Summer Stories: A Dialogue of Color and Light
Fran Dropkin, Peter Batchelder, Nick Paciorek and Suzanne Hill

Reception, Saturday, July 18, 5-7pm with Live Music

Show Dates: July 16 - Aug 5
Results : 6 Photos

PRESS RELEASE (MARTHA'S VINEYARD) Louisa Gould Gallery is excited to announce a new show, “ Summer Stories: A Dialog with Color and Light ” featuring new works by gallery artists, Peter Batchelder, Fran Dropkin, Suzanne Hill and Nick Paciorek. The show opens on Thursday July 16 with an artist reception on Saturday, July 18 from 5 to 7PM. Please join us to view the exhibit, meet the artists, listen to live music by Micheal Haydn and enjoy light fare and refreshments.

Peter Batchelder

uses the structure of a building to tell his summertime story. Peter is a former Martha's Vineyard resident and has always been interested in light in environments. His childhood interests in architecture and archaeology have led him to consider the context of time-worn structures within the New England/Vineyard landscapes. Peter says, “I am fascinated on many levels when coming across a barn or seaside cottage. From an artist's perspective I am interested in the nature of the architecture, how it sits within its landscape, color and light.”

I'm curious about the story of a building-who built it and why; the many people who have lived or worked in the building; how the landscape many have changed around the structure over the course of years. This interest in the story behind a place finds its way into my work. In some of my work I feel that the outcome is that the architecture serves as the sentry for the landscape and in other cases the exact opposite. While working on a piece, I'll take out things that were there, and add things that weren't. May hope is that a viewer will connect with a n image and create their own story. When I begin a painting, usually working out the composition in charcoal, I simplify everything...the landscape, the structure...and work the composition out a s a whole, always looking to introduce some element of abstraction into the work.”

Peter trained in studio art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BFA 1987) under artists Jack Coughlin, Lionel Gongora, John Grillo, and Hanlon Davies as well as Robert Cardinal at the Truro Center for the Arts. Peter has had a successful graphic design career.

Fran Dropkin

Fran's new larger oil painting tell a story of one of the quintessential places of summer, the beach. She captures the complete feeling of being on a beach, the light, sound, interaction with those around. Each canvas provides a narrative.

Fran says, “As a figurative painter, I am always searching for a way to capture the light & air. Whether the subject is flowers or the beach I am really after the same thing. I experiment with color, shapes & values. Every summer I sit on Philbin Beach & absorb everything around me; the people, the sea, the sky, the air & the light. I think about what colors to use to best represent those beautiful shadows. I let it all sink in & then I go back to my studio in NY where all the beach paintings are done from memory & imagination. I paint about half the time with the canvas upside down. I use a very large mirror set up beside my palette table. I can see the reflection of the painting. When seeing the painting in reverse it abstracts the image, this allows me to get a fresh perspective of the work in progress. On a good day I get lost in my work. the whole day goes by & I have no idea of time or what I did until the next morning when I walk back into my studio.”

Fran has been working as a painter for over thirty years. She received her BFA and MFA from Boston University where she studied with Philip Guston and James Weeks. After graduate school she taught art at both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 92 nd Street Y in Manhattan for over twenty years.

Her work have been exhibited nationally and internationally in numerous one-women and group shows. Her paintings are in private and corporate collections all over the world. Dropkin's paintings are particularly noted for their interplay of light and rich color. She is inspired by memory, imagination, and nature. She is best known for her figurative beach landscapes and flower paintings. She spends her summers on Martha's Vineyard and lives in New York City.

Suzanne Hill

Each of Suzanne Hill's pieces bring you into another realm. Every single pot is different and are not only exceptionally created, but the colors combined with the form are everychanging. Suzanne has chosen bright blues, white, and black and orange for this show.

Suzanne Hill has been working in clay for over 45 years. After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design, she went on to study with some of the most renowned ceramic artists in the country at Alfred College of Ceramics, earning of Master of Fine Arts in Ceramic Art. Since then, she has taught ceramic art in colleges, schools and camps, worked as an independent potter in New York City, and as an artist in residence at the Corcoran School in Washington, DC. She lived overseas for over ten years; in Peru, Mexico, and Bangladesh; where she had the opportunity to study the traditional crafts of those countries and to work with indigenous potters. She enjoys working with all the possibilities clay has to offer, and works in a range of both functional and decorative ceramics. She shows in galleries all over the US, including Martha’s Vineyard, MA, Jackson Hole, WY, Monhegan, ME, Sedona AZ, Salt Lake City, UT, and Providence, RI. Suzanne has a studio at the Emerson Umbrella, in Concord, Massachusetts where she works and teaches.

“I see myself as both an artist and a craftsperson. What separates fine craft from an ordinary object is that it goes beyond pure function and becomes a thing of beauty as well. Even my decorative work is based on functional shapes. As a potter, I am always working with the relationship of form to decoration. There are so many variables when glazing a piece that one must learn to set up the conditions and then to work with the glazing and firing process. It is a combination of some control as well as being guided by the process. As in nature, no two pieces are exactly the same. There is room for infinite variety. In my recent work I have been exploring the relationship between classical shapes and forms found in nature. In the most recent series, the pieces are inspired by my trips to the landscapes of coastal New England and the American west and the relationship of the landscape to the sweep of the sky. The colors of the landscape and the rock formations combine with the classical vessel shapes to create unique works of art. The driftwood handles on some of the pieces are inspired by the scrub trees found in the windswept and beautiful landscape.”

Nick Paciorek

Nick Paciorek’s oil paintings uncover the essence of his chosen locales through his signature use of light and color. For his Vineyard series, Nick reveals the slower pace of island life. His works capture leisurely daysailers and dinghies at Vineyard Haven Harbor, beach-goers unwinding at Gay Head and pleasing marsh scenes, all displayed in vibrant hues from the pure early morning light and warm afternoon sun.

BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art – 1985, where he was also a teaching assistant and he also attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art.

Nick is a renowned artist whose work is seen from coast to coast. ...impacted by the impressionists ability to control the world on canvas simply through color choice, with Matisse being an early influence. As a artist, Paciorek aligns himself with a new generation of Fauvists. He uses broad strokes of brilliant color for their emotional impact. Each of his pieces is a celebration of light and color, a vivid interpretation of his subjects. For him, choosing the exact combination of hues for each painting is foremost. Originally from Chicago, he lives in Providence, RI.

His earlier works from the summer reflect scenes from the Head of the Charles crew races and sailing scenes of Boston harbor.

The show will be on view through August 5.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, July 18, from 5-7pm for the opening of “ Summer Stories: A Dialog with Color and Light ” and throughout the show. Louisa Gould Gallery is located at 54 Main Street in the historic cultural district of downtown Vineyard Haven on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Please call (508) 693.7373 for further information or visit the website at www.louisagould.com to view the the online show and obtain directions.

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