Focus On: Berkshires, MA by New Venture Media Group

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FOCUS ON BERKSHIRES, MA

he Berkshires stand as a dynamic rural retreat overflowing with inspiration to ignite your creative spirit. The region, which stretches up through Western Massachusetts and into southern Vermont, is filled with first-rate resorts, farm-to-table dining, antique shops and galleries, and revered houses for glass and contemporary art. Summer brings the Boston Symphony Orchestra to Tanglewood and an extensive calendar of cultural activity and festivals, though when autumn meets the Berkshires, it becomes a work of art all in itself. A sweep of color-spotted hills and mountain peaks are the backdrop for stunning Berkshire Cottages reigning from the heyday of the Gilded Age. A Sunday drive will take your breath away, though not for long. Air this fresh is downright medicinal.

Layer on the cozy clothing and let go of the small stuff––but don’t kick your feet up just yet. There is much to be intrigued by around here. Bennington, Vermont was a prosperous industrial town in the mid-19th century, and an economic boom in 1890 created wealthy mill owners, attracting residents from New York to Bennington to build glorious summer homes filled with art, furniture, and decorative objects. Gilded Age Vermont, a new permanent installation at the Bennington Museum, highlights the grandeur born from the region at that time. See Renaissance Revival furnishings, a stylish Estey parlor organ, paintings by William Morris Hunt and Frederick MacMonnies, and glass and metal works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The museum hosts an ever-growing selection of American art focused on Vermont, from the

largest collections of 19th-century Bennington Pottery and Grandma Moses paintings to Bennington Modernism, another new gallery featuring works by avant-garde artists of national and international stature with local ties to Bennington during the 1950-1970s. On view through the end of the year: 20th-century Vermont Ceramics featuring works by Karen Karnes, David Gill, Brother Thomas, and Charlotte Potok. A drive south over the Vermont border brings you into Williamstown––often called “The Village Beautiful” for its blend of natural beauty and small town charm. Art and ideas connect at the venerable Williams College Museum of Art, home to the largest collection of works by brothers Charles and Maurice Prendergast, and an especially well-rounded collection of American art from the late-18th

NOUVEAU BRUT becket arts center www.becketartscenter.org

NOW DIG THIS!

Art & Black Los Angeles 1960—1980 July 20—December 1 Free Admission wcma.williams.edu Open every day 10am—5pm after July 20 This exhibition was organized by the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. David Hammons. America the Beautiful, 1968. Lithograph and body print. 39 x 29 1⁄2 in. Collection of the Oakland Museum of California, The Oakland Museum Founders Fund.

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BERKSHIRES, MA

SCHANTZ GALLERIES CONTEMPORARY art

Individual works and architectural installations for private, public and corporate collections, by leading artists working in glass.

Jonathan Prince, Bore Block, 2011, corten and stainless steel, 8.25 x 8 x 2'. This sculpture and 23 others are featured in the exhibition Confluence at The Mount in Lenox, MA.

century to the present day. Catch 72 Degrees: LA Art from the Collection through December 1, an in-house exhibition highlighting works by Los Angeles artists from the 1960s and 1970s who dared deviate from tradition, forging a new west coast aesthetic from assemblage, Finish Fetish, and Conceptualism. The show complements the traveling Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980, also on view through December 1. And while in Williamstown, see the Brill Gallery at 16 Water Street. On view is the work of two Berkshire artists: large realist oil paintings by William Oberst and award-winning saturated water colors by Nava Grunfeld. Also on display is work by Wayne Strattman, one of the world’s top plasma glass artists, and Joyce Roessler’s glass jewelry and sculptures. Further along Route 7, in Pittsfield, the Berkshire Museum is busy fostering curious minds. Get involved at the interactive Feigenbaum Hall of Innovation, or sit back and see exotic sea creatures at the aquarium. From fine art to fossils, specimens to sculp-

ture, this collection reveals the multiplicity of the Berkshires spirit. Currently on view as part of the museum’s yearlong 110th anniversary celebration. Objectify: A Look into the Permanent Collection is a major exhibition of some of the most significant and fascinating objects curated from holdings of more than 40,000 artworks and artifacts. Tucked off the beaten track in North Becket Village, the Becket Arts Center is the hidden gem of the Berkshire Hills. “These are not your grandmother’s watercolors,” says Executive Director Paul Campbell, noting accomplished, varied, and provocative original and contemporary works. Open now through September 22, Nouveau Brut: The Fabulous Weirdness of Obsessive Non-Sequitors is a juried exhibition of multi-media, painting, and sculpture. Whether responding to something deep within, or influenced by the postmodern cyber-connected world as a whole, these works reflect an unbounded freedom of expression. The inspiring scenery and restful atmo-

lino tagliapietra, Fenice, 2013

www· schantzgalleries· com s t o c k b r i d g e , massachusetts 413· 298· 3044

steP outside tHe BoX.

FreLinGHuYsen morris House & studio 92 Hawthorne Street | Lenox | 413 637 0166 | Tours | frelinghuysen.org

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BERKSHIRES, MA sphere of the Berkshires have long attracted artists and writers to settle within its hills. In the heart of Lenox, the Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio is the architectural opus of American Abstract Artists George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen. A ten-minute woodland walk from the roadside parking area takes you to the house and adjoining studio—the first modern structure built in New England, inspired by the white-stucco walled, notched-roof Paris studio where Morris studied alongside cubist painter Amedée Ozenfant in 1929. Visitors tour the House & Studio as it was originally furnished, admiring the paintings, frescoes and sculptures alongside works by European and American colleagues and contemporaries. Celebrated illustrator Norman Rockwell made a home and studio in neighboring

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Stockbridge, where the community and residents inspired much of his work. The Norman Rockwell Museum maintains the world’s largest collection of original Rockwell art, including nearly 1,000 paintings and drawings. The museum also features temporary exhibitions showcasing some of America’s finest illustrators. This fall, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic pays tribute to Walt Disney, another American icon of the 20th century, and celebrates the 75th anniversary of the acclaimed visual storyteller’s first feature-length animated film. While in Stockbridge, make time for Schantz Galleries, founded on Elm Street in 1978

The Old Inn On The Green

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Matthew Shlian, Me and Fred, folded paper. Photo courtesy the artist. At Berkshire Museum.

The art and science of an extraordinary material June 15 – October 26

Fine Dining • Lodging 11 Well-Appointed Guest Rooms Candlelight & Fireside Dining

Sponsored by

“Best Historic Inn in New England” Yankee Magazine 2011

New Marlborough, MA 01230 413.229.7924 • oldinn.com

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Sculpture by Erik and Martin Demaine

39 South St., Pittsfield, MA 413.443.7171

Berkshiremuseum.org

as one of the earliest studio galleries in the U.S. to show contemporary glass art. Stepping through the front door is like walking into a kaleidoscope. You’ll be surrounded by exotic figures of intricate form and brilliant color, representative of more than 60 glass artists from around the world. September features Dale Chihuly’s Venetians; Twenty Five Years series, a romantic and imaginative challenge, protesting conventional structural elements of the traditional glass vase. Chihuly’s glassworks are inspired by art deco Venetian glass from the 1920s and 1930s. Since you’re on the road, pair your afternoon of contemporary glasswork with contemporary photography at Schantz’s neighbor, Sohn Fine Art Gallery. Through September 30, Sohn Fine Art highlights the impressive 40-year career of award-winning photographer Greg Gorman. Known for his honest, soul-bearing celebrity portraits and nudes, Gorman’s strength lies in his charismatic ability to get his subjects to open up to him, creating a rare opportunity for the viewer to access the unique qualities of that person. Gorman has photographed Andy Warhol, Helen Mirren, Al Pacino, and Meryl Streep, among others. After a day of swinging through scenic side roads, rest for the night at the Old Inn on the Green for a quiet evening spent nestled in the village of New Marlborough, bordering Connecticut in the southern Berkshires. Once a 1760s stagecoach relay, the Old Inn offers authentic, restored guestrooms furnished

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NEW GALLERIES NOW OPEN

Gilded Age Vermont

Thera, (detail) 1957, Paul Feeley; May Palmer, (detail) 1901, Frederick William MacMonnies

AND BENNINGTON MODERNISM

AUGUST 2 to DECEMBER 30

20th-Century Vermont Ceramics

Building 15, Kiefer, Hall Art Foundation, MASS MoCA, 2013. Photo: Austin Nelson.

AUGUST 31 to OCTOBER 14

NORTH ADAMS North Adams is the proud home of MASS MoCA, the largest contemporary art museum in the country. “I think we’ve hosted over 2000 artists here,” says Director Joseph Thompson. “Making art, installing art, rehearsing, performing on the stages. That begins to leave a mark.” The opening of MASS MoCA in 1999 kick-started the cultural revitalization of this post-industrial Berkshire city, and DownStreet Art public art project is here to finish the job. DownStreet Art is designed to enrich downtown North Adams with a wide program of visual and performing arts events, including exhibitions, video screenings and site-specific installations. On the last Thursday of each month, participating venues and galleries stay open late alongside scores of stores and restaurants. On October 19 and 20, North Adams Open Studios lets the public in to see where artists live and create their work. Artists will be showing their work in private homes and stu-

dios and other locations throughout the city like the NAOS Pop-Up Gallery at 107 Main Street. Ten artists will be setting up temporary galleries and studios to share their creative process with the public. Caravan pops up on Union Street showcasing a specially modified trailer by Japanese artists Eiko and Koma, most recently on view at MoMA. Four pop-ups you’ll find along Main Street include: MCLA Gallery 51 featuring exhibitions by Richard Selesnick, Nicholas Kahn, and Dennis Herbert, among others; Gallery 53 rotates exhibitions featuring the Beehive Collective, Messages from Iran curated by Solly Kh; at 49 Main, PRESS features Letterpress as a Public Art Project, a resource for letterpress printmaking in the Berkshires, curated by Melanie Mowinski. A little further down the road, Gallery 105 shows a curated exhibition by the Contemporary Arts Center of Troy. Around the corner on Holden Street, see pop-up Branch Gallery and their exhibition of sculptors Geoffrey Booras and David Kaufman, as well as paintings by Michelle Lauriat and works by artist Matt Philips. While on Holden Street, stop by William Oberst Studio, home to the watercolor and oil portraits of award-winning realist painter William Oberst. He is a figurative oil painter who adapts the Old Master method of layer painting to contemporary subjects, and maintains a studio-residence in downtown North Adams.

1863 Jane Stickle Quilt SEPTEMBER 4 through NOVEMBER 8

Jarvis Rockwell: Wall Drawing

SEPTEMBER 21 to DECEMBER 30

Daisy Rockwell: The Topless Jihadi and Other Curious Birds BENNINGTON MUSEUM 75 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont benningtonmuseum.org | 802.447.1571 Open daily: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October. Closed Wednesday: November and December.

with antiques and country furniture. Dine by the soft glow of candlelit chandeliers in the fine dining room, or opt for al fresco on the garden terrace to enjoy that refreshing autumn air. Take a deep breath, now, and let it all soak in––the Berkshires brings a lot to the table.

nrm.org • open daily Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic is organized by The Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco, CA. Major support provided by Wells Fargo.

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FOCUS ON: NORTH ADAMS, MA

Martha Flood Design, Studio & Fabric Gallery is a unique destination for sewing enthusiasts visiting the Berkshires. Find beautiful woodland inspired, eco-friendly fabrics by artist and textile designer Martha Flood. Designs reflect natural textures and patterns of the woodlands and country byways of the New England landscape. Through October 6, The Eclipse Mill Gallery is showing the Botanical Mind photographs by Chad Kleitsch: very detailed large images reminiscent of Renaissance paintings. And Joan Carney’s colorful paintings on glass will be on display beginning October 11. Next door, Gail and Phil Sellers make each piece at River Hill Pottery with care and craftsmanship. With clay extrusions of their own design, they have created one-of-a-kind, hand-woven clay baskets in a variety of styles, glazes, and patterns. These limited baskets are signed and dated, and can be found in numerous shops and galleries around the country. The Brill Gallery is currently exhibiting Hundertwasser (Austrian d. 2000), Kaitlyn 5x5, and the Gay and Lesbian Oil Marriage Portraits by Nadine Robbins. Brill Gallery represents the Estate of Magnum photographer Leonard Freed, so there are always many vintage signed Freed prints to view. In September, the gallery is expanding into an additional space at Galerie Reynard in Williamstown, where Stephen Procter’s Massive Ceramic Vessels will be displayed together with glass artists Wayne Strattman and Joyce Roessler, among others.

1 Eclipse Mill 243 Union St North Adams, MA 2 Brill Gallery Studio 109 | (413) 664-4353

info@brillgallery109.com | Th–Su 12–6 and by appointment

Eclipse Mill Gallery Studio 102 | (413) 664-4353

North Adams Open Studios Headquarters

River Hill Pottery Loft 104 | (413) 664-0197

info@brillgallery109.com | Th–Su 12–6 and by appointment Offices at Eclipse Mill Gallery

gail@riverhillpottery.com | Open most days and by appointment

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DownStreet Art Pop-Up Galleries Location varies MCLA Gallery 51 51 Main St. | 10–5, daily Gallery 53 53 Main St. | W–F 12–6, Sa 10–6, Su 10–4 Gallery 105 105 Main St. | W–F 12–6, Sa 10–6, Su 10–4 PRESS 49 Main | W–F 12–6, Sa 10–6, Su 10–4 Branch Gallery 18 Holden St. | W–F 12–6, Sa 10–6, Su 10–4 Caravan 69 Union St. | By appointment only NAOS Pop-Up Gallery 107 Main St.

William Oberst Studio 16 Holden St. | (631) 398-4011

Martha Flood Design, Studio & Fabric Gallery

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Porches Inn 231 River St. | (413) 664-0400 | porches.com MASS MoCA 87 Marshall St. | (413) 662-2111 | massmoca.org

Open during North Adams Open Studios weekend October 19 & 20 woberst@gmail.com

38 Eagle St. | (413) 776-4640 | martha@marthaflood.com

freshgrass is co - produced with manitou media .

freshgrass.Com

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Special thanks to DownStreet Art for providing the design for the map (now altered) above.

ART. MUSIC. BIRDWATCHING. massmoca.org

Xu Bing: Phoenix | On view through October 27

North Adams, Massachusetts

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