exhibit on view through Aug. 13. Call 789-1488 or visit www.heragallery.org. The gallery is located at 327 Main St., Wakefield.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN—A vast network or stamps, cardboard boxes and envelopes travel rapidly across the world, delivering gifts and other pieces of mail to their ultimate destinations. The process of packaging, opening and repackaging the materials we ship out daily, however, is never consciously apprehended. Hera Gallery seeks to change this ignorance of our postal lives.

‘In and Out of the Box’ is an internationally juried exhibition which showcases various artists’ takes on how our daily lives are affected by the postal materials with which we interact. Modern consumerism, with the advent of the internet, has taken shopping from the country’s malls and turned it over to the touching of a few keystrokes and clicking of the mouse. Online platforms such as Amazon and eBay have put more shipping materials into the world’s skies and upon the roads than at any time before. The latest installment at Hera Gallery seeks to conceptualize these seemingly mundane exchanges.

“Hera Gallery has a history of experimentation and willingness to produce shows that reflect on the times we live,” said local artist and contributor Michael Yefko. “Hera's mission is to explore contemporary culture, social and aesthetic issues. This show was a chance to have a Conceptual/Sculpture Art Exhibition.”

Artists have explored the psychological meanings behind packaging and shipping out materials. All of the pieces include a USPS postal shipping box, but what they contain and spill out into the gallery is decided by the artists and their muse. Yefko contributed two pieces, including ‘Proof of Entry,’ a display of hidden images contained within the package.

“I wanted to create a piece that involved the viewer as a participant in the workings of ‘work’,” said Yefko.. “Each viewer is asked as ‘Proof of Entry’ to remove the top of the contents of the box, thus revealing a new image and ‘Proof of Entry’ for the next receiver/viewer.”

Artist Lauren McAdams displays an opened package which contains the requisite packaging materials, such as Styrofoam which protects the small mirror which hangs on the gallery wall above it.

“My work focuses on creating thematic commentaries, narratives, and questions about the inner emotions which occur in interpersonal relationships,” said McAdams. “I created a belt buckle with a mirror as a large visual element. There is a constant uneasy feeling for the viewer between the avoidance of looking into the mirror and he fear of breaking the mirror.”

“For an exhibition about shipping, there is nothing worse than receiving or accidently causing a broken mirror,” she continued.

The ‘In and Out of the Box’ exhibition also forces the artists themselves to conceptualize their daily postal activities which are typically not the focus of their art. The show addresses the nature of packing, sending, delivering, and receiving shipped goods.

“As artists, we are involved in getting our work seen,” said Yefko. “We enter juried shows, and once accepted we need to package up and ship our work. Once a show is over it gets repackaged and sent back. We thought it might be interesting to let that all be seen in the exhibition.”

“The challenge of developing new uses for cast-off stuff stimulates my creative imagination,” said contributor Michele C. Leavitt. “Repackaging a variety of materials and shipping them to the gallery means they are again part of the ‘nature of boxing.’ I enjoy the opportunity to honor the history of reinventing uses for stuff and creative design along both lines.”

The exhibition will be available to the public from July 9 to August 13. Dina Deitsch, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Mass., is juror of the exhibition. Hera Gallery is open Wednesday through Friday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit www.heragallery.org or call 789-1488.

Carl Dimitri showing in the Worlds' Smallest Art Gallery

2011-07-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

Hera Gallery Artist Carl Dimitri is showing his drawings in The World's Smallest Art Gallery* through September 1, 2011. (Shown here is a detail of Lincoln.)

Carl makes politically informed artwork that can be appreciated for the thought provoking ideas he deals with or for his exuberance and technical skill. The portraiture in this series is as impressive as the reminder that in the past our political leaders were inspiring statesmen, who spoke about profound issues.

*The World’s Smallest Art Gallery is kiosk on the South County Bike Path (http://southcountybikepath.org/). It is located in Peace Dale where the bike path crosses Route 108. It is a joint project of Hera Gallery (http://heragallery.org/) and Peace Dale Neighborhood Revitalization, Inc. (http://www.peacedale.net/). John Kotula is the coordinator of this project for Hera Gallery. If you are interested in showing your artwork on the bike path contact John at johnkotulapchn@yahoo.com to get more details and to schedule a show.

Yefko in The Ocean State Review

2011-06-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery member, Michael Yefko's drawings appear in the inaugural edition of The Ocean State Review published by the University 0f Rhode Island.
Contact the Ocean State Writers Conference for details.

Hello!

2011-06-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! My name is Karen Lewis and I'm the new intern at Hera. I'm very much looking forward to meeting all of you at the upcoming summer events. I'm a returning student at URI majoring in Art and French. I grew up in Westerly and Wakefield, moved to Boston after high school and returned to Little Rhody a few years ago. I've always had a love of languages and while in Boston taught English as a second language. Eu falo Português. Aussi, maintenant j'apprends le Français. I also studied Spanish for about 6 years, mostly with Señor at SKHS and then at UMASS Boston, and am hoping to start learning Russian this summer.

I've become very interested in printmaking since taking Print One with Professor Pagh and am currently taking a monotype course with Professor Samson. This is a new medium for me and I've learned a great deal over the past several months. The number of techniques and processes used to create an image amazes me and it's always fascinating to see what will be on the surface of the paper when it's peeled off of a freshly run plate. My art style often tends to be very detailed and monotype has given me the opportunity to experiment and explore. I've been working on a lot of abstract pieces and utilizing several methods such as trace monotype and color viscosity. I'm hoping to be able to learn more about printmaking and to expand my knowledge of digital art in the future.

I'm very excited to have the opportunity to intern at Hera and become part of the gallery's community.

EXG Senior Portfolio Exhibition

2011-06-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Recently, the Exeter West Greenwich Senior Portfolio class held a pop-up exhibition at Hera. The students installed the show, coordinated the reception, and de-installed all within the course of a weekend! The were busy busy busy, working furiously to get their first show up and ready for the public. The reception was fantastic, and the artists and attendees were all appreciative of the opportunity. Here are just two images from the evening...

Suzi Ballenger Exhibits in The World’s Smallest Art Gallery

2011-06-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

Suzi Ballenger's amazing weaving will be on display in The World’s Smallest Art Gallery* until July 15. Suzi has been weaving for 28 years. She also teaches weaving, mainly at the Saunderstown Weaving School where she has had a long affiliation with the school’s founder Norma Smayda. Suzi is an endorsed arts educator through the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

For her exhibit in The World’s Smallest Art Gallery on the bicycle path in Peace Dale, Suzi has chosen pieces made of recycled and repurposed materials: plastic wrap, plastic film, mill end fibers, fishing line, and, appropriately, bicycle chain. She has fashioned these castoff materials into two scarves, a purse, a necklace, and a somewhat scandalous apron, an apron Lucy would never have worn to welcome Ricky home.

Curator’s Statement: Suzi Ballenger says about herself, “I am a cook by profession and a weaver by passion.” Could it be that the food she prepares is as spicy, adventuresome, witty, and alluring as the fiber art she makes? The mere possibility makes my mouth water!

For more information about Suzi, go to realfibers.com. For information about her classes visit saunderstownweavingschool.com.

* The World’s Smallest Art Gallery is:

· A kiosk on the South County Bike Path (http://southcountybikepath.org). It is located in Peace Dale where the bike path crosses Route 108. The kiosk is a beautifully designed and built structure that has two display cases. Each measures 42” X 41” x 2”. The cases are weatherproof and have sturdy locks.

· A joint project of Hera Gallery (http://heragallery.org) and Peace Dale Neighborhood Revitalization, Inc. (http://www.peacedale.net).

· A place to show your artwork. Hera Gallery will be managing the kiosk as a place for artists to display their work. You may have a six-week, one-person show in the kiosk on a first come, first serve basis. Work is not juried, but must be “family friendly.” Artists are asked to choose work that does not depict nudity, sexuality or violence. Neither Hera Gallery nor PDNRI will insure the work. Artists display work at their own risk.

· A way of having your work seen by a lot of people. The bike path has very heavy traffic, especially during the Spring, Summer and early Fall. Many bikers, runners and walkers pass by every hour. There will not be sales from the Kiosk, but your display can include your contact information. Hera Gallery will publicize The World’s Smallest Gallery on its website, blog, and Constant Contact mailings. A Facebook page will be developed.

· A way to beautify the community. The stretch of the bike path where the kiosk is located contains other artwork including murals, sculpture, mosaics, and landscape architecture. The World’s Smallest Art Gallery will add to the beautification of this area.

John Kotula is the coordinator of this project for Hera Gallery. If you are interested in showing your artwork on the bike path contact John at johnkotulapchn@yahoo.com to get more details an

Video Art from India

2011-06-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery

Presents
Video Art From India

June 17, 2011

7:00 – 9:00 pm

Hera Gallery is pleased to present Video Art From India, an evening of film screenings to be held on June 17th at Hera Gallery. The compilation of films, which have been curated by Hera Gallery member Ambuja Magaji, features works by Surekha, Babu Eshwar Prasad, Manjunath Reddy, Mangala.A.M, Bharatesh Yadav, Raghu Prasad, Koumudi Patel, Baptist Coelho, Venkatesh K.N, Aditi Kulkarni and Deepak.

Both narrative and experimental films by Indian filmmakers from different geographical and cultural groups, will be shown illustrating the artists’ diverse backgrounds. The films included in Video Art From India explore topics as unique as the filmmakers who have composed them. Currently, there has been an upsurge in the use of digital media arts within emerging Indian artists as a form of expression. This evening of video screenings is sure to present a distinct perspective that will challenge the viewer.

RE-USE THE IGLOO

2011-06-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

FOR BLOG:

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THIS LETTER AND SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION. PITTSBURGH AND 20TH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING THANK YOU.

www.reusetheigloo.org

Suzi Ballenger exhibits at the Worlds Smallest Gallery

2011-06-01T12:33:00.001-07:00

Exhibit Opening for

Suzi Ballenger, HANDWOVEN

Re-cycled, Re-purposed, Realfibers!

June 2, 7 - 8 pm

THE WORLDS SMALLEST GALLERY

Peace Dale Art Park (Bike Path)

Peace Dale, RI

Exhibit runs from June 1 - July 17, 2011

37th Anniversary Exhibition

2011-05-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery

Presents
37^th Anniversary Show

May 28^st – July 2^nd 2011

Opening Reception: June 4^th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Hera Gallery is pleased to be celebrating our 37^th anniversary. Over the past 37 years Hera has undergone many developments and changes, however one thing has remained consistent over time: Hera has always had a talented and dedicated group of artists working with the gallery.

In celebration of this anniversary, and in recognition of the members that contribute to Hera Gallery, we are pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition, 37^th Anniversary Show. This exhibition will feature the work of current gallery members, Linda Denosky-Smart, Cynthia Farnell, Michael Yefko, Claudia Flynn, Troy West, Elizabeth Lind, Carl Dimitri, Roberta Richman, Jeannette Jacobs, Jill McLaughlin, Myron Rubenstein, Barbara Pagh, Alexandra Broches, John Kotula, Viera Levitt, Mara Trachtenberg, and Susan Hayward. Works on display will include textiles, photographs, prints, sculpture, paintings, and more. The wide scope of work is reflective of Hera Gallery member’s diversity of media and interest.

The 2011 Senior Portfolio Art Class of Exeter Wesst Greenwich

2011-05-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Exeter West Greenwich High School invites you to the opening of their final show this Sunday (5/22) from 4-8pm at Hera Gallery. Students exhibiting are: Kayla Bailey, Annie Dwyer, Sean Farrell, Nathan Greene, Emily Hamlin, Emily Humphrey, Jessica Lawler, Felisha Lussier, Laura Marcus, Torey Randall, Becca Rowan, and Laura Taylor. The exhibition will also be up Monday, from 3-6!

Claudia Flynn "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"

2011-05-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

A mixed media work by Claudia Flynn was selected for the exhibition "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" at the Galerie Vidourle Prix in Sauve, France. She and Troy West recently had solo shows at this gallery in southern France.

Her Morning Elegance

2011-04-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Stop motion has been around for a long time, but it never ceases to be cool. Especially when it contains thousands of still frames and is done creatively. I love Oren Lavie’s Her Morning Elegance. It is an awesome example of the way stop motion video can create a captivating visual effect.

From Oren’s MySpace page:
*The video was shot all stills – roughly 3225 still photos for the entire video, using one camera, hanging from the ceiling for the main body of the movie.

* It took 4 weeks before shooting to create an animated computer generated storyboard for the video, with 3d dummies for the characters.
* It took only 2 days of shooting for the live actors on set to re-create the 3.5 minutes computer sequence, frame by frame.
* Some of the bed sheets used in the video were taken from Oren’s own bedroom and are now considered collectors items, worth at the moment not very much and therefore used as bed sheets.

* Each of the wonderfully talented people above have worked on the video for a fraction of their normal rates (except Oren who worked for his normal rate of zero).

Thank You So Very Much

2011-04-27T10:39:00.001-07:00

Hera Gallery would like to sincerely thank the following artists and contributors to our recent fundraiser, Having A Wonderful Time. With out their generous support, this event would not have been as successful as it was. Again, Thank you for you continued support of the arts.

Adam Dwyer

Alex Milton

Ally Smith

Alyssa Holland Short

Anna Flores

B. L. Green

Barbara Marom-Pollack

Barbara Pagh

Ben O'Malley

Bill Krull

C.C. Wolf

Carl Dimitri

Chad Amos Self

Cindy Mellor-Neale

Cynthia Farnell

Dan Powell

Darrell Matsumoto

Divozzi Bakery

Eric Goldberg

Flying Shuttles Studio

Helen Burke

Hiroko Shikashio

Ingrid Matthews

Jacquelyn Etling

Jan Armor

Jeannette Jacobs

Jeff Bertwell

Jennifer Crawley

Jennifer's Chocolates

Jessica Alter

Jill McLaughlin

John Kotula

Jon Campbell

Julie Albert

Karin Mellin

Kate Ricciarelli-Wenson

Kingston Hill Academy

Lin Lisberger

Linda Cohen

Linda Denosky-Smart

Markos Kabob

Mary Kudlak

Merle Barnett

Michael Yefko

Neal Walsh

Nick McKnight

Olivia McCullough

Pat Decamp

Patricia J. Arrow

Paul Forte

PIÑA

Rhea Nowak

Roberta Richman

Robin Sherin

Ryan O'Hara

Samantha Sutcliffe

Susan Hayward

Sweet Cakes

Sylvia De Swaan

Victoria Lockard

Viera and Talia Levitt

Zoey Stites

Having A Wonderful Time

2011-04-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of our current Postcard Fundraiser "Having A Wonderful Time"

Installing all the postcards

If you haven't made it in to the Gallery to see these amazing miniature works of art, come by this week and take one home with you!

URI Senior Show May 7th- 21st

2011-04-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Spring 2011 Senior Seminar Show "Not to Exceed 98 Ankles"

May 7th-21st. Opening Reception May 7th, 6-8pm

Come and join the University of Rhode Island Art Department for this semester's Senior Seminar Art Show at Hera Gallery in Wakefield. The work being shown is a collection of all the work completed by the students over the course of this semester under the supervision of Professor Barbara Pagh. This class is the capstone to the Fine Art education experience where each student conceives a unique concept and carries out the production under the critique of their peers and professor. There is a wide range of work including drawing, sculpture, printmaking, painting, photography as well as installation pieces.

Artists included in this show will be: Matthew Brady-Wood, Stephen Constantine, Michael Dunne, Ben Eaves, Andrea Gulluscio, Karin Mellin, Chad Amos Self, Gerry Symonds, Daniel Tacey, Rebecca Arthurs Woods, and Sarah Yang.

Kevin Spacey at the Nancy Hanks Lecture...

2011-04-21T06:05:00.001-07:00

This speech is an inspiring way to spend 45 minutes...

Inspiring TED Video

2011-04-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

The nerve disease ALS left graffiti artist TEMPT paralyzed from head to toe, forced to communicate blink by blink. In a remarkable talk at TEDActive, entrepreneur Mick Ebeling shares how he and a team of collaborators built an open-source invention that gave the artist -- and gives others in his circumstance -- the means to make art again. Mick Ebeling founded the Not Impossible Foundation, a nonprofit that develops creative solutions to real-world problems.

Click here to view more TED videos.

Not To Exceed 98 Ankles

2011-04-20T12:22:00.001-07:00

Make sure you swing by Hera Gallery to support the worlds future artists and check out what the URI Senior Seminar students have been up to in their final semester of school. The show opens on Saturday, May 7th from 6:00 - 8:00pm.

Introducing the World's Smallest Art Gallery!!!

2011-04-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery is pleased to announce the first exhibition at the World's Smallest Art Gallery, which is located in Peace Dale just off the bike path. It might be a small space, but it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it has some amazing artwork in there!

Sevan is the inaugural artist exhibiting in The World’s Smallest Art Gallery*. His paintings will be on display from April 15 through the May 31. Sevan, a.k.a. 90Sevan, is an interdisciplinary artist who works in both visual and performance arts. He tries not to define himself beyond saying that he wants to use his expressive and crea...tive talents to contribute to art and culture over time. He is the vocalist and lyricist for the group Broken Ground. You can hear Sevan’s music and see more of his artwork at Hempfest at URI. You can contact Sevan at 90sevan@gmail.com.

Curator’s comments: Here is my recommendation: buy one of Sevan’s paintings and hang it at the foot of your bed. Look at it when you wake up in the morning. You will save a lot of money on coffee because you won’t need the caffeine to get you going. Just the energy pouring out of the painting will give you a buzz. It is a pleasure to present these vibrant, rhythmic paintings as the inaugural show in The World’s Smallest Art Gallery.

*The World’s Smallest Art Gallery is kiosk on the South County Bike Path (http://southcountybikepath.org/). It is located in Peace Dale where the bike path crosses Route 108. It is a joint project of Hera Gallery (http://heragallery.org/) and Peace Dale Neighborhood Revitalization, Inc. (http://www.peacedale.net/). John Kotula is the coordinator of this project for Hera Gallery. If you are interested in showing your artwork on the bike path contact John at johnkotulapchn@yahoo.com to get more details and to schedule a show.

Postcard Fundraiser

2011-04-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

We have been opening lots of envelopes with submissions for our upcoming Postcard Fundraiser!
Here are few examples:

Don't forget to come to our Opening Reception and Sale, Saturday April 23, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, where you can purchase a unique piece of art for only $15!

Personal Thoughts From the Intern, Rebecca

2011-04-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

I take a deep breath to keep my overwhelming feelings of stress down to a manageable level. I locked myself in all weekend and pretty much did nothing but work on my projects because the end of the semester is quickly looming closer and closer. How can I balance and appreciate this exciting time in my life and still take steps to organize my future plans? Being mindful and appreciative of the present moment is something that I've been working on personally for a really long time. And as hard as it is to focus on happiness in the midst of final projects, papers, and my post-graduation future, I am taking a vow (you are my witnesses!) to try to be mindful and appreciative of my life as it is this very moment. And when I take the time for it, it's not hard to think about all that I have to be appreciative of.

Here are some details of three paintings that I’m working on for the upcoming URI Senior exhibition that will be held here at the gallery May 7^th-21^st.

I am also in the process of writing an artist statement for my work:

Painting is a process of exploration. Although non-objective in a literal sense, these paintings are concerned with the vague territory between abstraction and the known and seen world. The process of making abstract art for me involves creating a tension between intentional images and pure unstructured abstractions. I like to work between the pure randomness of chaos and the obvious tensions of recognizable image. My work focuses on exploring organic forms in nature, particularly the ways in which they reflect and echo one another in widely varying scale and context, creating an ambiguity which challenges the viewer to bring personal associations to each piece.

I hope to see you at our opening reception, May 7th 6-8pm!

Grant Writing for Artists Workshop

2011-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery presents a workshop on Grant Writing for Artists. It will be held at Hera Gallery in Wakefield, RI on Wednesday, April 27 from 7:00 - 9:30 PM.

This workshop demystifies the process of grant writing for both individual artists and collaborative projects. In a step-by-step approach, it covers the complete cycle of grant writing, including preparative research, interaction with funders, budget development, writing proposals, and assessment of the process. The steps and processes explored can also be easily translated for use in applications to Artist Colonies and Residencies. It is an appropriate workshop for individual artists, collaborative artists and arts organizations.

The workshop is presented by Barbara Bernstein, an artist and currently an adjunct lecturer at Rhode Island School of Design. The College Art Association has invited Bernstein to present the workshop to its members as have other arts groups and academic art departments. Since 2007, she and her husband, David Garratt, have been the Resident Artists at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She has been awarded grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, The Pennsylvania Arts Council, the HK Mellon Foundation and others for both her work and her teaching.

Attendees will be provided with an extensive list of resources for the grantseeker.

Suggested donation, $25. Pre-registration is requested. Hera Gallery 401-789-1488

This program is presented with partial support from Hera Educational Foundation and The Friends of Hera. Hera Gallery is free and open to the public and is accessible to persons with disabilities. Parking is available.

Having a Wonderful Time! Postcard Fundraiser

2011-04-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce our Postcard Fundraiser!

All postcard are created as original works of art. This is your chance to purchase a unique piece of art for only $15!

All postcards will be displayed and sold in the gallery on a first come first serve basis. Saturday April 23 - Saturday April 30.

Come to our Opening Reception and Sale, Saturday April 23, 6:00 - 8:00 pm.

Call for Entries | All Media Open Juried I Exhibit 2011

2011-03-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

The South County Art Association has called for entries for the All Media Open Juried I Exhibit.
All artists are invited to submit up to 3 original works in any media, 2-D or 3-D. Works must have been finished in the last 2 years and not shown at SCAA previously.

All 2 -D work must be wired and ready for hanging. No one measurement is to exceed 48". Sculpture must be easily transportable. Original works in any media; open to all New England artists. Entries due by May 15.

Visit http://www.southcountyart.org/exhibit/378 for more information.

Call for Entries | Earthworks: Open Juried Clay Annual

2011-03-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

The South County Art Association is hosting the The 38th Annual of works in clay by New England artists. All artists are invited to submit up to five original works in clay. Works must have been finished in the last 2 years and not shown previously in any SCAA juried show. Entries due by April 15.

All entries must be hand-delivered to SCAA, April 10, 13, 14, 15, between 1-5 pm each day.
Awards given at the Opening Reception on Thursday, April 21, 7 to 9 pm.

Visit http://www.southcountyart.org/exhibit/377 for more information.

Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts needs your help

2011-03-30T10:34:00.001-07:00

This is an informational letter from Alexandra Broches, Gallery President:

Hello,

As you know I have been receiving emails from RI Citizens for the Arts and have attended meetings at RISCA where they have been present to discuss critical budgetary issues effecting the arts in RI.

RICFA, RI's advocacy group for the arts, is itself facing financial a financial crisis. I quote from a recent email.

"Most of you know by now the tenuous situation RI CFA has found ourselves in financially. We announced on March 1 to our organization partners, if we do not raise $20K by the end of this month, we will no longer be able to continue spearheading the advocacy efforts for the arts, lobbying at the State House, and working to protect RISCA funds and programs. We asked for your help.

Since this call, many of you have taken action to reach out to your constituents and generate much needed funds towards our goal. THANK YOU! We are just over 1/2 way there, and I am happy to announce we have received a $5000 anonymous matching donation (from a former RI CFA board member)."

I urge you to go to their website and join to support this important and effective organization. For quick access, their membership page with paypal link is here: http://www.ri4arts.org/member.htm

While there check out the links to the Advocacy Toolkit and Issues Action Center. Sign up for email alerts.

The future for artists, arts organizations and public access depends on all of us taking action NOW.

Thanks,

Alexandra

Ekphrasis Exhibition

2011-03-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ekphrasis has been considered generally to be a rhetorical device in which one medium of art tries to relate to another medium by defining and describing its essence and form, and in doing so, relate more directly to the audience, through its illuminative liveliness.

Our current show Ekphrasis does exactly this. Each piece of work being a collaboration between an artist and a poet. Each descriptive work of prose or poetry highlights, through its rhetorical vividness, what is happening, or what is shown in each of of the visual art works, and in doing so, enhances the visual art and so take on a life of its own through its brilliant descriptions.

Installing Ekphrasis was a great experience. We kept the exhibit design and presentation very simple and very orderly, so that the viewers would notice the artwork—not the exhibition design. If you were here at the opening reception you know how crowded it was. We are so pleased to see our community embracing art and participating in it!

If you haven't had a chance to step in and see Ekphrasis, we'd love to see you at the gallery soon!

Call for Entries | 2011 ACGOW Regional Art Exhibit

2011-03-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

At the Artists' Cooperative Gallery of Westerly has a call for entries for their regional show.

Each spring ACGOW sponsors a juried regional show that attracts artists from across the Northeast. The Regional Show is open to local and regional artists. Held annually in the Spring, this exhibit features some of the most diverse artwork seen in the gallery all year. Exceptional work is recognized in various categories and accompanied by cash prizes and gift certificates.

The Artists' Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Inc. welcomes participants in it's 18th Annual Regional Art Exhibit. The exhibit will be on view April 27 through May 21, Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5pm.

The Regional Exhibit is their largest, most exciting show of the year. They receive art and crafts from artists throughout New England and New York, each hoping to participate in the exhibit. Of the 360 pieces submitted last year, the juror chose 112 pieces to grace ACGOW's gallery walls.

Karen Barthelson, Executive Director of Mystic Art Center will jury this year's exhibit. Karen will be responsible for determining the winners of the following awards. $200 Washington Trust Company Award; $150 Professional Planning Award; $100 ACGOW Award and $100 Jerry's Artarama Award.

Come join the excitement on Wednesday, May 4th from 5-8:00 pm for the Opening of the 18th Annual Regional Art Exhibit. Awards will be announced at 7:00pm.

The 2011 Show will run from April 27 - May 21 with an Opening Reception on Wednesday, May 4nd from 5 - 8 pm during the Westerly Art Stroll. For the 2011 ACGOW Regional Art Exhibit, download the Prospectus or contact the Regional Show Coordinator on the website at www.westerlyarts.com. Click on "Regional Show" for the information.

Simply Amazing!

2011-03-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

It's mid afternoon here at Hera... just the time when I start to have a little bit of mid-afternoon tiredness. Appropriately, I just came across this new design for an energy efficient lamp by solovyovdesign. The tubes of these compact bulbs reference the human brain... I just love the playful design of these pieces!

Crossing Currents Review...

2011-03-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

The Providence Phoenix did a write up of the exhibition, Crossing Currents, that Hera produced in conjunction with The Hive Archive. You can read the review here:

Review: 'Crossing Currents: Feminism Now' at URI

  Showcase sans statements    

By GREG COOK

One of the cool developments of the past decade has been the reassessment and historical embrace of the founding feminist art of the 1960s and '70s. Shows like "WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution," which toured nationally in 2007; "Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958-1968," on view at Tufts University in Boston through April 3; and the RISD Museum's recent surveys of Lynda Benglis and Pat Steir have been well-deserved celebrations of these women's work.

They've also made plain that the centrality of video, performance, and perhaps photography in contemporary art owes much to feminist artists of the '70s. And the evidence suggests that post-modernism's interrogation of history is a direct descendent of feminist questioning of art (and world) hierarchies.

"Crossing Currents: Feminism Now" at the University of Rhode Island's Feinstein Providence Campus Gallery (80 Washington Street, through March 31) showcases more than 40 artists affiliated with two Rhode Island women artists collectives: Hera Gallery and the Hive Archive.

Mara Trachtenberg featured on 'The Food Seen'

2011-03-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery member, Mara Trachtenberg, has been featured on The Food Seen, an internet radio station run by Michael Harlan Turkell, the photo editor for Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn.
You can read the short write up below, or click the title to listen to the radio feature!

 The Food Seen - Episode 42 - Mara Trachtenberg’s “A Decadent World”, sculpted sugar photographs  

 First Aired - 03/15/2011 03:00PM 

Mara Trachtenberg, a fine art photographer, constructed a series of fantastical 4×5 photos images for “A Decadent World” with sugar as her sculptural medium. Feeding off an early fascination with food, from her Nana’s eastern-European Jewish kitchen (blintzes, latkes, kasha and kugel), to her father’s garden, Mara’s documented slaughterhouses to explore the connection between animal and human, life and death, and in the same vein, been rapt with Food Network’s Ace of Cakes, the plasticity of sugar, and our societal relationship between the culture of food and the nature of food.

Installing Ekphrasis

2011-03-10T11:36:00.001-08:00

I don't want to divulge too much information... but, we've begun installing Ekphrasis! It's looking like an amazing show...

Be sure to come by the gallery on Saturday night, the 12th, from 6:00 - 8:00 for the opening reception!

CULTURE STOPS!

2011-03-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, March 10th, 2011, you will be asked to witness a world devoid of creativity, imagination and thought: America after culture stops.

Culture Stops! is a citizen-driven, peaceful day of action by individuals and organizations in the creative sector across the United States who share the simple belief that the power of creative thought is the lifeblood of democracy.

We come together to call attention to the deep and widespread cuts, proposed by Congress and the President to federal funding for the arts and humanities, heritage and preservation, arts education and a host of related federal programs that quietly fuel the creative sector. We understand and accept that our country's economic crisis demands shared sacrifice, but we see these cuts as uneven and disproportionate. We believe that Congress needs to apply reductions fairly and evenly - but that it must not balance the federal budget at the expense of the millions of people who add critical vitality to American life. The issue is not only an economic one, but also a moral one. Arts and culture feeds the minds and fuels the souls of Americans. Seriously weakening these creative forces seriously weakens our country.

Our day of action will put a face to the millions of individuals, for-profit companies, non profit organizations and institutions who fuel and sustain the creative sector and are the backbone of America ingenuity.

On Thursday, March 10th, 2011, Culture Stops! will ask you to imagine a world where writers put down their pens and artists put down their paints. Where architects stop designing our cities and poets, dancers and sculptors stop teaching our children. Where our national landmarks fall into decay. Where debate is no longer fostered in our universities, or on our radio dials. Where our symphony halls fall silent and our libraries go dark. Where our collective history is left unmade and unwritten.

Please take a moment to visit the Culture Stops! website to learn more about this day of action.

It is also important that you sign the petition, here.

Gallery Member, Michael Yefko's Sculpture Installation "Sod"

2011-03-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce Michaels Yefko's sculpture installation Sod.

Michaels' sculptures and 2-dimensional works tend to reference concepts of dreams, loss, house, and home; he utilizes the symbol of the house as a stand in for the self and as a means to exercise his anger over the loss of the natural world for the sake of the built suburban spectacle. By incorporating loaded symbolic objects such as a house, Michael stimulates the viewer to have a personal connection to the work that carries such a potent context with it.

The installation will be open to the public March 3rd - 28th at the Kingston URI Fine Arts Center, Monday - Thursday 11-4pm. Be sure to swing by URI and check it out!

2011-03-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Lethal Weapon 6

2011-03-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

This is a film that was submitted to our recent film festival. "Lethal Weapon 6" by Ryan Santagata.

Providence Rhode Island

2011-03-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

This video, by Cory Johnson, was shown at our recent Young Adult's Exhibition and Film Festival

Remembrance 9-11

2011-03-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

This film, by Hutchison, was submitted to our recent film festival.

Bruce Bloodfist

2011-03-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

This is a film that was submitted to our recent Young Adult's film festival. "Bruce Bloodfist" by Keven Patterson

Call for Entries | Visual Arts Sea Grant Program

2011-02-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

The Visual Arts Sea Grant Program of Rhode Island was established in 1988 to encourage New England professional visual artists to address the issue of the environment of the ocean and its coastal communities. Grants are intended to financially assist individuals and/or collaborating artists whose works are related to themes of the marine environment. Curatorial proposals will be considered.
The grants, up to $3,000, will be awarded annually. This year's application deadline is May 27, 2011.

Previous recipients of Sea Grant awards are not eligible for five

years. Individuals enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students are not eligible. Proposals will be review by a panel of RI professionals in the visual arts.
Applicants must submit:

Maximum of ten .jpeg images in RGB format approximately 1024 pixels wide on a CD.
Artist's current resume and brief statement, outlining the objective of the proposal, relevance of the work to ocean environments, and the relationship of the proposal to past work.
A list of images including name, title, date, medium, dimensions, and file name.
A self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of slides and materials.
Itemized budget including: supplies, services and support personnel.

http://www.uri.edu/artsci/art/grant.php

Visual Arts/Sea Grant

Department of Art & Art History

Fine Arts Center

University of Rhode Island

105 Upper College Road

Kingston, RI 02881-0820

See a list of Visual Arts Sea Grant awardees

Images Evolve

2011-02-23T10:43:00.000-08:00

Dreams, memories, a stream of consciousness, instinctive flow, pushing form and stressing content...that's how Images Evolve. The upcoming exhibition of recent paintings by artists Carl Dimitri from Rhode Island, Samantha Listorti from Connecticut and Aaron Wetjen-Barry aka a-ronious from Boston presented in the galleries at Hygienic Art. The show runs from February 19th until March 12th. The show is located at Hygienic Art, 79 Bank Street in New London, CT.

Check it out: http://www.hygienic.org

EKPHRASIS

2011-02-18T12:06:00.000-08:00

A collaborative project between Hera Gallery & The Origami Poems Project:

Ekphrasis

Gala Opening will be on Saturday, March 12th from 6-8 p.m.
Special Guest: Tom Chandler, RI poet Laureate Emeritus
Music by Castle and James Shelton
Readings by Origami Poems Poets

Eat a Poem for Lunch
Held at Baglez in Wakefield on Saturday, March 19th and 26th at noon
Music, art, readings from local poets
Daniel Chase, musician

Celebration of National Poetry Month
Happening at Hera Gallery on Friday, April 1st from 6-8 p.m.
Contemporary Theater actors perform Origami Poems
"Cyjoe Barker, The Origami Detective" by Barbara Schweitzer

The Eerie Hours

2011-02-18T10:26:00.000-08:00

This is a film that was submitted to our recent film festival. "The Eerie Hours" by C. Curran, J. Zaydon, and D. Casey.

Mi Rosario

2011-02-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here is another great video from our Young Adult's Exhibition! Enjoy "Mi Rosario" by Nestor Munoz.

Expression

2011-02-17T13:03:00.000-08:00

This video, by Nick O'Neill, was shown at our recent Young Adult's Exhibition. Enjoy his "Expression!"

L'argile et le Plastique

2011-02-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

This video, by Chip Connell, John DiGangi, Brian Keefe, and Lucas Ritacco, was shown at our recent Young Adult's Exhibition. Enjoy!

Young Adults' Exhibition 2011

2011-02-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't had a chance to get into the gallery to check out our current exhibition, featuring the work of Rhode Islands most talented High School Artists, we have some pictures below for you.

Thanks to Rebecca Arthurs Woods, who took these photographs.

Sacrifice for Scholarships?

2011-02-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

I was ambient listening to NPR this morning as I was in the gallery work on some emails... I heard a story on Here and Now that peaked my interest. Apparently, the University of Iowa may be forced by their state legislators to sell a $140 million Jackson Pollock painting that was gifted to the school in the 50's in order to fun future art scholarships. Although I support scholarships for students, and think that financial assistantship is an important aide, it doesn't seem that the sale would reflect kindly upon the University's opinion of the arts. The legislators should consider the paintings value to be more than just a portable asset.

Iowa Lawmakers Move To Sell Pollock Painting To Fund Scholarships

(University of Iowa Museum of Art, Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1959.6)

Iowa legislators are considering a bill that would force the University of Iowa to sell its Jackson Pollock “Mural” painting, valued at $140 million, which was donated to the state-owned University in 1959. The proceeds from the sale would go into a trust fund to give scholarships to art students. But museum associations have criticized the move, arguing that treating works of art as a source of cash is a violation of museum ethics.

Claudia Flynn Wins Painting Award

2011-02-09T12:11:00.001-08:00

Claudia Flynn received the Roger King Fine Art Award for First Place in Painting at the 2011 Newport Annual Members' Juried Exhibition. Curator Maya Allison selected the painting APPARITION. Flynn's work is painted with fingernail polish on glass. The exhibition runs from February 5 - May 22 at the Newport Art Museum
.

New Intern at the Hera Gallery

2011-02-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hello! My name is Rebecca and I'm so excited to be the Hera Gallery's newest intern! I am graduating this May from URI with a degree in Fine Art. I am from Hawaii but transferred here in 2009. Photography and painting are two of my greatest passions.

One of my abstract landscape paintings

With photography I love telling people's stories through my camera and capturing their love. In my paintings I take much inspiration from nature and seek to evoke the feelings that come from the natural beauty of ordinary scenes.

I am learning in my artistic/creative journey that I was not made to be someone else. I enjoy encouraging and inspiring people to use their creativity for the greater good in the world. I am excited to see the creativity and the aesthetic of art and ideas take back society and lead it to discover selflessness, humility, health, and joy.

During college I started my photography business and have been so blessed to see it take off. To visit my website go to www.rebeccaarthurs.com

I am really looking forward to working here at the Hera Gallery and I hope to meet many of you at our upcoming exhibitions!

24th Young Adults’ Exhibition

2011-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

February 5^th – March 5th

Opening Reception: Saturday, February 5, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Student Film Festival: Sunday, February 13^th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Hera Gallery is pleased to be hosting the 24^th Young Adults’ Exhibition. Hera is happy to be back in the heart of Wakefield, and to once again have the opportunity to serve our community by presenting an outstanding art exhibit that celebrates the young artists of our community. We look forward to hosting the Young Adults’ Exhibition, which has become an eagerly anticipated event on our calendar.

A true celebration of the developing talents from Rhode Island, this show offers High School aged artists from across the state a unique opportunity to present their original artwork to the community in a professional gallery setting. Over 200 public, private, and home-schooled students will be participating in the exhibition. The exhibition will feature paintings, photography, sculpture, ceramics, papier-mâché, and more. This month long exhibition will showcase the limitless range of technique and creative expression of our local young artists.

This year we are also very excited to be hosting a film festival featuring short films by Rhode Island high schoolers. In conjunction with the Young Adults’ Exhibition, this event will also provide an opportunity for students to have their work viewed in a profession setting, possibly for the first time in their career.

Young Adult Film Festival

2011-01-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hera Gallery is excited to be hosting a student film festival in February. This festival will be a one night event that will feature films made by Rhode Island High School students, and will run in conjunction with the Young Artists' Exhibition. All entries are free to submit, and all films will be included in the exhibition. Please note that the specific date will be announced shortly.

Click on the image above to enlarge it, and print.

Hera Gallery To Present a Weekend Film Festival

2010-12-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

Friday, December 10, 7:30 – 9 PM

Video works by Ambuja Magaji

Sunday December 12, 3-4 PM

Experimental Video Shorts by Nancy E. Wyllie

Sunday, December 12, 4:15 – 5:15 PM

Selection of Contemporary Indian Animated Shorts

Hera Gallery will present a weekend series of films, video art, and animation by Rhode Island and Indian artists. The screenings will take place at Hera Gallery. On Friday, December 10 from 7:30 to 9:00 PM Ambuja Magaji will present her video art. The series will continue on Sunday afternoon from 3 – 4 PM with video shorts by Nancy E. Wyllie, and from 4:15 – 5:15 with a selection of animated films by artists living and working in India.

AMBUJA MAGAJI will present her video art including an online collaborative video project with international artists titled The Exquisite Corpse Video Project. She will introduce her work and process. Magaji writes: “As an artist my work speaks in relation to socio-political roles that define human condition. My work also addresses gender roles that communicate complexity of human condition by drawing my own experiences and reflections around me. Born and raised in India and living in the West the two value systems contradict and influence each other in my work. I see a cycle of remembrance, adaptation, avoidance and rediscovery of two cultures in my creative path…”

NANCY E. WYLLIE will screen 7 experimental video shorts that address a variety of subjects including, a Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse auction, the duck and cover generation, NASA, the overactive imagination and an exploration of syntax. Her video art and short documentaries have been screened at The New York International Independent Film Festival, The Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria, Action on Film Festival in Long Beach, Twin Rivers Media Festival and Female Shorts : Film and Video Showcase /Celebrating Cinematic Work of Women in the Arts at The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA.

Selection of Contemporary Indian Animated Shorts

Short animated movies from India were selected by Kavita Singh Kale, in collaboration with the independent curator Viera Levitt. They range from colorful stories where the country of their origin is obvious, through political content told from very personal perspective to more globalized views of the (animated) world. Kavita Singh Kale is a filmmaker, artist and children’s book illustrator living in New Delhi. The selected filmmakers also represent different regions of India: Srinivas Bhakta (Kerela – South), Dhimant Viyas (Gujarat – West), Meren Imchen (Nagaland – East), Santosh D. Kale (Karnataka – South), Kavita Singh Kale (Himachal Pradesh – North), Nina Sabnani (Gujarat – West).

Images from top to bottom: Ambuja Magaji, Nancy E. Wyllie, image still by Kavita Singh, Kale.

Weaving: Art, Craft and Design Talk by Susan Sklarek

2010-11-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, December 5th at 3:00pm Susan Sklarek will discuss the inter-relationship of art, craft and design within thewide range of applications for weaving. Examples of innovative contemporary work, both handmade and industrially produced, will be shown.

Susan Sklarek received an MFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1978. Since 1980, she has been teaching weaving and textile courses at RISD at both beginning and advanced levels, including the use of 8-harness floor looms as well as 24-harness computer-interfaced dobby looms, training her students as both artists and designers. She worked for 8 years as the in-house designer for Stanley Woolen Mills, which produced fancy woolen fabrics for mens and women's apparel. Other freelance projects include working with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation on the analysis and reproduction of Anni Albers' woven fabrics. In addition to design for industrial and hand production, her own work has also included woven illustrations for print, and 2- and 3-dimensional fine art pieces for exhibition. Her frequent travels to Japan have led to an extensiv collection and knowledge of Japanese textiles. Susan has also recently traveled to CEDIM Design Institute in Monterrey, Mexico, and to Duksung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea, to teach and lecture as a Visiting Professor.

Come to the Hera Gallery, December 5th to enjoy the talk by Susan Sklarek!

Thanks to all who attended!

2010-11-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all who attended the Eccentric Fusion show on Sunday night! Although it was a short show, there was a great turnout and all seemed to enjoy the verity it had to offer. Thanks again to the contributing artists. Here are some photos from Sunday.

Open Mic Night

2010-11-10T11:42:00.001-08:00

Here are some images from last months open mic night. This night features the work of local poets, musicians, writers, and more. It's held every third Thursday at Hera Gallery... Check it out!

Eccentric Fusion

2010-11-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

2010-10-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 29th, 2010

CONTACT: Ryan O’Hara, 508.735.9007, ry_ohara@my.uri.edu

Islay Taylor, 401.789.1488, info@heragallery.org

Hera Gallery, 327 Main Street, Wakefield RI 02880-0336

Fall hours: Wednesday-Fri (1-5) Sat (10-4) www.heragallery.org

Hera Gallery

Is pleased to present:

ECCENTRIC FUSION

November 14^th – 16^th BY APPOINTMENT

Opening Reception: Sunday, November 14th, from 6:00 – 8:00pm

Hera Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition featuring regional artists Julie Mollo, Jennifer Cawley, Katrina Eugenia,Yong Joo Kim, and Christine Kim. This show will illustrate unconventional looks that relate to the fashion world which do not conform to commercial standers but embraces a sculptural aesthetic.

The artists will be representing an array of different media covering textiles, photography, painting, and jewelry. New Yorker,Julie Mollo, creates garments inspired by shapes, the 1950’s, the city of New York, and anything that sparkles. Her clothes are youthful, quirky, and sculptural and have been seen on musician such as Katy Perry. Photographer Jennifer Cawley, re-represents images of women from how they derive originally in fashion magazines. By using an “anamorphic lens” she draws attention to the way that feminity is constructed.

Katrina Eugenia, is another photographer who also is a painter. Her paintings are an eclectic mix, as she has been bought and commissioned by the likes of Hip Hop moguls, plastic surgeons, and street poets, which encourages her to continue in the pursuit of art that people from all walks of life can enjoy. Introducing unconventional use of familiar artifacts into her jewelry making is Yong Joo Kim. Discovering a hidden beauty of mundane objects such as velcro, pins, nails, and cable ties she brings new ways of looking at these objects through reconfiguration in her jewelry. Christine Kim is a jeweler who feels that jewelry should be ornamentation celebrating the body. Her work captures and articulates the human form, and mainly focuses around the head because of its close proximity to the senses. Her jewelry is as dependent on the human form as possible.

Image: Jennifer Cawley, Digital Photograph from the Ophelia Series.

These programs are presented with partial support from The Rhode Island State

Council on the Arts, Rhode Island State Council of the Humanities, Hera Educational

Foundation, and The Friends of Hera. Hera Gallery is free and open to the public and is

accessible to persons with disabilities. Parking is available.

Narragansett Times Features Hera's Current Show

2010-10-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

In the October 21-22, 2010 weekend edition of The Narragansett Times, an article titled "Hera Gallery opens New Works show with a group exhibit" graced the Time Out section of the newspaper. You can read the whole article here.

Not So Silent Auction - A Great Success!

2010-10-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Hera Gallery's Not-So-Silent Auction that took place last Saturday resulted in a great time. As I walked in the gallery was filled with tables of auctioned items such as original art, jewlery, and crafts, hosted private dinners, local gift certificates, and so much more. While being stationed at the door to welcome guests, I got to meet many of the members and visitors of Hera. It was nice being able to put faces to the names I have heard all about. Everyone was so nice, and as more people filed in, the gallery became alive with life. The live music by Saddle Up The Chicken set the relaxing, yet upbeat tone for the night. Guests mixed and mingled, enjoyed food, conversation, and bidding. It was an exciting and successful night. Unfortunately, I departed at 7 and missed the live auction that began at 7:15. I hope all who attended enjoyed themselves, and congrats to all the bidding winners!

John Kotulas KICKSTARTER Project

2010-10-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery member, John Kotula, has put together a phenomenal art project that is using the philanthropy website Kickstarter to help John accrue funding for his project. Below is a description of his project, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man, which will present 25 portraits and interviews of Artists. From John:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

There is an art project I want to undertake called Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man. It is an exploration of aging and creativity, consisting of 25 portraits and written profiles of artists over 65.

In order to do this project the way I’d like to, I have to generate some funding. I have a couple of grant applications out, but I am also trying to raise $5,000 through Kickstarter.com. Kickstarter allows artists to post projects and then people who want to support the project can make donations as small as one dollar. It is also a way of spreading word about the project and getting feedback. However, it is an all or nothing proposition. Having set my goal at $5,000, if I don’t reach it the project is cancelled and no money is collected. I have 30 days to do this.

10 X 10 X 10 X 10

I am sending this to you because I think of you as someone who has a large network of connections who might be interested in at least being aware of this project. Here are my requests to you and your friends:

· Visit my Kickstarter project,

Portrait of the Artist and an Old Man

· Read about what I want to do and give me feedback. Also watch the video and check out the updates section for examples of my portrait work,

· Make a pledge,

· Send this email on to ten friends and put in a good word for the project.

Background Information

Portraiture and self-portraiture have always been a major focus of my art making.

I love the challenge of creating an image that achieves a physical likeness, has psychological resonance, and is visually exciting. In my best portraits, the viewer knows what the person looks like, but also what he is like.

For the past several years I have been exploring how a group of individual portraits can coalesce to form a portrait of a community.

In 2005, when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras, I started to do a series of portraits which, taken together, constituted a portrait of a community. I painted approximately twenty portraits of friends and neighbors.

When I returned to my home in southern Rhode Island in 2007, I was approached by the Alternative Food Co-op to contribute artwork to decorate their store on Main Street in Wakefield. I proposed doing a series of portraits of the community of the Co-op: customers and their children, employees, and board members. I executed approximately twenty portraits of people along with their favorite Co-op product.

In 2008, I successfully applied to Rhode Island State Council on the arts for funding for a project called “Ten Most Wanted.” The idea was to turn the FBI’s ten most wanted list on its head and instead of portraying people who were destructive to the community to create images of people who made the community a better place. In addition to painting the ten portraits, I also interviewed each subject about their community service and wrote a profile of them. This work was exhibited through Hera Gallery and was published in South County Living Magazine.

Now I wanted to undertake a series of portraits drawn from the community of older working artists, not a geographical community, but a community of shared experience. I see this undertaking as a way of exploring the relationship between aging and creativity.

Barbara Bagh at the Bristol Art Museum

2010-10-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be in Bristol this fall, be sure swing into the Bristol Art Museum to see the exhibition, Travel+, which focuses on the Printmakers Network of Southern New England. Our member, Barbara Pagh is contributing to Travel+.

“Travel +”
October 30- November 20
The Printmakers Network of Southern New England PNSNE, Travel Book Project is a three-book accordion collection of original prints and poetry created by fifteen members and three award winning poets. “Travel+” began as a concept to join artists and poets to select a subject over a period of time with creative results fused into a book collection in an edition of 30.

The opening reception will be Sunday, October 31^st, 2-4 pm. Other events will follow at the museum at 2 pm on Sunday, November 7, a “Poetry Reading” with three nationally published poets, Vivian Shipley, Kim Bradford and Sue Standing; Sunday, November 14, a Gallery Talk with Carol Strause FitzSimonds on “21^st Century Technology in Printmaking-Solar Plate” and on Saturday, November 20, a Panel program on “Collaboration-PNSNE, the Travel Book Project”. The PNSNE was established in 1992 for printmakers to share common goals. The participating artists for the exhibit, “Travel +” are: Shirley Bernstein, Grace Bentley-Scheck, Joan Cole, Rhea Nowak, Melody Knight Leary, Barbara Pagh, Carmela Venti Rashen, Margot Rocklen, Jo Yarrington,Victoria Jutras Kniering and Yuemei Zhang.

**Museum Hours, Tuesday-Sunday, 1-4 PM

The future of art?

2010-10-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Did anybody else catch this article on TODAY this morning? The show featured an 8 year old painter, Autumn De Forest, who has sold paintings for over 200,000! Her work is amazing, and I'm glad that I won't be going to college with her... she's bound to be a powerhouse once she gets older. Although, I guess she's a powerhouse now!

This uncannily talented painter is a phenom with texture and color, but refers to these characteristics in an 8-year-oldish way... while talking about 'mixing fast' and dumping watery paint on her canvases to achieve her paintings she reminded me of a little girl playing princess twirling and posing in front of the cameras.

The most impressive thing that struck me was that she takes weeks to work on her paintings, this dedication to time is unusual for someone so young. Below are some images of her work, otherwise be sure to click the link above to watch her interview with Matt Lauer!

Goodnight Moon

Autumn Colors

Barbie Marilyn

This I believe...

2010-10-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

This I Believe - Rhode Island, is hosted by Frederic Reamer, and shares many stories from the people of Rhode Island. This radio show is an opportunity for people to share their own beliefs and experiences. Over this past week the discussion of art and its strong connection in Rhode Island came into play. Ana Flores, who has passionate beliefs about how Rhode Islanders can enhance their connection with the art that surrounds them, reviews the galleries, sculptures, museums and educational venues in the Ocean State. For more, click here.

Not So Silent Auction!

2010-10-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

NPR's Interview with Judy Chicago

2010-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Judy Chicago's "Dinner Party"

On October 12, 2010, host Jacki Lyden interviews Judy Chicago about the release of her new book "Frida Kahlo: Face to Face," with art historian Frances Borzello. You may know Judy Chicago from her 1970's piece "Dinner Party" an important icon of feminist art. It is composed of a large triangular table with thirty-nine place settings on it. Each place setting represents an important woman from history.The plates are painted china in styles that are appropriate for each individual they represent. Another 999 women are also honored in "Dinner Party," however, their names are inscribed in gold on the white tile floor below the triangular table. All together Judy Chicago honors 1,038 women at this table.

Close up of "Dinner Party

The book created by Judy and her collaborator Frances Borzello is told is told in the context of how female painters have been treated, not so much focusing on the life of Frida Kahlo. The two also divided Kahlo's work into nine themes in the book. Some of the themes include, images of her friends and family, images of herself, her exploration of her Mexican identity, images of Diego Rivera and more. During the interview, Judy stated "We also wanted to do something slightly different from what's been done with Kahlo, which is, one, to look her overall body of art. You know, I looked at a lot of the books that have been written about Frida Kahlo and I have to say I found a lot of the writing aggravating because there were writers who would talk about particular paintings of hers that were done in their opinion in reaction to particular actions of Diego Rivera. And, of course, you know, there's a tendency to look at women artists in relationship to their biographies and their relationship with men. And one of the things I say in the book is that if you read a book about Jackson Pollock in which the writer talked about his paintings being created in response to what happened in his marriage to Lee Krasner - I mean, that is totally unthinkable.....it makes them reactive rather than active." And so Judy then goes on to describe the different themes throughout the book, one of them being Kahlo posing with her animals such as "Self-Portrait with Monkey, 1940," which is the painting shown here. She tells us that Kahlo's work hasn't been looked at holistically like a lot of other women artists, and then the book goes into the other factors of why Kahlo's work was treated the way it was. Judy Chicago finishes the interview with a quote "There has to be more room for us as artists. We have to be able to be seen in our fullness in terms of our own artistic agency, and we're a long way from that." Which was a strong note to end on. So look out for "Frida Kahlo: Face to Face," by Judy Chicago with Frances Borzello.

Setting up for the new show!

2010-10-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Over the past two days the Hera Gallery has begun and completed the process of hanging the new works for the next show, featuring Hera Gallery Associate Members. At first it seemed overwhelming with the amount of work that was in the gallery. With six artists being shown, many with different mediums, it was difficult to begin visualizing what would go where. The art was moved around, tested in different spots and laid out to see how the pieces would make sense on the walls. It was fun and interesting to see how organizing the art one way or another could really create quite a different feel on the empty wall.

Painting the stands!

So while the walls were white, bare and ready to get done up with work - I was learning how to hang the art at eye level. Not exactly the best with math, measuring sixty inches up on the wall, while subtracting half of the total of the frame size, and taking into account the wire hanger, was just a bit of a mind boggle for a few minutes. However, once a rhythm and groove began with measuring, marking and hanging - the pieces just seem to go up quickly and the room was coming alive. After day one, more than half of the show was up.

A work in progress!

Day two was a bit calmer. Once I got to the gallery, all of the pieces were up. The next tedious task was typing up labels for each work and a price list for the work. Although it was time consuming, it needed to be done. I left Hera after day two feeling confident that the opening reception for the show this Saturday, October 9th, from 6-8pm would be something that everyone will enjoy. I highly suggest attending and enjoy the hard work that has gone into creating this show!

Chromophila Reviewed!

2010-10-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, it's Islay... I just went online and discovered that the exhibit that I curated in Providence, Chromophilia, has been reviewed in one of our local papers, The Providence Phoenix. The article, by Greg Cook, highlights some of the work in the exhibition and touches upon the aesthetic of the show. Personally, I'm always so glad to have contemporary art jewelry written about, because it hardly ever happens and I appreciate that critics are willing to learn about this emerging field and present it to a larger audience. I've posted Greg's review below, or you can read it here.

Review: '10 Most Endangered Properties,' plus 'Chromophilia'
The title of the "Chromophilia" exhibit at Craftland (235 Westminster Street, Providence, through October 10) focuses our attention on the bright colors of contemporary studio jewelry, which follows the 1980s revival — a la American Apparel — throughout fashion. But the bigger trend that curators Devienna Anggraini and Islay Taylor identify is a Post-Modern, catholic use of a wide variety of non-precious materials.

Mike & Maaike, a San Francisco studio led by Mike Simonian and Maaike Evers, fashion flat leather necklaces and broaches based on pixilated photos of famous jewelry (Daisy Fellowe's "Tutti Frutti" necklace, Imelda Marcos's ruby necklace, the Hope Diamond) found via Google image searches. Mariana Acosta Contreras of Providence strings folded leather into scarf-like necklaces resembling strands of flowers or shelf mushrooms. They often have a neutral main color (gray, white) with bright hues (reds, greens) flaring from inside folds.

Islay Taylor of Providence crochets webs of thread to hold cascading strands of orange and red beads. San Francisco's Emiko Oye turns Legos into bright, blocky, fun bracelets. One cheekily puns on Mondrian's blocky early 20th-century abstractions. RISD-trained Jimin Park's broaches look as if she's fashioned bits of metal and fluorescent plastic junk she picked up off the street into Post-Modern tribal talismans. Oye and Park's work highlights a distinguishing characteristic of this jewelry: a spirit of play.

Carl Dimitri showing in NYC

2010-09-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery member, Carl Dimitri, will be showing his work in a one night exhibition in New York City on October 12th. The event (running in conjunction with a silent auction to support the Gulf Coast) is sponsored by the Tryst Collective. The show is titled BP's Black Plague: A Response in Art & Music, and it looks like it'll be a phenomenal lineup! The event will start at 7:00pm, the gallery information is below.

It's at the R BAR NYC
218 Bowery (between Prince and Spring)
New York, NY10012

OPEN STUDIOS: PAWTUCKET

2010-09-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

It might be 'north of the tower,' but I highly recommend heading to Pawtucket this weekend to visit the artist studios up there!

On September 25 - 26, 2010 from 11 am to 5 pm more than 80 artists in the historic mills of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, are opening their studios to the public during the city's celebration of the arts, the Twelfth Annual Pawtucket Arts Festival.

You'll also be able to find Carl Dimitri in the 560 Building on Mineral Springs... He has recently relocated to Pawtucket, and will be displaying his work in conjunction with the festival.

New Member, Michael Yefko

2010-09-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

We are so pleased to have Michael Yefko as a new artist member at Hera Gallery. Michael has exhibited at Hera numerous times in the past, and you may remember his work from the recent exhibition, Money. Michaels' sculptures and 2-dimensional works tend to reference concepts of dreams, loss, house, and home; he utilizes the symbol of the house as a stand in for the self and as a means to exercise his anger over the loss of the natural world for the sake of the built suburban spectacle. By incorporating loaded symbolic objects such as a house, Michael stimulates the viewer to have a personal connection to the work that carries such a potent context with it.

Michael is also a carpenter, and has spent much time in his life working on his own home. Considering his attention to detail, craftsmanship, and in-depth knowledge of carpentry and construction, we are elated that Michaels' membership is a sweat equity one. It will be nice to have a capable and informed member to help with some of the projects that we have planned for Hera.

Be sure to keep an eye on the Hera Gallery homepage for more information about Michael Yefko.

Images from top to bottom: Barn Razing, from Housing Collapse Series, integral frame, wood, paint, collage, 2010; House For Bachelard, photo on wall, mixed media sculpture, 2010; Suburbia, mixed media sculpture, 2004; Subplot, mixed media sculpture, 2005.

West Meets East: A Cultural Book Exchange

2010-09-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Please join the opening this Thursday at the Knight Campus Art Gallery, CCRI

Exhibition featuring the work of students and faculty from the National University of Art in Bucharest, Romania; Worcester State College; Quinsigamond Community College; and The Massachusetts College of Art & Design.

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 23, from 5 to 7 p.m.

(

The gallery is located in Room 3500, on the third floor of the round building at the CCRI Warwick campus, 400 East Ave.

Enter the library on the fourth floor and go down the stairs to right).

Artist talk 6 p.m. followed by refreshments

This collaborative project showing approximately 20 books with 900 pages covered in drawings, writings and collages initiated by artist and former Community College of Rhode Island student Joanne Luongo, will be on display from Sept. 14 to Oct. 14.

Luongo said her art “relies heavily on the engagement of various community groups and each one is different and quite unique. Of all my shared experiences, however, I believe the most fulfilling is the book exchange that I began in May of 2009 with an artist from Romania.”

Luongo met Daniela Frumuseanu online and they became friends through their shared experiences as artists and educators. The idea of a handmade book that they could both work on together has blossomed into a cross-cultural visual arts community between artists in Romania and the United States. There are 20 books in circulation between these two countries with many more to follow.

As a result of the success of this collaboration, they have developed the “Cultural Book Exchange” between Romanian and American students. This project invites our students to participate in a book sharing project of their own. Any student who is involved in the arts is invited to participate and should contact Joanne Luongo by e-mail at papergirlsstudio@yahoo.com.

After the exhibition at CCRI, the project will be presented at the National University of Art in Bucharest.

“The personal bond between all of us has formed a new community built of trust, understanding, appreciation and respect for our mutual and diverse cultures,” Luongo said. “I believe that the free exchange of knowledge, ideas and inspiration between our cultures is the most important thing we have garnered from all of our efforts.”

Gallery hours:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, e-mail gallery director Viera Levitt at vieralevitt@gmail.com or call the Art Department 401-825-2220.

Alternative Histories

2010-09-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hera Gallery member, Alexandra Broches, to exhibit at URI

2010-09-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Altered Landscapes
September 3 – October 14, 2010
Corridor Gallery, Fine Arts Center, URI

This selection of color photographs is from the ongoing series Altered Landscapes with work dating from 2007 to the present.

As a photographer of the landscape Broches explores our culture’s view of nature and the ways in which we occupy and alter our world. She writes:

“The landscape as subject is traditionally viewed as picturesque. I approach and photograph the landscape as human construct. We ‘landscape’ and beautify our surroundings, preserve and protect our parks. We intervene and mold it, exploit and attempt to control and harness it, defy it, and neglect it. I value a sense of place, collective and individual memory, and identity in relation to the land. I’m interested in the domestic, private, and the ‘small’. My photographs document and report on ‘our’ sense of place. These images are amusing, ironic, and puzzling; some imply social and political consequences that are of immediate, if not critical, importance. The motivation for my work does not come from a desire to be an activist. I photograph and make art to make sense of my world and to give form to that sense. It is a process and search for understanding.”

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