Westport, CT - Art is as much an amorphous sensation as it is a tangible form, inspiring highly individual experiences that transcend the boundaries of medium. This winter, The Westport Library aims to invoke such feelings with its three new art exhibits running NOW to February 4, 2025, in the Library’s Sheffer, South, and Jesup Galleries.
The Sheffer Gallery brings the idea of transcendence to life with Claudia Mengel’s Alchemy of Light, a series of paintings inspired by the essential mysticism at the heart of alchemy’s expression in the Middle Ages.
With its intention of turning metal into gold, alchemy was as equally associated with chemical experimentation, as it was with the spiritual belief in ultimate transformation. Thus, the viewer is invited to lend their own voice to the collection’s broader narrative by offering both an initial reaction to the individual works, including paintingsNew Beginnings and Moving Into Stillness, as well as the group as a whole. Only then can the viewer see the “gold” in this transformation, thanks to the artist’s role as alchemist.
Alchemy of Light epitomizes this duality with washes of pastels, layers of impasto, and the occasional collage, physically creating and capturing light on the surface, as well as in the eye of the beholder. Their patterns and textures create relationships that bring an energy — and perhaps even a magic — to the narrative they impart.
An opening reception will celebrate Mengel’s work on December 18 at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Mengel and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.
In the South Gallery, Jason Pritchard’s Westport Skies exhibits a sense of connection, weaving together a collective narrative among this season’s three artists that echoes their individual understanding of the world and the environments from which they draw inspiration.
Using the medium of oil and the practice of en plein air painting to capture atmospheric coastal scenes, Pritchard's work serves as a love letter to his New England home. He creates with the intention of illustrating a sense of space and connection to the region’s landscape, evident in his paintings Compo Beach and Riverside Park — which invite viewers to connect to their own experiences.
Pritchard will showcase his exhibit, along with fellow artist Christine Timmons, at their shared reception on January 9 at 6 pm, followed by an artist conversation with Pritchard, Timmons, and Burroughs at 7 pm.
Timmons’ Journeys in Collage, in the Jesup Gallery, offers a different approach to the enigmatic quality of art, with pieces like Evita’s Eyes and Cornell-ish Box. Both works exhibit mixed-media collage composed of materials such as various papers, vintage buttons, dead leaves, wire, and ticket stubs on wood panels.
Stemming from a lifelong interest and involvement with art, craft, textiles, design, and an enjoyment of working with her hands, Timmons began learning to work with encaustics (pigmented hot wax), which contain a "mysterious quality" that both intrigues her and informs her art.
"I love getting past the initial uncertainty of beginning a new piece and gradually discovering a path through the labyrinth of building a collage," Timmons said. "While working on a piece, I'm always looking for a visual tension and harmony among the elements ― many of them pieces torn from my trove of old monoprints and papers that I've painted."The layers of each exhibit give their respective works a rich philosophy that colors not only the art itself, but the experience of the viewer as well. Observe and indulge in The Westport Library’s art exhibits this winter season and pose the question: What feelings do these works inspire in you?
For more information, visit westportlibrary.org.