Public Story
Exposed 2018
Opening Festival: Saturday, July 21, 4-8pm
Opening reception, walkabout with progressive hors d'oeuvres at 4:00; Live music by George Petit's Conduit Quartet, food, and wine and beer garden 6-8pm.Artists
Theodore CeraldiChristopher Curtis
John Matusz
Albert Paley
Jaume Plensa
David Stromeyer
Judith Wrend
Christopher Yockey
Read what people are saying about Exposed...
“Though large-scale sculptures inside a gallery usually allow for viewing from all sides, something about their placement outdoors seems to encourage passersby to move around, interact with and touch them. "Exposed." makes art as accessible as a playground.” —Pamela Polston for SevenDays
Featured in Vermont Art Guide #2
Theodore Ceraldi
Work Statement
The artist works in the present. The work therefore reflects the present condition of humanity, although one believes the very nature of the noun has yet to be embraced or fully understood.
Are we humane? Gravity, the sculpture, is figurative as is all my work. The being is cloaked with a garment that has seen the world. It's oxidized fabric hangs with great weight. The gravity of it all pulls down the head in somber reflection. We ask, why.
Bio
A graduate of The Cooper Union School of Art & Architecture, Ceraldi’s work has been acquired by many private collectors and shown in several one man shows. His sculpture and iron work is installed in the United States, England and Saudi Arabia. The sculpture, Big Red Swing, 777 Third Avenue in New York City, is cited in New York‘s 50 Best Art in Public Places. A model of his House for an Artist, along with accompanying conceptual drawings were exhibited at MOMA, in New York City. He has taught at Syracuse University School of Architecture; Syracuse University Smith School of Engineering; SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry; SUNY Buffalo State,; and SUNY Rockland State. His teaching involved courses in architectural design and technologies, environmental design, construction field operations, landscape design, drawing, figure painting, two-dimensional design, and three-dimensional design.
www.ceraldi.net
Christopher Curtis
Work Statement
“Paleo Puzzle” is the latest in a series of stone puzzle pieces I’ve been working on. The sculpture is intended to be quickly recognizable by viewers for what it is, a large stone puzzle.But the deeper meaning of the piece is not immediately decodable. This sculpture, like most of my work, is about examining the context of humans in the world. By this I mean not just the physical world of today, but also the temporal context of Homo sapiens through geological timescales.
I believe that todays predominant fixation on increasingly shorter timescales (think teraflop) continues to distract modern intellectual activities from more benificial longer term thinking and planning. We see this in all aspects of society, and most particularly, and perhaps most dangerously, from Washington these days.
It is my hope that when viewers see this sculpture, they will first enjoy the whimsy they see, and then begin to contemplate the deeper implications of the modern anthropogenic intervention that has resulted in this lovely, ancient stone becoming playful sculpture.
Bio
Christopher Curtis was born in Stowe, Vermont, in 1951. At the University of Vermont, he cut his first stone under the instruction of the late sculptor and public arts advocate, Paul Aschenbach. He’s been sculpting stone ever since.
Curtis’ current work is primarily in stone, although the artist often incorporates welded stainless steel or bronze into his stone pieces or fabricates metal only pieces. He continues to navigate the liminal space between science and art, using industrial tools for artistic means.
Though Curtis’ work employs current technology - his abiding fascination is with raw stone. He sees in each stone both its ancient history and its unique shape. For Curtis, stones are objects, not simply material. That makes the discovery, selection and recovery of the stone an important and enjoyable part of his work. Curtis has studied the geologic history of his native Vermont, following the ancient lines of glaciers and inland seas to find stones whose stories resonate with the sculptures they become.
Curtis’ work resides in public and private collections throughout the US, including the permanent collections of the Univeristy of Vermont, Champlain College, and the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Appleton Museum. Curtis continues to make sculpture for private collectors, commercial projects, memorials and public works from his studios in Stowe and Barre Vermont.
www.christophercurtis.com
John Matusz
Work Statement
"The main feature of the large-scale piece that I'm exhibiting in this year's Exposed show is the unusually shaped boulder. It's a boulder that I found quite by chance at a construction site near the Waitsfield Common in Waitsfield, Vermont. The unusual shape (probably due to numerous ecological events) so appealed to me that I struggled with the problem of how to present the rock as a thing of beauty without altering that natural beauty.
Finally, after a few years of contemplating the problem, I decided to 'frame it,' as one would frame a landscape painting. The boulder is now in a large welded steel frame. Think of the boulder as a framed piece of landscape.
Bio
Born in the late '40s in upstate New York's Mohawk River Valley, Matusz is the son of a carpenter and working mother. A childhood knack for drawing combined with high school visits to Munson Williams Proctor Institute in Utica, New York, shaped Matusz's early artistic development.
From drawing, Matusz progressed to painting and the study of space and structure on canvas. He then began experimenting with sculpture, and received formal welding training in 1969 in Schenectady, New York. Welding accelerated Matusz's sculptural development and is now the main focus of his attention. Currently, he lives and works in northern Vermont.
See more work at www.westbranchgallery.com
Albert Paley
Artist Statement
I have been involved in site-specific sculpture for over thirty years. The sculptures are usually of metal construction and placed within a landscape or architectural setting. The sculpture is seen as creating a sense of place and a visual landmark that has the ability to enrich the pedestrian experience and assist in developing a cultural profile at the site. My studio is involved in all aspects of the sculpture's design development, engineering, fabrication and finishing.
Bio
Albert Paley, an active artist for over 40 years at his studio in Rochester, New York, is the first metal sculptor to receive the coveted Institute Honors awarded by the American Institute of Architects, the AIA’s highest award to a non- architect. “The allure of Paley’s art comes through its intrinsic sense of integration of art and architecture,” as one noted architect stated. Paley, Distinguished Professor, holds an Endowed Chair at the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Commissioned by both public institutions and private corporations, Paley has completed more than 50 site-specific works. Some notable examples are the Portal Gates for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, Synergy, a ceremonial archway in Philadelphia, the Portal Gates for the New York State Senate Chambers in Albany, Sentinel, a monumental plaza sculpture for Rochester Institute of Technology, as well as a 65-foot sculpture for the entry court of Bausch and Lomb’s headquarters in Rochester, NY. Recently completed works include three sculptures for the National Harbor development near Washington DC, a 130’ long archway named Animals Always for the St. Louis Zoo, a gate for the Cleveland Botanical Gardens in Cleveland, OH, a sculptural relief for Wellington Place, Toronto, Canada, Threshold, a sculpture for the Corporate Headquarters of Klein Steel, Rochester, NY, and Transformation, a ceremonial entranceway for Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
Pieces by Albert Paley can be found in the permanent collections of many major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.Broadly published and an international lecturer, Paley received both his BFA and MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Rochester in 1989, the State University of New York at Brockport in 1996, St. Lawrence University, in Canton, New York in 1997, and the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden in 2012.
albertpaley.com
Jaume Plensa
Bio
Jaume Plensa was born in 1955 in Barcelona, where he studied at the Llotja School of Art and Design and at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts. Since 1980, the year of his first exhibition in Barcelona, he has lived and worked in Berlin, Brussels, England, France, and the United States. He currently resides and works in Barcelona.He has been a teacher at the Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and regularly cooperates with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a guest professor. He has also given many lectures and courses at other universities, museums and cultural institutions around the world.
Jaume Plensa has received numerous national and international awards, including the Medaille de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture, in 1993, and the Government of Catalonia’s National Prize for Fine Art in 1997. In 2005, he was invested Doctor Honoris Causa by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In Spain, he received the National Prize for Fine Art in 2012 and the prestigious Velázquez Prize for the Arts in 2013.A very significant part of Plensa’s work is in the field of sculpture in the public space. Installed in several cities in Spain, France, Japan, England, Korea, Germany, Canada, USA, etc., The Crown Fountain, which was unveiled in Chicago’s Millennium Park in 2004, is one of Plensa’s largest projects and, without doubt, one of the most brilliant. The work led to many commissions, adding to the list of works by Jaume Plensa in public spaces, right up to the most recent, Source (2017) in Montreal, Canada, Bangkok Soul (2017) in Bangkok, Thailand, Love (2017) in Leeuwarden, Netherlands and Pacific Soul (2018) in San Diego, USA.
www.jaumeplensa.com
David Stromeyer
Bio
For over forty five years David Stromeyer has lived the vision that shapes his art and his life. Such a vision is a ruthless taskmaster. There is nothing his art demands that he will not do. He works the steel cold, and mostly alone. Wildly creative yet deliberate and disciplined, he pushes up against the limits of materials, tools, and techniques. Steel, humble element of earth and structural workhorse, in Stromeyer's hands becomes a plastic medium. He plays with perception, showing that steel can appear to be everything you think it is not. Each finished piece embodies the spirit and identity of place and maker.That every sculpture is unique and different from its predecessor is exciting yet dangerous, presenting unforeseeable hazards, and problems requiring unorthodox solutions. Addressing them with a 'can-do' attitude and confidence gained over decades, Stromeyer the scientist acquired a keen understanding of gravity, torque, and balance. Stromeyer the poet developed profound powers of watchful, sustained, concentration.In time, Stromeyer's need for the rich cultural and intellectual offerings of an urban university town drew him and his wife, Sarah, to Austin, Texas for the winter months. The creation of their house, studio, and small 'sculpture park' afforded David yet another design-build opportunity to explore space and movement.To experience David Stromeyer's sculpture in urban and corporate, public and private settings is to witness a visual translation. He brings to these varied spaces the same sensitivity to site that makes the pieces at Cold Hollow Sculpture Park appear to have grown out of their ground.
Stromeyer's dedication to his vision – regardless of the many months required for a project's completion – is rare, indeed. But always the work evolves as technique and imagination reach for the next horizon. Like his art, a paradox of innovation and endurance, Stromeyer has proved himself an American treasure.
www.davidstromeyer.com
Judith Wrend
Work Statement
This sculpture dances in the wind. It invites you to be here, in the now. Relax, observe the movement as the wind changes, watch the evolving shadows and reflections, engage your inner child and join the dance.
Judith got hooked on making sculpture when she took a welding class at a community art center in Illinois. From the beginning she was fascinated with moving forms and with the fabrication process. Now, for over 45 years, she has been developing ideas and techniques for her kinetic and stabile sculptures. Her studio/workshop is at her home in Morrisville.
www.judithwrend.com
Christopher Yockey
Work Statement
A celebratory gift, in honor of two dear friends.Their union was the inspiration for Wedding Gift, 2012. I thank them for their kindness, generosity, and our friendship.Made from stainless steel and white Portland cement, Wedding Gift, is derived from a collection of steel shavings that are a by-product of the manufacturing industry. I transform these shavings using graphic computer programs to realize forms that are harmonious shapes and based on patterns. This drawing is then computer-numerical-control cut out of steel and physically rolled by a hydraulic machine. The base of this sculpture is cast concrete from a hand built mold.
My interest in making art focuses on the perception and interaction of motion and form. Being raised in metropolitan Detroit, my inspiration is from the automotive culture along with my participation as an ice hockey athlete. Using industrial materials to create my art, I am interested in the effects of an evolving industrialized world on our process as makers, from technology to craftsmanship. My work is exploring a balance of technology and hands on working methods to better understand the positive and negative effects of this digital age.
Bio
Christopher Yockey was born and raised in metropolitan Detroit and currently lives and works in New York City. Yockey received his Master of Fine Arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a Bachelor in Arts from Elmira College. Christopher has participated in exhibitions in Beijing, China, The Peace Tower at The Whitney Museum of art, Frederick Meier Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Art Museum, and New York City Park’s Department. Yockey is currently an artist in resident for the Athena Foundation and is an artist assistant to Mark di Suvero.
www.christopheryockey.com
Exposed is made possible by the support of the following partners & sponsors:
PRESENTER
Petra & Stephen LevinMAJOR PARTNERS
Diane Arnold & Dean GoodermoteGail & Steven Blumsack
Diane & Walt Looney
Town of Stowe
PARTNERS
Drs. Leslie Abramson & Fred RossmanCushman Design Group
Dr. Frank & Mrs. Elaine Ittleman
Shap & Peggy Smith
SPONSORS
Cabot CreameryDave Couch Signs
Depot Street Malt Shop
Green Mountain Inn
Idletyme Brewing Company
Lillian & Billy Mauer
National Endowment for the Arts
Paul Rogers Photography
Piecasso
Stowe Jazz Festival
Stowe Reporter & Stowetoday.com
The Stoweflake
Vermont Arts Council
Violette
X Press Print & Copy
Curated by Rachel Moore
Exhibition dates: July 21 – October 20, 2018
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