Visit Accessible Art venues in Danbury and Bethel

Artists who specialize in examining the human experience are the focus of the upcoming Accessible Art show sponsored by the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut.

Venues in Danbury and Bethel will host the individual exhibits from Nov. 4 through Jan. 3.

The artwork will be available for viewing at Danbury City Hall, CityCenter Danbury, Hodge Insurance Agency, Hancock Hall and Bethel Library. The Accessible Art program displays are shown throughout the region all year, with five different sets of artists. Artists in the most recent series are:

Peter Schachter and William Frucht of Danbury, Emily Denaro of Redding, Larry Morse of New York City and Randy Lagana of Brookfield.

Larry Morse

Danbury City Hall

155 Deer Hill Ave.

(203) 797-4511

“My art challenges complacency,” Morse says. “It identifies with those who are alone or alien, at the same time reflecting my own resistance to labeling or stereotypes. A self is unique. As an artist, I process the world around me through physical, emotional, and psychological self-determination.”

Peter Schachter

CityCenter Danbury

268 Main St.

(203) 792-1711

“I create my images on an iPad using the Sketchbook Pro software. Essentially my works are drawn by hand with a stylus, then realized as giclee prints,” Schacter says. “While I aim to create images that are painterly in nature, the creative process often allows for unanticipated effects to emerge, as well. The wide range of virtual media provided in the software allows for a blending of drawing, painting, air brush and printmaking techniques in a single work.”

Emily Denaro

Filosa Convalescent/Hancock Hall

13 Hakim St., Danbury

(203) 794-9466

“Bob Dylan once said, ‘Cameras make ghosts of people.’ I think that's a good thing,” Denaro says. “Something that haunts, that stirs, that evokes. It’s the intangible effect from merely viewing something that intrigues me most about photography. My photographs are not meant to be beautiful. They are meant to make one wonder. The real picture is what their subject’s mystery creates in the mind.”

William Frucht

Bethel Public Library

189 Greenwood Ave.

(203) 794-8756

“All photography involves time and memory: every photographic image, however abstract, depicts some moment in the past, some state of things that no longer is,” Frucht says. “Much of my work is intended to capture this change. Within present states I try to depict both idealized past states and relentlessly oncoming future ones. That is the heartless beauty of decay.”

Randy Lagana

Hodge Insurance

283 Main St., Danbury

(203) 792-2323

“These paintings are portraits of and an overall homage to ‘Six Great Artists’: O’Keeffe, Dali, Picasso, Magritte, Modigliani, and Pollock,” Lagana explains. “Each piece began with a pencil drawing of the artist. I then photographed the drawing and edited it digitally to enhance the look. I printed the drawing and finished it with black and white charcoal. For the second stage of the process I reproduced, in acrylics, a painting done by each artist with the exception of Jackson Pollock. (I replicated a background painting in his style for his drawn portrait.) Finally, I glued the drawings to the paintings to complete my homage to these fantastic artists.”

Call for 2020 artists

The Cultural Alliance is also seeking artists from Western Connecticut and Putnam County, N.Y., for the 2020 Accessible Art Project. Artists interested in a solo show at a Bethel or Danbury venue may apply at http://bit.ly/accessibleart. In 2019, the Cultural Alliance scheduled 32 exhibitions. Spaces vary in size and range from small to large spaces depending on the venue. Each exhibit is on view for approximately 8 weeks. This is a unique opportunity to exhibit works in nontraditional spaces. Selected artists are notified of the date and location of their exhibition in advance. Artists may also be selected for more than one location. Questions? Email info@cawct.org.

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Submitted by Danbury, CT

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