Uncommon Merits
HCC exhibit celebrates non-traditional milestones
A group exhibit at Holyoke Community College's Taber Art Gallery celebrates the non-traditional milestones in life that are often overlooked.
The "Uncommon Merits & Awards Art Exhibition" runs from Thursday, Sept. 6, to Wed., Oct. 26, and features the work of 18 New England artists who answered an open call for submissions. The gallery will host an opening reception Thursday, Sept. 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
"We all know it is standard to win prizes for anything from best in show to a commendation for valor on the battlefield," said gallery director Amy Johnquest, who co-curated the show with artist Jill St. Croeur of Florence, Mass. "In this exhibition, New England artists have created work in both 2-D and 3-D media, inventing new ways to recognize activities and behaviors that may have heretofore gone unnoticed."
An interactive part of the exhibition invites visitors to invent and display their own certificates of merit.
The contributing artists are: Robert Markey, Ashfield (sculpture); Elizabeth Solomon, Florence (sculpture); Jan Whitaker, Northampton (fiber); Darlene Duncan, Springfield (sculpture); Bruce Ackerson, Northampton (painting); Elizabeth Wilkinson, New Bedford (digital printing); Nan Fleming, Williamsburg (mixed media sculpture); Marta Rudolph, Northampton (mixed media sculpture); Maryanne Benns, Chicopee (mixed media sculpture); Alison Palaia, Norwalk, Conn. (mixed media); Lyn Horan, Holyoke (sculpture); Amy Dame, Easthampton (fiber); Perry Carter, Northampton (painting); Stacy Waldman, Easthampton, in collaboration with Amy Johnquest, Holyoke (mixed media wall installation); Jill St. Coeur, Florence (fiber and drawings); Dean Nimmer, Holyoke (mixed media sculpture); and Bruce Fowler, Holyoke (mixed media sculpture).
The Taber Art Gallery at HCC is open Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during regular school sessions. It is free and open to the public and located through the HCC Campus Library lobby on the second floor of the HCC Donahue Building, 303 Homestead Ave., Holyoke.
For more information, please contact Amy Johnquest, director of the Taber Art Gallery, at 413.552.2614.
PHOTOS: (Thumbnail) "Pat-on-the-Head for Intuitive Fortune," by Maryanne Benns of Chicopee. (Above). "A Swim in Ashfield Lake," by Nan Fleming of Williamsburg.
