Clockwise from top left: Marlene Siff's Fanfare (2018), Thinking Inside the Box, Camille Eskell's Useless Females: Don't Stand There Like a Bloody Momo (2019), from And All That Jazz.
Music and Women’s History Month are the themes running through four new art exhibits at The Westport Library, with three exhibitions inspired by VersoFest, all currently on display along with a collection of mixed media works by Camille Eskell.
Thinking Inside the Box is being hosted in the central grandstand on the Library’s main level. An idea put forward by artist and author Melissa Newman, Thinking Inside the Box isa unique installation that brings together 21 artists from around the area to create original multi-dimensional works. Participating artists include Tina Puckett, Chris Perry, Marc Zaref, Elizabeth Petrie DeVoll, Rebecca Ross, Janine Brown, Darcy Hicks, Nina Bentley, Miggs Burroughs, Sooo-z Mastropietro, Tom Bernsten, kHyal, Melissa Newman, Mary Ellen Hendricks, Katherine Ross, Five Fingaz, Tammy Winser, S’aint Phifer, Linda Colletta, Mollie Keller, and Norm Siegel.
Running simultaneously in the Sheffer Gallery is Marlene Siff’s Finely Tuned, which features five large dimensional paintings named for, and linked to, a specific expression found in music, along with several maquettes she created prior to construction of the final pieces. Visitors to the gallery can scan a QR code next to each piece and listen to the musical selections that the artist used as inspiration. Finely Tuned runs through June 10, with a reception and artist talk moderated by Miggs Burroughs on Sunday May 5, from 2 to 4 pm.
Also running through June 10 is Eskell’s exhibit, Scheherazade: Storyteller, displayed in the South Gallery. Eskell’s reception and talk will be held Wednesday, May 1, from 6 to 8 pm, also moderated by Burroughs. Part of her series, The Fez as Storyteller, Eskell’s digital photo-based collages incorporate textiles such as saris, hand-made paper, cast sculpture, trims, jewels, and more, to explore self-perception, societal attitudes, and psychological states related to gender bias.
Rounding out the new exhibits is Art of the Album: And All That Jazz, album covers from the collection of Ellen and Mark Naftalin, displayed in the Jesup Gallery. And All That Jazz features album covers of some of the pioneering jazz musicians who changed the face and sound of American music forever.
“Coinciding with Versofest, as well as Women’s History Month, we hope our current exhibits add an engaging and diverse visual arts component that can be enjoyed by the public at large, as well as the extended community that attends this year’s VersoFest,” said Carole Erger-Fass, the Library’s exhibit curator.
L to R: Camille Eskell, Marlene Siff
Siff describes herself as being born with a paintbrush in hand. The Bronx native attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City and earned a BA in Fine Arts from Hunter College, where she studied with Richard Lippold, William Baziotes, Raymond Parker, and William Rubin. After graduation, she began her professional career as a teacher and went on to create bed linen and kitchen collections for J.P. Stevens. After finding commercial success, she designed kitchen and dining room collections for JCPenney before devoting herself full time to her art.
Siff’s work has been juried into 153 competitions across the United States and has won 45 awards. She has exhibited in museums, galleries, and universities throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, the Katonah Museum of Art, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Mattatuck Museum, the Attleboro Arts Museum, Columbia/Barnard University, the University of Texas, the Walsh Art Gallery at Fairfield University, Eastern Kentucky University, and The Capitol building in Washington D.C.
“As a child, I studied classical music for over 10 years and have always listened to music while studying at school and working in my studio,” said Siff, who is now based in Westport. “My love of music inspired a desire to develop a new interpretation of music in art. These ideas were influenced by the rhythm, structure, and sounds of the musical compositions and songs I chose for each one of the interactive, multi-dimensional paintings.
“Working on 7 Finely Tuned + 1 became a creative, emotional, and spiritual adventure. My hope is to inspire strength, power, courage, and happiness at this particular time of great stress in our country.”
As a first-generation American and the youngest of three daughters from a Middle Eastern Iraqi-Jewish family from Mumbai, Eskell’s purpose has been to examine her cultural history and familial heritage through a feminist lens in her work. For Eskell, the converging of these three ancient societies compounded the underlying disparagement of women they shared, which deeply impacted her as it played out in the family dynamic.
Through her art, Eskell aims to unearth the influences of embedded patriarchal systems and inequitable gendered traditions that persist across generations. In The Fez as Storyteller, she tackles the power of these beliefs and perceptions and their broader social and psychological legacy.
Eskell exhibits her work in solo and group shows throughout the U.S. and internationally, including Mexico and South America. Her work is in numerous public and private collections, such as the Hudson River Museum, Chrysler Museum of Art, the Housatonic Museum of Art, and the Islip Art Museum. She received Artist Fellowship grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts in drawing, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in painting, and the CT Office of the Arts in mixed media. She has also received reviews and features in numerous publications including The New York Times, CT Post, The Hartford Courant, Art New England, the Huffington Post, and online journals Art Spiel, Posit 19, and Ante Mag, among others.
Art of the Album: And All That Jazz, is the fifth in a series of exhibits exploring the history of album art and design, and was curated by Ellen Naftalin from their extensive album collection. Mark Naftalin is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee who rose to fame as the keyboardist with the influential Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Naftalin produced more than 1,300 blues radio broadcasts on three FM stations, in addition and more than 30 blues festivals. Since moving to Ellen’s native Westport in 2002, he has also hosted a monthly broadcast, The Mark Naftalin Show, which is now in its eighth year on Bridgeport's WPKN 89.5 FM.
For more information on these exhibits, and more, visit the Art at the Library page.
Jackson Pollock (foreground) and Lee Krasner
Westport photographer and artist Stacy Bass is bringing a new series to The Westport Library: SmART, a regular program featuring in-depth conversations about art and artists, hosted in the Library’s Trefz Forum.
The first of these, to be held Thursday, March 14, will focus on the relationship between acclaimed artists and married couple Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. It will feature Bass in conversation with art historian, educator, curator, and Pollock/Krasner expert Bobbi Coller, tracing the arc of Pollock’s and Krasner’s brilliant careers, with examples of their artwork broadcast to the 18-foot videowall in the Trefz Forum.
The series was inspired by Bass’ conversation with fellow photographer Stephen Wilkes on the Library stage in November 2022.
The kickoff event starts at 7 pm. Attendance is free; registration is strongly encouraged.
“Westport has always been and continues to be an art-forward and art-centric community,” said Bass. “It’s one of the things I love most about living here. It feels like a natural fit for The Westport Library to offer its patrons access to insightful and educational programs with and about art and artists, and it’s my great pleasure to participate in bringing these conversations to life.”
Before people used the term “power couple,” Pollock and Krasner were two of the most groundbreaking artists of the Abstract Expressionist Movement. While Pollock’s distinctively energetic method of pouring paint directly onto the canvas was at first controversial, he gained a mythic notoriety and is now considered one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century.
It took much longer for Krasner’s art to be appreciated and valued. The recent drive to reassess the overlooked accomplishments of women artists has led to a realization of the strength of Krasner’s work, as well as her essential participation in the creation of mid-20th century abstraction. Her paintings and collages have now been displayed all over the world, sold for record-breaking prices at arthouse auctions, and prized in the collections of major museums.
“When Jackson Pollock first exhibited his powerful abstract compositions in the late 1940s, he shattered existing conventions of painting, causing an explosion in the art world that reverberated into contemporary public life,” Coller said. “Working parallel to him, his wife, the artist Lee Krasner, was an integral part of the experimental art movement known as Abstract Expressionism, which is credited with shifting the center of avant-garde artmaking from Paris to New York in the middle of the 20th century.
“In our informal art conversation, Stacy Bass and I will discuss the lives and careers of both Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, view examples of their work, and consider the complex relationship between two strong and influential artists.”
Coller received a BS in education from New York University and a PhD in art history from The Graduate Center of CUNY. She has taught modern and contemporary art at Long Island University and has curated more than 30 exhibitions, including The Artist’s Mother: Portraits and Homages, which was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. In addition, several of her exhibitions were circulated throughout the U.S. by the Smithsonian Institution’s Traveling Exhibitions Service.
In addition, Coller currently is the chair of the advisory board of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, New York, the landmarked home and studio of both artists. She curated two exhibitions for that site: The Persistence of Pollock in 2012, which marked the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth, and Pollock’s Champions in 2014, the first exhibition to focus on Pollock’s relationships with his three lifetime dealers.
A political science/photojournalism major from Barnard College, Columbia University, Bass began to focus on fine art and commercial photography in college and studied at the Maine Photographic Workshops with masters Jay Maisel, Joe Baraban, and William Albert Allard. From her first solo exhibition in 1988, her fine artwork has become part of numerous private, corporate, and hotel collections, and her images and unique perspective continue to tap into the emotion and sensibility of a wide spectrum of viewers. Select pieces of her work are currently represented by Sue Appleton-Webster at Swoon Gallery in Westport.
Bass also is a graduate of NYU School of Law, where she concentrated on copyright, art, and entertainment law. She later used her expertise to become vice president of a publicly traded motion picture and television company, Savoy Pictures Entertainment, Inc.
Bass’ signature images of architecture, interiors, and gardens have resulted in three solo exhibitions and numerous awards. Her photography has been featured extensively in books and magazines including at home (where she was lead photographer for more than 10 years), Garden Design, Luxe Interiors + Design, House Beautiful, Elle Décor, Veranda, AD, Horticulture, Living Etc., British Homes & Gardens, The Wall Street Journal, and many more. She is the author of two best-selling and critically acclaimed monographs/books celebrating the American landscape: In the Garden (Melcher Media/Perseus Books, 2012) and Gardens at First Light (Moffly Media, 2015).
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Pictured: L to R, Stacy Bass and Bobbi Coller. Stacy Bass Photo Credit: Pamela Einarsen; Bobbi Coller Photo Credit: Pauline Shapiro.
Jesup Gallery
March 16 through June 10
From the collection of Ellen and Mark Naftalin, this exhibit features album covers of some of the pioneering jazz musicians who changed the face and sound of American music forever.
Jazz developed in the United States in the very early part of the 20th century. New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, played a key role in this development. The city's population was more diverse than anywhere else in the South, and people of African, French, Caribbean, Italian, German, Mexican, and American Indian, as well as English descent interacted with one another. African American musical traditions mixed with others and gradually jazz emerged from a blend of ragtime, marches, blues, and other kinds of music.
After the first recordings were made in 1917, the music spread widely and developed rapidly in a series of different styles including traditional jazz, Dixieland, swing, bebop, progressive and modern jazz. At the same time, jazz spread from the U.S. to many parts of the world, and today jazz musicians — and jazz festivals — can be found in dozens of nations. Jazz is one of the United States' greatest exports to the world.
Jazz musicians like to play their songs in their own distinct styles, and so you might listen to a dozen different jazz recordings of the same song, but each will sound different. The musicians' playing styles make each version different, and so do the improvised solos. Jazz is about making something familiar into something fresh, and about making something shared — a tune that everyone knows — into something personal. Those are just some of the reasons that jazz is a great art form, and why some people consider it “America's classical music.”
Description excerpted from “What Is Jazz” on the website of The Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Thank you to Ellen and Mark Naftalin for digging though their treasure trove of LPs and sharing this piece of unforgettable American recording history.
Exhibit support provided by The Drew Friedman Community Arts Center.
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South Gallery
March 16 through June 10
Award-winning artist Camille Eskell customarily explores self-perception, societal attitudes, and psychological states related to gender bias in her work.
As a first-generation American and the youngest of three daughters from a Middle Eastern Iraqi-Jewish family from Mumbai (Bombay), her purpose has been to examine her cultural history and familial heritage through a feminist lens in her work. For Eskell, the converging of these three ancient societies compounded the underlying disparagement of women they shared, which deeply impacted her as it played out in the family dynamic.
Through her art, Eskell aims to unearth the influences of embedded patriarchal systems and inequitable gendered traditions that persist across generations. In her current series “The Fez as Storyteller,” a group of mixed-media sculptures and two-dimensional works, she tackles the power of these beliefs and perceptions, and their broader social and psychological legacy.
This series is a culmination of Eskell’s lifelong interests in art, history, costume, and psychology. The works combine elements, cultural symbols, and associations from Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sephardic traditions, often melding male and female garments and accessories to raise questions about female empowerment or constriction. She often uses the fez cap, the traditionally male Ottoman headgear, as a structural base for storytelling and to signify the patriarchal base established by her grandfathers, who left Iraq for Mumbai and became traders of these hats in their adopted land.
The crafting of each piece is meticulous, and process driven, integrating a range of materials and techniques to attain her visual concept. The designs combine digital photo-based collage, with textiles such as saris, hand-made paper, cast sculpture, trims, jewels, and embellishments; her methods include disassembling/re-working existing garments, hand-sewing, and beading, and more.
Eskell exhibits her work extensively in solo and group shows throughout the U.S. and abroad, including Mexico and South America. Her work is in numerous public and private collections, such as the Hudson River Museum, Chrysler Museum of Art, the Housatonic Museum of Art, and the Islip Art Museum. She received Artist Fellowship grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts in drawing, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in painting, and the CT Office of the Arts in mixed media. She has also received reviews and features in numerous publications including The New York Times, CT Post, The Hartford Courant, Art New England, the Huffington Post, and online journals Art Spiel, Posit 19, and Ante Mag, among others.
Eskell has conducted residencies Weir Farm/National Historic site and the Vermont Studio Center. She earned a MFA from Queens College/CUNY and lives and works in Connecticut.
Exhibit support provided by The Drew Friedman Community Arts Center.
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Sheffer Gallery
March 15 through June 10
Timed to coincide with VersoFest, each of the five large dimensional works in Finely Tuned, paintings by Marlene Siff— Fanfare, Crescendo, Legato, Elegy, and Fugue — is named for, and linked to, a specific expression found in music. Visitors to the gallery will be able to scan a QR code next to each piece and listen to the musical selections that the artist used as inspiration.
“As a child, I studied classical music for over 10 years and have always listened to music while studying at school and working in my studio,” said Marlene. “My love of music inspired a desire to develop a new interpretation of music in art. These ideas were influenced by the rhythm, structure, and sounds of the musical compositions and songs I chose for each one of the interactive, multi-dimensional paintings.
“Working on 7 Finely Tuned + 1 became a creative, emotional, and spiritual adventure! My hope is to inspire strength, power, courage, and happiness at this particular time of great stress in our country.”
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Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, Siff describes herself as being born with a paintbrush in hand. She attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City and earned a BA in Fine Arts from Hunter College, where she studied with Richard Lippold, William Baziotes, Raymond Parker, and William Rubin.
After graduation she began her professional career as a teacher, and then went on to create bed linen and kitchen collections for J.P. Stevens. After finding commercial success, she also designed kitchen and dining room collections for JCPenney.
Since devoting herself full time to her art, Marlene’s work has been juried into 153 competitions throughout the United States and has won 45 awards. Her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, and universities throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, the Katonah Museum of Art, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Mattatuck Museum, the Attleboro Arts Museum, Columbia/Barnard University, the University of Texas, the Walsh Art Gallery at Fairfield University, Eastern Kentucky University, and The Capitol building in Washington D.C.
Marlene’s work is also in the permanent collections of the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, the Housatonic Museum of Art in Bridgeport, B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington D.C., the Skirball Museum in Cincinnati, and in the Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center at Cornell University, as well as in many private collections. She works in her home-based studio in Westport.
“Every day, we are confronted with the fragmentation of our non-linear lives, trying as in a puzzle to make the pieces fit together and make sense of it all,” Marlene said. “In a world that can feel full of complexity and chaos, I am passionate about creating art that communicates a sense of harmony, balance, order, and spirituality.
“My paintings, works on paper, and sculpture depict imagery of personal and global events and psychological issues. They are a reflection of the world we live in, expressed through geometric shapes, color, light, space, texture, edges, and movement, each interplaying with one another and engaging the viewer to participate. The love I have for my family, gardens, ballet, theatre, and music have also always found their way into my work.
“Every painting begins with a conceptual vision, and ultimately seeks to convey a narrative. The multi-dimensionality and layered nature of my work aim to penetrate the illusions of reality, reaching the mystery and essence of the soul.”
Exhibit support provided by The Drew Friedman Community Arts Center.
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List of Works
Fanfare: Fanfare is from the series 7 Finely Tuned. The form reflects its title, describing a short musical flourish that is typically played by trumpets, French horns, or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. Its range of color and fan-like form mimic the instruments associated with the term as well as the short burst of sound the term implies.
The selections are: “Olympic Fanfare and Theme,” the Boston Pops Orchestra, conductor: John Williams; “Fanfare for the Common Man,” Aaron Copland, the Philadelphia Orchestra; conductor: Eugene Ormandy; “Fanfare: Colonel-in-Chief,” the Regimental Band of the Royal Hussars. Siff encourages you to listen to this complementary Spotify playlist while viewing the exhibit.
Crescendo: Crescendo is from the series 7 Finely Tuned. The form, comprised of a series of curvilinear segments that are alternately concave and convex, increasing in size and color intensity as the work rises, reflecting its title, used to describe the highest point reached in a gradually rising intensity. Its color, pink, as well as the reflective strips shooting out from the work also connect to the explosion created by the “Me-Too” movement that was unfolding as the work was underway. The form and color can be read as a mirror for the way women who have been victimized have found their collective voice.
The selections are: “This is My Life,” Shirley Bassey; “Boléro”/Ravel Lorin Maazel: Orechestre National de France; “Maybe This Time,” Liza Minelli/Cabaret original soundtrack. Siff encourages you to listen to this complementary Spotify playlist while viewing the exhibit.
Legato: Legato is from the series 7 Finely Tuned. The painting’s title comes from the Italian word 'legare,’ which means to tie or bind. In other words, to connect or join together. In a musical sense, it signifies music that is played or sung without any space or interruption between the notes. The undulating form suggests this continuity as do the intersecting waves of black and white that blend to become silver, brighter together than apart. Together these elements create a blended, unceasing unity.
The selections are: “Yesterday,” the Beatles; “Canon In D Major,” Palchelbel, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Leonard Slatkin; “The Rose,” Bette Midler. Siff encourages you to listen to this complementary Spotify playlist while viewing the exhibit.
Elegy: Elegy is from the series 7 Finely Tuned. Elegy: A setting of a poem, or an instrumental piece, lamenting the loss of someone deceased. The word is from the Greek elegos, a poem written in distichs of alternate dactylic hexameters and pentameters and sung to the flute. Classical elegies embraced a wide variety of subject matter, but prominent among them were laments and commemorative songs. The painting is comprised of shifting discs, their forms suggesting no beginning or no end, like the life cycle. Viewed in the context of the pandemic, the work is seen as a lament for all those who have been lost.
The selections are: “Both Sides Now” Joni Mitchell; “Fly” Céline Dion; “Flower Duet” (from Lakme) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Siff encourages you to listen to this complementary Spotify playlist while viewing the exhibit.
Fugue: Fugue is from the series 7 Finely Tuned. In music, a fugue is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the course of the composition. In the painting this is represented by the layering of “musical lines” that rise and fall in opposition.
The selections are: “Little Fugue in G-minor BWV578,” Johann Sebastian Bach Leopold Stokowski/Symphonica Orchestra; “Cool, Fugue,” West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein New York Philharmonic Orchestra; “Shape of You Fugue,”Ed Sheeran, Chris Rupp/vocalist. Siff encourages you to listen to this complementary Spotify playlist while viewing the exhibit.
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Trefz Forum
March 18 through May 5
Reception: Thursday, March 21, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum
This VersoFest, be sure to explore the Library’s first mixed-media art installation, Thinking Inside the Box. Born from an idea put forward by artist and author Melissa Newman, Thinking Inside the Box isa unique installation that brings together more than 20 artists from around the area to create original works that will be displayed in the central grandstand in the Library’s Trefz Forum.
Participating artists are set to include: Tina Puckett, Chris Perry, Marc Zaref, Tiara Trent, Rebecca Ross, Janine Brown, Darcy Hicks, Nina Bentley, Miggs Burroughs, Sooo-z Mastropietro, Tom Bernsten, kHyal, Melissa Newman, Mary Ellen Hendricks, Katherine Ross, Five Fingaz, Tammy Winser, S’aint Phifer, Linda Colletta, Mollie Keller, and Norm Siegel.
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L to R: The Pinwheel Galaxy from The Westport Astronomical Society, from Lucy Krupenye's exhibit in the South Gallery, and from Awakenings by Terry Tannen
The Westport Astronomical Society, Lucy Krupenye, and Terry Tannen are the first featured artists of 2024 at The Westport Library, with new exhibits being installed in January and running through mid-March.
How Beautiful, the Universe: Astrophotography by members of The Westport Astronomical Society debuts January 11 in the Sheffer Gallery, with an artist reception and lecture scheduled for January 17. That is followed by an exhibit from local sculptor Lucy Krupenye, whose Zen Meditations will be featured in the South Gallery on January 12 (artist reception and talk on January 31); and Awakenings, a series of photographs from Terry Tannen, which will also be installed on January 12 (artist reception on February 12).
“Our three new exhibits encourage the viewer to reflect on and explore the beauty and the mystery of the universe around us — and are a fitting way to kick off the new year,” said Carole Erger-Fass, The Westport Library’s exhibits curator.
How Beautiful, the Universe features more than 25 captivating works by members of the Westport Astronomical Society, who invite fellow community members to “embark on a cosmic journey from the comfort of Westport and witness the breathtaking beauty of our universe through the lens of dedicated astrophotographers.”
The Westport Astronomical Society, a not-for-profit scientific campus built within a former Cold War radar station, is home to the Westport Observatory and the KWAS Ham Radio Club. As part of its commitment to education, the Society offers a free monthly lecture series through webinars and live, in-person talks. Additionally, the campus features a National Geologic Survey seismography station, reflecting the Society's diverse scientific pursuits.
Krupenye is an award-winning sculptor who creates hanging assemblages out of found objects such as stone, wood, metal, and bone. Her sculptures are organic and Zen in feeling, inspired by nature, music, and the world around her. She uses a lot of “recycled” material in her work, creating treasures of what many consider flotsam, jetsam, or garbage.
In her career, Krupenye has exhibited extensively in in New York City and around the Northeast, including solo exhibitions at The Hammond Museum, The Stamford Museum, The Silvermine Arts Center, The Carriage Barn Arts Center, The Simon Gallery in Martha’s Vineyard, The Ridgefield Playhouse, and others. She has been the featured artist on Channel 12 News, at the Katonah Museum of Art, in Westport Magazine, in Fairfield County Lifestyle, and in many newspapers, books, magazines. In addition, her sculptures have graced the covers of jazz and rock CDs and albums, and she has curated several major museum and gallery exhibitions.
“My artwork is something that I see, not from the outside, but from within,” said Krupenye. “It is something that I feel. I rarely draw a piece before I make it. As I work with the elements the piece is just born — in essence, it creates itself. It is, in part, a reflection of my inner being and thus is extremely personal. If one looks closely into my artwork, one might see a part of my soul.”
Tannen was born and raised in Connecticut. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she pursued a career in corporate design and branding working for iconic graphic designer Herb Lubalin, NBC TV, and co-founding her own firm G&K Design Group.
Capturing the beauty and natural design of nature has always been what inspires her creative work — whether it be through design, photography, painting, or sculpture.
“This collection of sunrise photos is from a series taken over Mill Pond Beach in Westport,” said Tannen, whose work has been exhibited in New York City, Westport, and Southampton, N.Y. “It is a tribute to the last year of my beloved husband Charles Tannen's life. Chuck was an avid lover of nature, photography, and adventure. As his fight with Parkinson's progressed, our goal became finding the beauty in what was in our present moment, in gratitude. Thus, Awakenings.”
For more on the Library’s exhibits, visit the Art at the Library page.
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Pictured above (clockwise from top left): Lucy Krupenye, The Westport Astronomical Society, and Terry Tannen
Jesup Gallery
January 12 through March 12
Artist reception: Monday, February 12, 6-7:30 pm
Terry Tannen was born and raised in Connecticut. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she pursued a career in corporate design and branding working for iconic graphic designer Herb Lubalin, NBC TV, and co-founding her own firm G&K Design Group.
Capturing the beauty and natural design of nature has always been what inspires her creative work — whether it be through design, photography, painting, or sculpture. Her work has been exhibited in New York City, Westport, and Southampton, N.Y.
“This collection of sunrise photos is from a series taken over Mill Pond Beach in Westport,” Terry said. “It is a tribute to the last year of my beloved husband Charles Tannen's life. Chuck was an avid lover of nature, photography, and adventure. As his fight with Parkinson's progressed, our goal became finding the beauty in what was in our present moment, in gratitude. Thus, Awakenings.”
South Gallery
January 12 through March 12
Artist reception and talk with Miggs Burroughs: Wednesday, January 31
Reception 6-7 pm in the South Gallery; talk 7-8 pm in the Trefz Forum
Award-winning sculptor Lucy M. Krupenye creates hanging assemblages out of found objects such as stone, wood, metal, and bone. Her sculptures are organic and Zen in feeling. Although some are whimsical, most often Lucy searches for harmony among the diverse elements she uses to construct her pieces.
Lucy’s work is in tune with nature and the environment, and she uses a lot of "recycled" material in her work. What most people consider flotsam, jetsam, or garbage, she often considers treasure. Her creations are inspired by nature, music, and the world around her. She strives to create works of beauty, peace, and tranquility in a world that often feels chaotic.
Lucy has exhibited extensively in in New York City and around the Northeast, including solo exhibitions at The Hammond Museum, The Stamford Museum, The Silvermine Arts Center, The Carriage Barn Arts Center, The Simon Gallery in Martha’s Vineyard, The Ridgefield Playhouse, and others. She also has exhibited extensively in countless group exhibitions.
Lucy has been the featured artist on Channel 12 News, at the Katonah Museum of Art, in Westport Magazine, in Fairfield County Lifestyle, and in many newspapers, books, magazines. In addition, her sculptures have graced the covers of jazz and rock CDs and albums, and she has curated several major museum and gallery exhibitions. She has won awards for her sculptures in juried exhibitions and her work is in private collections in the United States and in Europe.
“My artwork is something that I see, not from the outside, but from within,” she said. “It is something that I feel. I rarely draw a piece before I make it. As I work with the elements the piece is just born — in essence, it creates itself. It is, in part, a reflection of my inner being and thus is extremely personal. If one looks closely into my artwork, one might see a part of my soul.”
The Pinwheel Galaxy
Sheffer Gallery
January 11 through March 12
Discover the wonders that lie just beyond your backyard in How Beautiful, the Universe — an extraordinary art exhibition featuring more than 25 captivating works by members of the Westport Astronomical Society (WAS). Embark on a cosmic journey from the comfort of Westport and witness the breathtaking beauty of our universe through the lens of dedicated astrophotographers.
The universe, teeming with awe-inspiring phenomena, unfolds before your eyes. From the radiant glow of our closest star, the sun, to the intricate details of distant galaxies and nebulae spanning hundreds of light years, these images showcase the celestial marvels that grace our night skies.
In conjunction with the art exhibit, there will be an artists’ reception and lecture on Wednesday, January 17, where members of WAS will unravel the mysteries behind the creation of these mesmerizing images.
The Westport Astronomical Society, a not-for-profit scientific campus nestled within a former Cold War radar station, is home to the Westport Observatory and the KWAS Ham Radio Club. The observatory's radar tower has been repurposed into a dome, providing an ideal vantage point for observing the night sky. As part of their commitment to education, WAS offers a free monthly lecture series through webinars and live, in-person talks. Additionally, the campus features a National Geologic Survey seismography station, reflecting the Society's diverse scientific pursuits.
Norm Siegel, “Pieter Claesz’s Dinner At The Katz’s,” 2023
South Gallery
October 27, 2023, through January 8, 2024
Reception: November 20, 6-8 pm (reception: 6-7 pm; talk: 7-8 pm)
Artist Bio (from Norm Siegel)
I started out scribbling airplanes that I saw on WW 2 newsreels with pencil on the flyleaf pages of the few books my parents owned. Paper was scarce and my parents were understanding.
On a 6th grade field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was mesmerized by a Willian Harnett still life and a huge Albert Bierstadt Yellowstone landscape. It was then and there I knew I wanted to become an artist.
That path started oddly enough at the High School of Industrial Arts in 1952. It was also a time when I fell under the influences of our brand new television set, Saturday Evening Post and Colliers magazine covers, 3D and science fiction movies and EC comic books. SIA encouraged me every step of the way.
Still with all these diversions I managed to get accepted into The Cooper Union. Tuition was free at that time and we did not live large in the South Bronx.
What a Wake-up Call!
For someone wired to draw comics and do realistic illustrations. ( I actually won a second place high school student award at the Society of Illustrators)^, abstract expressionism was the “soup de jour” at Cooper. And though I gave it my all, I wasn’t very good at it. Call it AAED (Acute Abstract Expressionism Disorder) or whatever, I was more successful applying my energies into my elective: Advertising Design taught by Rudolph de Harak. All the while unbeknownst to my instructors and fellow students, I was freelancing as an illustrator for Galaxy and Fantastic Universe SF pulp magazines. (A couple of my covers can still be seen on the internet.)
After graduation I embarked on my “madman” career as an art director and was reasonably successful. Even with a two-year interruption courtesy of the U.S. army. After many years in big agencies, I left to open a creative boutique in Southport with former NBC Creative Director Steve Lance. One of our proudest accomplishments was to help launch The Discovery Channel in 1989.
In my off time, to escape the stress and politics of ad agency reality, I indulged my love of aviation by becoming a member of the American Society of Aviation Artists and the U.S. Air Force Art Program. Many of my paintings have homes in various aviation museums as well as the Pentagon. Plus, I had the opportunity to fly in many of our hottest and iconic aircraft.
Though rarely still active today as a freelance art director, (who in their right mind is hiring an octogenarian art director these days?) I decided to once again pick up the brush and return to the style of painting that my 19th century brain is “wired” to paint.
Interestingly enough, my advertising career seems to have meshed with my painting career. Just like creating an ad or commercial, what I paint has to have a concept. Sometimes literal, sometimes graphic, sometimes humorous and satirical, sometimes social, and sometimes political.
I’ve been fortunate to have my work exhibited at The Salmagundi Gallery in New York, The New Britain Museum of American Art, Billis Gallery in Westport, Kershner Gallery at The Fairfield Public Library, the Westport and Wilton Libraries, and Bendheim Gallery in Greenwich, with solo shows at the Newton Roux Gallery in Westport, The Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, and WorkPoint in Stamford. Recently, my painting “Garden of Hope” is now at The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
^Footnote: One of my earliest accounts was The Famous Artists, Photographers and Writers School in Westport.
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Artist Statement
Unlike many artists it’s difficult for me to put into words what I put on the canvas.
What you see is what I intend you to see.
I’m not one to experiment with new techniques, materials or mediums.
Spontaneity and intuition are not involved.
I do experiment with subject matter to satisfy my past and current influences and my sense of humor using the skills I’ve honed over decades with brush and paint on canvas or panel.
Any questions?
Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in "Your Show of Shows, " Victor Keppler, circa 1950–1954
Jesup Gallery
October 27, 2023, through January 8, 2024
Showtime! celebrates the performing arts in Westport. Ballet, contemporary dance, and musical theater all thrive on the stages of Westport schools, the Library, and beyond. Many young performers who call Westport home have gone on to study at leading arts programs and today are performing around the country and world.
Westport Public Art Collections (WestPAC) are a cultural asset of the town, with more than 1,800 works of art in a broad range of media — paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints, illustrations, cartoons, photographs, sculptures, and murals — by notable American artists, giants of the international art world, and important artists who established their homes and studios in the Westport-Weston community.
WestPAC’s artworks were acquired primarily through gifts, mostly given by the artists themselves or donated by heirs and collectors. Artworks are on display throughout municipal buildings and public schools in Westport.
The WestPAC Committee cares for the artworks in the collections and carries out WestPAC’s mission of using original works of art to inspire and educate Westport residents, students, teachers, and the broader community.
Learn more about Westport Public Art Collections at westportarts.org.
