Diverse works of at least 16 area artists will be showcased in Wilton Library exhibit

Wilton Library Presents “Art/Place Artists” in June Art Exhibition

Wilton Library is pleased to present the diverse works of “Art/Place Artists” in its June art exhibition, opening on Friday, June 2 with a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Art/Place Gallery is celebrating 42 years as a not-for-profit artist run gallery, which relocated in downtown Fairfield after a fire in 2008 destroyed its first home in the Southport Railroad Station. The mission of Art/Place is “to provide a place where professional and emerging artists can interact creatively without the restrictions that might be imposed by a commercial gallery.”

At least 16 artists from the group will be exhibiting their works in an array of styles, media choices, and subject matter. The artists are: Lynne Arovas (Greenwich), Bevi Bullwinkel (Fairfield), Lois Goglia (Cheshire), Alice Katz (Fairfield), Susanne Andover Keany (Weston), Julie Leff (Weston), Mary Louise Long (Stamford), Keith Magner (Fairfield), Sandra K. Meagher (Norwalk), Toby Michaels (Westport), Lina Morielli (Stamford), Diane Pollack (Westport), Dave Pressler (Shelton), Jason Pritchard (Fairfield), George Radwan (Fairfield), and Florence Zolan (Bridgeport). The reception is free and open to the public.

“Art/Place Artists is an inspiring group of talented artists, and we are excited to welcome them back to the library. I think it’s great that they are a fixture in downtown Fairfield, and I admire their artwork as well as their mission. Their diversity in styles will look fantastic on the library’s walls,” said Ed MacEwen, Art Chairman of Wilton Library.

The artists of Art/Place Gallery come from a range of backgrounds:

Lynne Arovas, a Greenwich resident, graduated with a B.A. in psychology and minor in art from Arcadia University. Her art studies include Silvermine School of Art, The Eddie Niño Art School, and currently the Rowayton Arts Center. Lynne has exhibited in numerous juried, group, and solo exhibitions. She is a member of the Artists Collective of Westport, Art/Place Gallery, Stamford Art Association, and Rowayton Arts Center (exhibiting member). Lynne’s work has been selected for several awards in juried shows, and was part of the 52nd Annual Nor’Easter Exhibition at the New Britain Museum of Art. www.lynnearovas.com.

Award-winning abstract artist Bevi Bullwinkel attended Vassar College and received an MA from Columbia University. After years devoted to photography she turned to painting and has studied with many professional artists in California, Connecticut, and Maine. Her work is primarily in acrylic, ink, water-mixable oil, and mixed media (including cold wax and oil pigment stick) on paper, board, and canvas. Current affiliations in Connecticut include exhibiting memberships in the New Canaan, Ridgefield and Rowayton Art associations, as well the Artists Collective of Westport and the Silvermine Guild of Artists and Art/Place in Fairfield. She has been selected for many juried shows in New York, California, Maine, and Connecticut. Her solo exhibitions include the Westport Town Hall, the Ferguson Library in Stamford, and the Chester Gallery in Connecticut. She has received numerous first prizes in Essex, Guilford, and Rowayton. In 2019 the artist received first prize in the Ridgefield Annual Juried Show for three paintings. www.artplacegallery.org/bevi-bullwinkle

Lois Goglia has exhibited artwork as close as her hometown in Cheshire, Connecticut, and as far as Mexico and South Korea. Lois has exhibited her artwork in United States art galleries and museums in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. She has won prizes both nationally and internationally. Lois has also written reviews for Art New England Magazine. Lois has been investigating the relationship between Art, Science, and Medicine for over twenty-five years. Initially, Goglia used only X-rays from her husband’s veterinary hospital as part of her artist’s vocabulary. Later, animal X-rays were supplemented with human X-rays, X-rays of cells in Petri dishes, mammograms, X-rays of DNA sequencing gels, and brain cell photographs. These were donated by medical professionals and researchers. Lois has been singing with the New Haven Chorale for many years. Her rehearsal and performing experiences have not only given Lois the joy of learning and performing a wide range of repertoire with eight-five other singers, they have also created a balance to the isolation needed to make artwork. This musical experience has found its way into her artwork in her Life Cycle series. Lois has two children, and too many animals to count. www.artplacegallery.org/lois-goglia

Alice Katz has been making art her whole life, having come from a family with many artistic people in it. She taught art in New York middle schools for many years, then became a psychotherapist in private practice, a group leader at area facilities, a guest speaker on radio and television, an author of two self-help books, and the creator of two YouTube videos. Alice has exhibited her paintings, sculpture, and collages at many galleries in Connecticut. She is a member of and does publicity for Art/Place Gallery and the Kershner Gallery, where she is also on the Curatorial Committee. www.artplacegallery.org/alice-katz

Susanne Andover Keany lives and works in Weston, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Barnard College and the School of Visual Arts at Purchase. She participated in the Studio Semester Program in NYC and studied with the late Robert Reed at Yale. Her work is in both private and corporate collections. She values her long relationship with the Art/Place Gallery. www.artplacegallery.org/susanne-andover-keany

Julie Leff studied art at Yale University and the Silvermine Guild of Artists. Her paintings have appeared in numerous solo and group shows and are held in many private and public collections. She is a member of Art/Place, the Artists Collective of Westport and WestonArts. www.julieleff.com.

At an early age Keith Magner was initially attracted to and studied sculpture where he gained an appreciation of light and mass. An avid outdoorsman, Keith was drawn to plein air painting; allowing him to capture the energy in the scenes presented to him in nature. Many of Keith’s studio pieces are grounded in plein air works that capture the essence that he is then able to express in larger scale. Keith developed his skills studying at the University of Hartford’s Art School in the summers through high school followed by studies at Alfred University’s School of Art & Design. Keith’s work is presented in juried art shows at a national and state level. Keith is an elected member of the Salmagundi Club in New York, NY and Art/Place in Fairfield, Connecticut. Residing in Fairfield with his family, he enjoys the proximity of the coastal estuaries, harbors, and communities that inspire his work. Keith states “I strive to create work that radiates the beauty that surrounds us. Art allows me to unplug and immerse myself in my surroundings.” It is this passion for art that has kept Keith engaged in painting throughout his career in the interactive advertising industry. Keith also holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing and Management Information Systems as well as an MBA. www.KeithMagnerFineArt.com

Sandra K. Meagher’s work explores states of mind and aspects of experience through figurative and abstract drawings, installation, painting, photography and sculpture. Although trained as a painter, she favors drawing and the use of charcoal and pastel. Early work invites the viewer to participate in a narrative moment. More recent drawings invite a more contemplative response, inviting the viewer to construct their own interpretation of the shapes and lines before them. Meagher has had some 20 one- and two-person shows and has taken part in many juried and group exhibitions. Her installation “Diary,” featuring a quilt made of linen, lint and used softener sheets, took first prize at the Katonah Museum’s Tri-state show “Breaking the Rules” in 2001. One of five Connecticut artists, Meagher was invited to explore creative interaction in a “Dialogue Group,” which met regularly over a two-year period. The results of their joint venture were exhibited in the Silvermine Art Center’s galleries, and described in the book The Dialogue Project: First Conversations, by Ann Weiner, (Blurb Inc., 2006). Meagher has received fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont Studio Center, and is a member of the Silvermine Guild, Art/Place Gallery, Katonah Museum Artists Association, and Westport Art Center’s Artists Collective, as well as a Life Member of the Art Students League. She maintains a studio in Port Chester, NY. www.sandrameagher.com.

While working as an elementary school art teacher in Weston and Darien, Connecticut, Toby Michaels received her Master’s Degree in Art Therapy and Counseling. Soon after, she initiated an Art Therapy program for Norwalk Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry where she practiced for 17 years. Michaels later moved on to lead art therapy groups at Silver Hill Hospital. At the same time, she was appointed Adjunct Professor of Art Therapy at Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Connecticut. Currently a full-time artist, the Westport resident is a member of Art/Place Gallery, is affiliated with the Westport Arts Center Artist Collaborative, and is represented in the Westport School’s Permanent Art Collection. Media appearances in include Cablevision’s “Creative Women Today” and the award-winning film “Years in the Making,” a documentary which celebrates late-life creativity. tobymichaels.com

Lina Morielli was born in Montreal, Canada and grew up in Darien, Connecticut. Her experience in art and design includes studies at Parsons School of Design and three decades in New York City designing and editing crafts for Woman’s Day and Family Circle magazines among others. This background in craft informs the tactile nature of her studio practice where, Morielli explains, the “immediacy of materials…help me access and express my ideas quickly.” After twenty years living and working in New York City, she moved to Stamford, Connecticut in 1987 where she is an active member of that city’s creative community. President of Stamford’s Loft Artists Association for three years and a board member on approximately one-dozen Stamford nonprofits over the last four decades, Morielli has enriched the city’s cultural and educational landscape. In addition to her nonprofit contributions, Morielli has taught at after-school and summer art programs, including classes at Stamford’s I Have a Dream Foundation and the Yerwood Center. She also has curated exhibitions in the area, including fifteen years of exhibitions in Stamford’s Mayor’s Gallery. Morielli’s work has been exhibited widely in Fairfield County, Connecticut, but also has been featured in solo exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles and in group exhibitions in New York City. Her art is in over one-hundred private collections and has been permanently exhibited in public spaces as part of the Connecticut Artists Collection, One Percent for Art, as well in permanent collections at area hospitals and universities and public buildings including: Yale Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT; Stamford Hospital; the State Superior Court House; and Sacred Heart University, College of Education and Healthcare. Morielli maintains a studio in Stamford, is represented by Contemporary Art Network. Affiliations: Greenwich Art Society, Greenwich, CT; St. Philip Art Guild, Norwalk, CT; Art/Place Gallery, Fairfield. CT. www.LinaMorielli.com

Diane Pollack has exhibited at various museums and galleries throughout Connecticut, New York, and Arizona since 1977. She has lent her skills to many art organizations and served on curatorial committees at the Kershner Gallery in the Fairfield Public Library, and the Drawing Studio, Tucson, AZ. She is a member of Art/Place Gallery, the Westport Artists Collective, the Carriage Barn, and the Ridgefield Guild of Artists, all in CT. She has also been a docent at the Asia Society Museum. www.dianepollackart.com.

Dave Pressler holds a BFA in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design and has studied at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, and Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, where he is currently a Guild Member and former Trustee and Officer. He is also a founding member of the Friends of the Fairfield Public Library’s Curatorial Committee for the Bruce S. Kershner Gallery, providing exhibitions for the public on a regular basis. He has headed educational exhibit divisions of The American Museum of Natural History, New York; Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; as well as The Hudson River Museum, Westchester, New York. Dave Pressler is an Artist Member, Vice President and Treasurer of Art/Place Cooperative Gallery, Fairfield, CT; Artist Member and former Board Member of the Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan; former artist member of the Westport Arts Center; Member of the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk; and Professional Member of the Westport Y’s Men’s Camera Club. His work is in numerous private collections: Bridgeport Hospital's Heart Institute, Fairfield; St. Vincent's Hospital Special Needs Center, Stratford; Cardiac Specialists, Fairfield, and Cardiac Associates, Stamford. He has exhibited at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan; Westport Arts Center and Nylen Gallery, Westport; Sackler Gallery, Stamford; The Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk; Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich; Highstead Arboretum, Redding, CT; Bruce S. Kershner Gallery, Fairfield; Wilton and Weston Libraries; Housatonic Museum of Art and