Spring has finally sprung and art is running wild in yet another “Great Escape” exhibition at the Gallery on the Green!  Join us as we break loose through paintings, drawings, graphic arts, sculpture, ceramics, fiber/beadwork and photography.  Upstairs are two other shows.
“Creative Collaboration” reflects the half century of shared life and love of Deborah and Michael Sacks.  The Covid years intensified their collaborating with one another.  An apartment above their son’s garage at his farm in Chelsea, Vermont proved a safe destination for travel away from their primary residence in Avon.  Each season’s change was a rich source of artistic inspiration.
Though they work in different mediums (mixed media digital prints, drawing and painting for Deborah; photography for Michael), the same principles of design and composition structure their work, and there is much that is alike in their approach to subject matter.  Observing and imagining is key.  Michael aims his camera and adjusts to selectively isolate, clarify and/or obscure foreground and context. Deborah begins by sketching and choosing elements to define the work.  Both capture moments of what were an ephemeral interplay of light, color, texture and shape. The myriad tools of digital processing are applied to transform and complete the work.  Deborah has incorporated Michael’s photos in her work and often draws on his computing skills; Michael feels his work is profoundly influenced by Deborah’s artistic knowledge and sensibilities.
Deborah and Michael are frequent exhibitors at galleries in Connecticut and Vermont.  It is just during the past decade that Michael has fully concentrated on photography following his retirement from a career as a Trinity sociology professor.  Dedicating herself to art and teaching since high school, Deborah has degrees from RISD and Wesleyan University and further art training at Trinity College.
The second exhibit upstairs is “Independent Variables,” consisting of recent paintings by Donna Davis.  The theme underscores the special energy and distinctiveness of each piece.  Davis sees a close parallel between her background in mathematics and the acrylic, watercolor and oil paintings she creates:  “There are no themes or hidden meanings, just color, or sometimes lack of it, or motion or stillness.  I painted for many years while teaching math.  This is not as unusual as it may seem. Calculus is the study of variables affecting each other, of change and motion.  Math examines order, symmetry, reflections and even chaos, all of which are characteristics of great art.”  Davis has her studio at Whiting Mills in Winsted.  She has been in juried shows at Five Points and the New Britain Museum of American Art.

The opening reception for all three shows is Saturday, June 3 from 6:00-8:00 pm.  The reception including refreshments is free, and the public is warmly invited.

The Canton Artists’ Guild at the Gallery on the Green, the longest continuously-running artist guild in the state, has 3 separate galleries and hosts month-long exhibitions nine times a year. The gallery is located near the intersection of Dowd Avenue and Route 44 at 5 Canton Green Road in Canton. Hours are Friday – Sunday, 1-5 pm. The main floor gallery is handicapped accessible.