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 Robert Dente talks about where he came from, where he has been, and where he is now -- both as a person and an artist -- shortly before the opening reception for his show, "Robert Dente: Apparitions, Milestones & Reflections From A Visual Odyssey," Saturday evening, April 23, at Gallery on the Green. Dente's show is the annual Maxwell Shepherd Memorial Invitational Exhibition at the gallery. This show and two others upstairs run through May 22. Gallery on the Green is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Photo: dotCANTON
 "Seaside Cottages With Distant Storm" / Robert Dente Robert Dente’s “Apparitions, Milestones & Reflections From A Visual Odyssey,” a presentation of the Maxwell Shepherd Memorial Arts Fund, opens at Gallery on the Green at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 22.
Dente will give a gallery talk, “Liberation of the Spirit Through Art,” on Saturday, April 23, at 5 p.m. before the opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Both are free and open to the public.
 "Hilltop Gap" / Robert Dente In conjunction with the exhibition, which runs through May 22, the Shepherd Fund is offering a two-day workshop with Dente, beginning with a purview on Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m., which will include a preliminary media demonstration for workshop participants.
The first of the two workshops, “Drawing: Still Life, Figure and Landscape,” is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The second,
“Painting: Still Life Figure, and Landscape,” is set for Saturday, May 7, also from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The workshops will be held at the Canton Public Library, 40 Dyer Ave. The cost for the workshops is $300 per person and is limited to 10 participants. For reservations and information, please contact Walter Kendra, president of The Maxwell Shepherd Memorial Arts Fund, at 860-693-2762. The deadline for reservations is Monday, April 25.
Dente is best known for his atmospheric landscapes. His exhibition at Gallery on the Green will include a selection of paintings, sculptures and prints created over four decades.
Dente received his bachelor’s degree in fine arts, magna cum laude, from the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford. He continued his professional studies at the Hartford Graduate Center/Rensselaer Hartford and at the Barbieri Center of Rome, Trinity College, Italy.
Gallery on the Green is open Fridays through Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. or by appointment. More information can be obtained at the gallery’s website, www.galleryonthegreen.org, or by calling 860-693-4102.
The Maxwell Shepherd Memorial Arts Fund is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the fine and performing arts. Tax-deductible donations, including employer matching gifts, can be sent to MSMAF, Inc., c/o Collinsville Savings Society, P.O. Box 197, Collinsville, CT 06019. To contact the Shepherd Fund, write to MSMASF Inc., 16 South St., Collinsville, CT 06019, call 860-693-2762, or e-mail awkendra@yahoo.com.
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 Word-Art: "Invictus" / Judy Gomby; accompanying words "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley  The fifth biennial Word-Art show opens at Gallery on the Green on Friday, March 18, in a revisited exploration of the synergy between writing and the visual arts.
The show includes paintings and sculptures that incorporate text or were inspired by the written word, as well as written pieces inspired by the visual arts. The visual and written pieces are displayed side-by-side in the gallery to give the viewer a chance to enjoy the connection.
Upstairs, in a show entitled “A Common Thread: Layers-Collections,” another type of synergy will be displayed in the works of artists and friends Kim Wysocki and Kristin R. McNally.
And in the Spotlight Gallery at the top of the steps on the second floor, David K. Leff will be exhibiting photographs and new poems from “Depth of Field,” his second volume of poetry.
To celebrate these shows, the Gallery is hosting a few events:
An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, March 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. The public is welcome, and the conversation, music and refreshments are free.
On Sunday, March 27, at 2 p.m., Leff will read from “Depth of Field.”
And on Saturday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m., Gallery on the Green will host an evening of readings from Word-Art 2011. The event will begin with the performance of a one-act play about looking at art, followed by the participating writers reading their pieces from the show.
During the readings, an image of the related art will be projected behind the reader so the cross-inspiration can be enjoyed. That evening will end with a sweets-and-champagne reception. All events are free and open to the public.
To check out larger versions of the images below, click on any of the 15 and use the arrow left or arrow right button at the bottom of the larger image that pops up. To return to this page, click on the full image you are viewing.
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 "Reunited" (in the Main Gallery) / Judy Gomby  "Ayesha" (in the Spotlight Gallery) / Diane L. Wright  Rose (in the Upper Gallery) / Christina Boyson Gallery on the Green’s Winter Member & Guest Show opens today at 1 p.m. Kim Wysocki is the curator.
As usual, two other shows will be running concurrently: Diane L. Wright’s work will be on display in the Spotlight Gallery at the top of the stairs, and the photography of Christina Boyson will be in the Upper Gallery.
The opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Gallery on the Green. The public is invited, and refreshments will be served. All three shows will run through March 13.
Gallery on the Green is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
Preparations continue for Gallery on the Green’s fifth biennial Word-Art show, which is scheduled to run from March 18 through April 17
To check out larger versions of the images below, all of which are currently on display at Gallery on the Green, click on any of the 15 and use the arrow left or arrow right button at the bottom of the larger image that pops up. To return to this page, click on the full image you are viewing.
– dotCANTON
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 Photo: dotCANTON Gallery on the Green is preparing for its fifth biennial Word-Art show, when writers and artists will have a chance to collaborate and share their efforts with the public.
The show, which is scheduled to run from March 18 through April 17, is open to everyone. Visual artists and writers can pair up on their own, or request to be paired by the show’s curators, Kent McCoy of the Canton Artists’ Guild and Annie Barrett of the Writers’ Asylum.
McCoy can be reached at 860-693-8478 or kmccoy@smithedwards.com; Barrett at 860-693-9391 or barrettann@att.net.
Written work must be submitted for formatting and printing by 5 p.m. on March 6. The drop-off date for visual art pieces at the gallery is March 13 from 2 to 7 p.m.
The Canton Artists’ Guild and the Writers’ Asylum presented the first Word-Art show in the fall of 2003, according to a gallery release. It was scheduled this year to overlap with National Poetry Month in April.
Paintings or sculpture that were inspired by the written word or incorporate text can be included in the show, as can written pieces that were inspired by visual arts. Pieces of video art, dance or theater also can be included.
The gallery envisions “a show that will exhibit all media, and may include screenings, readings, and the publication of a chapbook of the written work.”
The opening reception for Word-Art is scheduled for Saturday, March 19, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Collinsville writer David Leff will read at the gallery on Sunday, March 20, from 4 to 5 p.m.
An evening of readings from Word-Art is scheduled for Saturday, April 9, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
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Gallery on the Green reopened Friday, Jan. 7, with “Who I Am,” a members show, in the main gallery, Canton artist Jim Koplar’s solo show in the upstairs gallery and works by Grace and Naomi Epstein in the spotlight gallery.
An opening reception is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight, Jan. 8. The public is welcome. All three shows will run through Feb. 6.
Gallery visitors will be greeted by the three images seen in the photo above: Joe Hoke’s “Touch of Fall” (acrylic), Peggy Dembicer’s “C’est Moi” (oil paint) and Grace Epstein’s “Summer’s Work” (photograph).
Gallery on the Green, located at Route 44 and Dowd Avenue in Canton, is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.
To check out larger versions of the images below, all of which are currently at Gallery on the Green, click on any of the three and use the arrow left or arrow right button at the bottom of the larger image that pops up. To return to this page, click on the full image you are viewing.
– dotCANTON
 "Retirement" / Jim Koplar By Steve Wilder dotCANTON.com
Collinsville artist Jim Koplar was in Falls Village about three years ago when he spotted “a row” of rusted old vehicles in the snow. He snapped a few pictures and eventually created an image of what he had seen, calling his work “Retirement.” Koplar might not have known it at the time, but his “Rust In Peace Series” had just been born.
 Jim Koplar in his studio. By now, that series has expanded to the point where Koplar is considering a calendar next year dedicated to those works.
“To me, they have a personality,” Koplar says about the useless old vehicles, which can be cars, trucks or tractors. “When I see them in a field, rusting, I think about their past, maybe what they had been used for. I kind of feel sad for them. They look kind of sad and lonely.”
Several images from the Rust In Peace Series will be on display in the upstairs gallery when Gallery on the Green kicks off its 2011 program on Friday, Jan. 7. “Who I Am,” a members show, will open downstairs that day, and artist Grace Epstein will be featured in the Spotlight Gallery on the second floor.
 "From The Barn" / Jim Koplar An opening reception is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8. The public is welcome. All three shows will run through Feb. 6.
Koplar, who grew up in Torrington but has lived in Collinsville since 1992, will have 32 pieces on display upstairs, all of which, he says, were created “from 2008 forward.” Though he’s technically not a part of the “Who I Am” show, Koplar decided to follow a similar theme by showing a “cross-section of things I do that are of interest to me,” specifically: portraits, still lifes, local scenes and works from Rust In Peace.
Mostly self-taught — though he earned an arts degree from Tunxis Community College in 2004 — Koplar describes himself as a “pastelist.”
“It’s the medium I’ve been using lately, and I enjoy it,” Koplar says. “You can work quickly with it.”
Koplar, who became Burlington’s building official in July of 2009 after serving as an assistant building official in Avon for 10 years, says he tries to get into his home studio three or four times a week. He also runs an “Art Jam” at Gallery 101 Main in Collinsville every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The “drop-in class,” as Koplar calls it, costs $10. Drawing boards, drawing easels and materials are available, and Koplar says he’ll offer his assistance if asked.
“A lot of people are regulars,” he says of the jams. “It’s a very nonjudgmental (environment) for newcomers. Koplar says participants range from high school age to adult.
Koplar also has copies of the 2011 “Greetings From Collinsville, Connecticut” wall calendar that features reproductions of 12 of his works. Call 860-508-4630 for more information about the calendars.
Gallery on the Green, located at Route 44 and Dowd Avenue in Canton, is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.
To check out larger versions of the images below, click on any of the three and use the arrow left or arrow right button at the bottom of the larger image that pops up. To return to this page, click on the full image you are viewing.
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