Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Sunday,
August 24, 2014
photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted
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Article Index . . .
SouthCoast
Arts and Cultural Community to get boost from State Grants.
The
Shattuck opens Artwork by Richard Whitten and Emi Ozawa.
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SouthCoast Arts and Cultural Community to get
boost from State Grants. Westport
Cultural Council will pocket a ‘local cultural council program allocation’ of
$4,300; Westport River Watershed Alliance recipient of a $5,800 ‘direct
grant.’ EverythingWestport.com Friday, August 22,
2014
"The
MCC does a great job promoting arts and culture throughout Massachusetts and
the SouthCoast. The arts are an integral part of
the overall economy as well as the quality of life for our residents. I'm
happy to support and thanks to the MCC." - Westport State Representative
Paul Schmid These grants
support a wide variety of cultural activities and projects that benefit local
residents, while supporting jobs and economic growth in the nonprofit
cultural sector. These grants are part of the MCC’s statewide funding
program. This program benefitted from an increase of $1 million in state
appropriations approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in
July. The grants include
$89,230 to be divided among the seven local Cultural Councils, as well as
funding for Narrows Center for the Arts and the Westport River Watershed Alliance. These grants were part of the
MCC’s $10.3 million statewide investment in the nonprofit cultural sector. “These grants help to build upon the
vibrant arts and cultural scene that the SouthCoast
has cultivated,” said State Senator Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport).
“Supporting arts and humanities in our communities will encourage cultural
appreciation, a better standard of living for our residents, and economic
growth for years to come.” State Representative Paul A. Schmid (D-Westport) said of the grants,
"The MCC does a great job promoting arts and culture throughout
Massachusetts and the SouthCoast. The arts are an
integral part of the overall economy as well as the quality of life for our
residents. I'm happy to support and thanks to the MCC." Local recipients
awarded grants include: FY2014 Local Cultural Council Program Allocations
FY2014 Direct Grants
EverythingWestport.com Sunday, August
24, 2014 While this coming
Labor Day weekend marks the official end of the summer vacation season, the
Westport Farmers Market will not be calling it quits this Saturday.
September is traditionally
the best month for harvesting the tastiest tomatoes, juiciest fruits and
healthiest broccoli and cauliflower.
Farmers’ bins are overflowing with carrots, onions, peppers and
greens. Some of the best sweet corn is
now being harvested as well. The
market continues on until September 27th.
Above: Farm Manager
Steve Connors (center) at the Town Farm Farmer’s Market. This Labor Day weekend
Farmers Market will feature some music from the always entertaining Spindle
Rock River Rats, a Westport favorite.
Guests are invited to get a cup of coffee and a breakfast pastry, and
enjoy the music at Town Farm while doing the weekly shopping. - Steve Connors The vendor
line-up for this week’s morning farmers market includes:
The Westport
Farmers Market takes place each Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Westport Town
Farm is located at 830 Drift Road, Westport, Massachusetts. For more information please call the
Trustees’ Farm Manager Steve Connors at 508.636.4693, ext. 110. Or email sconnors@ttor.org.
The
Shattuck opens Artwork by Richard Whitten and Emi Ozawa. This
exhibit pairs two established artists who explore ideas of playfulness
through their work. EverythingWestport.com Sunday,
August 24, 2014 Dedee Shattuck
Gallery is pleased to present Richard Whitten and Emi Ozawa. This exhibit
pairs two established artists who explore ideas of playfulness through their
work. The exhibit opens on August 27th and closes on September 28th, with the
artists’ reception on Saturday, September 6th from 5-7 p.m.
Left: Constellation No.1 by Emi Ozawa A common motif in
Whitten’s work is the cycle: orbiting planets, spinning gears, cats chasing
mice, or zeppelins floating around an axis. The compositions are saturated
with allegorical references and allusions. Each work is a complex composition
both visually and conceptually, derived from Whitten’s own years of study, travel,
and teaching. Emi Ozawa’s
impeccably constructed painted wood works are beautiful and curiously
playful. She is known for creating surprising kinetic works, such as boxes
with swinging lids and sculptures that transform as certain elements are moved.
For this exhibition, Ozawa introduces a new body of wall-based works. These
pieces experiment with color theory, using a technique where two sides of an
angled piece of wood are painted differently, so that as the viewer moves
through the space the images appears to change. Emi combines a delicate
minimalist sensibility with a playful sense of form and color, and an
immaculate mastery of craft and construction.
Richard Whitten
and Emi Ozawa - Wednesday August
27th – Sunday September 28th; Artists’ Reception Saturday, September 6th from
5:00 -7:00 p.m. Gallery Hours:
Wednesday-Sunday 10-5pm, Sunday 12-5pm Richard Whitten Richard Whitten
earned a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an M.F.A. in
Painting from the University of California at Davis where he studied
with both Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson. He has had numerous exhibitions on both
coasts. Notable are major solo exhibitions at the Frye Art Museum
in Seattle, Washington, and The Newport Art Museum in Newport, Rhode
Island. He is presently an Associate Professor of Painting at Rhode
Island College. Artists Statement: “One recurring
theme I have in my dreams deals with the discovery of hidden
beautiful architectural spaces. In these dreams, I see unknown buildings
or hidden passages from building to building. In the dream, I make
efforts to get to them and explore them. Sometimes, I can explore
them in the same dream. Sometimes, I find them again in another dream—years
later. My paintings imply the existence of places and of objects of
desire that, like the garden in Alice in Wonderland, can be glimpsed but
not reached or acquired. It was once suggested to me that my paintings
looked like they were painted from memory. This suggests that the
imagination is, perhaps, memory in reverse. I am curious about the
nature of the conceptual transformation that occurs when places and things are represented
as an image. They seem to become heightened in importance – perhaps
transformed into an ideal, a memory, or a desire. One must ask: is the
experience of “seeing and wanting” superior to “having”?” Emi Ozawa Born in Tokyo,
Japan. She learned graphic design at Joshibi
University of Art and Design in Tokyo. She came to US in 1986 to attend
The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she started learning
woodworking. She received MFA from Furniture Design Program at RISD. She
maintained her studio in New Bedford and then Fall River until her
moving in 2009. Providence was her home for 20 years. She has exhibited
widely in the United States, in both galleries and museums. She
currently lives and works in Albuquerque, NM with her husband. Her
works are also represented by Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM. Artists Statement: “Play is always
the central interest in my work. I create pieces with geometric forms,
bright in color and movement. I like wood as my choice of material, and fondly
remember colorful wood blocks in my Since 2011, I
have been pushing my work towards a two-dimensional format, focusing on
color and surface. My current works have qualities of both painting and
sculpture. The ‘canvases’ are carefully aligned square wood bars
place corner to corner and ordered in a square or rectangular plane.
They are not intended to be touched, but there is a play in the work.
This play is the changing view for the viewers, as they move from one
side of the work to the other (right to left or left to right). Right: Candy Skyscrapers by Emi Ozawa. “Windows in Blue”,
2014, was an opportunity for me to work on a larger scale for your
gallery. The colors of blue are very soothing to me. Blue reminds me of
the ocean, the sky and water. With my move to Albuquerque, many things
for me have changed. The ocean was always not far from where I lived. I
grew up in Tokyo, Japan and lived many years in Providence,
RI. Although I miss the ocean from time to time, I enjoy the big
blue sky in southwest. My relation to water and rain has also changed.
Each time I see rain in New Mexico it brings me joy & hope. Without
wanting to be too literal, this work makes me contemplate all
this. Whatever a viewer’s relation to blue, I hope they can see
something soothing or fond for them through the windows.” Click here to preview the exhibition. © 2014 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
