NEW CANAAN, CT, Jan. 3, 2025—Silvermine Arts Center welcomes 25 new members into its historic Guild of Artists, with an exhibition presenting innovative work in a variety of mediums and styles. The exhibition will run from Jan. 11 through Feb. 6. The public is invited to the opening reception on Sat., Jan. 11, 2 – 4 p.m. in the Silvermine Galleries.
In addition to compelling works in painting and sculpture, several of Silvermine’s new Guild members explore innovative processes and materials. Barbara Hocker’s water-inspired works weave photos, prints, and paintings together. The environment—water in particular—is a subject that concerns many of the new Guild members including Susan Hoffman Fishman, who explores disappearing lakes. Her works are both dazzling and shocking. Bonnie Ralston takes found steel and corrodes it directly onto paper using salt, water, and common household acids. Her works exist somewhere between drawings and prints. According to the artist, they reframe the destructive moment as a source of unexpected beauty and possibility. Color theory, inspired in part by architectural or geometric form, takes center stage in the work of Marc Kemeny and Paul Landesman.
The Guild’s new sculptors draw on both natural and mythical forms. Tini Pinto’s biophilic ceramic works are as joyful as they are skillfully crafted. Irja Boden describes her stacked forms, which
are both embossed and layered, as abstract works that convey a narrative. Aleksandra Scepanovic explores displaced identities and finds a certain human resilience in the theme of wholeness through fractured forms.
Since its inception, Guild membership has been a selective peer jurying process. As a result, the Guild has held its membership to high standards. Many members have work represented in permanent collections of some of the world's most prestigious museums, as well as prominent private and corporate collections. This exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to engage with the newest members of this dynamic community of professional artists and learn about their works.
New Members of the Silvermine Guild of Artists:
Irja Boden – Ghent, NY
Serena Buschi – Bedford, NY
Kelly Duffield – Bedford. NY
Liz Alpert Fay – Sandy Hook, CT
Karen Fisher – Superior, CO
Susan Hoffman Fishman – West Hartford, CT
Chrissanth Greene-Gross – North Salem, NY
Lisa Hess Hesselgrave – Branford, CT
Barbara Hocker – Bolton, CT
Marc Kemeny – Fairfield, CT
Amy Kupferberg – Bedford, NY
Paul Landesman – Rye Brook, NY
Linda Lowry – Boulder, CO
Michael Perry – Durham, NC
Tini Pinto – Stamford, CT
Bonnie Ralston – Brooklyn, NY
Susan Richman – Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Susan Rollins – Guilford, CT
Gloria Ruentiz – Stamford, CT
Aleksandra Scepanovic – Woodstock, NY
Colin Smith – Baltimore, MD
Leslie Sobel – Ann Arbor, MI
Lynn Ubell – New York, NY
Eric Urquhart – Danbury, CT
Janet Warner – New Haven, CT