CARYATIDS EXHIBIT AT SHU’S GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY ART EXPLORES WOMEN WHO SUPPORT
Caryatids opens at The Gallery of Contemporary Art at Sacred Heart University on Sunday, April 29, with a reception featuring live jazz, from 1 – 3:30 PM. The exhibit will run through May 30.
Co-sponsored by the Women’s Caucus for Art, Connecticut Chapter, the exhibit includes works that were selected from slide or CD images that were solicited from women artists in the area.
Juried by Jessica Hough, the exhibit includes the works of 13 women: Rose Bernabucci, G. R. Boggs, Victoria Branch, Sharon Coffin, Liz Dexheimer, Anne Doris-Eisner, Roxanne Faber Savage, Elizabeth Helling, Karen Kalkstein, Jacqueline Lorieo, M. G. Martin, Lisa Oswald and Gay Schempp.
Using Caryatids as a theme, works in this exhibition depict women who “support,” in all facets of life. Works in watercolor, monotype, collage, mixed media, and porcelain, as well as terra cotta, marble and wood sculptures were selected by the juror. The works range from evocative, abstract organic forms to realist female images of all ages.
The director of SHU’s Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sophia Gevas, selected the theme, stating that “Caryatids are carved, draped, supporting female figures. While the most famous of these are the figures of the porch of the Erectheum on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, the motif has been used for many other purposes: to support fireplace mantels or as a decorative motif in vases, for example. There is nothing slavish or browbeaten about these pillars of strength, as they gracefully support a building on their heads.
“In their everyday lives, women have always been the supporters of life, and this exhibition seeks to examine current artistic interpretations of women in these fundamental roles supporting their children, husbands, parents and each other.”
The juror awarded First Place to the prints of Roxanne Faber Savage (Fairfield), Second Place to the porcelain and terra cotta works of Victoria Branch (New Haven) and Third Place to Gay Schempp’s monoprint (Winsted).
Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 12 to 5 PM and Sundays from 12 to 4 PM; closed for Memorial Day Weekend.
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