I will have a painting on auction at the New Britain Museum of American Art during their 17th annual Spring Gala, Art Party of the Year event taking place on Saturday, May 6. Go to www.artpartyoftheyear.org to preview, pre-bid, or set your maximum bid via BidPal mobile bidding. More information about the event can be found here: http://www.nbmaa.org/event/the-art-party-of-the-year.

Queen Kitty Glitch, 2018. Oil on canvas.

Silence Breakers

• Opening Reception, Thursday, March 8, 5-8pm.
• Closeing Reception, Thursday, April 5, 5-8pm.
• Ely Center of Contemporary Art51 Trumbull Street New Haven, CT, 06510

An unjuried exhibition in collaboration with Nasty Women Connecticut

This year, Ely Center of Contemporary Art is collaborating with Nasty Women Connecticut for the group exhibition Silence Breakers. We invite artists working across disciplines, to create artwork that addresses issues of abuse, consent, and identity as well as themes of domesticity and home. The show will look at the often-blurred line between security and insecurity in the home, providing room to explore ideas around gender, equity, sexuality, individuality and domestic life.

Each year during Women’s History Month, the Ely Center of Contemporary Art (ECOCA) showcases In Grace We Trust, an annual exhibition that commemorates the philanthropic work of Grace Taylor Ely.  During her lifetime, Grace transformed her home at 51 Trumbull Street into a space for local watercolorists and ceramicists to gather and show their work.  Since her passing, the Ely Estate and Friends of John Slade Ely House of Contemporary Art have carried on this tradition, stewarding the building as a nurturing pillar of New Haven’s artist communities. In Grace We Trust addresses ideas of tradition and change — a nod to the past as we confront current societal challenges, and rise together to create our future narratives.

Throughout the month of March, the Ely Center will host a series of programs related to this year’s theme, including a panel discussion moderated by Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, performances, film screenings, nights, workshops, and artists talks. 

On a personal level I'm really excited to be showing two pieces in Silence Breakers at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven, CT. The two pieces I'm showing are shall we say, difficult pieces to place. They are openly political and come directly out of my fear and anger due to the election of Donald Trump as president: 

November 9, 2016  I went to the studio and wrote the word “FUCK” on a clean white canvas. It was all I could do that day. Fuck was the perfect word; it can be a declaration of anger or a declaration of exhaustion and defeat. It was all I could say that day. All other words failed me. 

It took days of fumbling around in the studio to figure out how to make art in this new world. The studio had always been my refuge from the world. This  place where I feel safe, where I go to rid myself of fears and anxieties, had been taken away from me.  My near constant anxiety manifested in my art. Colors became darker and more intense, shapes became twisted and tense.

The works in this show reveal my conflicting emotions in this new world. It represents darkness, satire, and even hope inspired by the march on Washington DC and other cities all over the world. New art for a new era.

Self Portrait by Kimbery Gerry-Tucker

Through Our Eyes: Self-Portrait, Artists on the Autism Spectrum.

The Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket and the RI Consortium for Autism Research and Treatment invite you to join us for art and refreshments. All of the work displayed in the exhibit was created by artists on the autism spectrum. The purpose of this exhibit is to celebrate their creativity and talents. The artists each have a unique view of the world, and the collection as a whole allows visitors to catch a glimpse of life as seen by people on the spectrum.

Michael Madore, New Arrivals

Images from my recent solo show at the Canterbury School in New Milford, CT. This show was the first time I have shown my paintings, collages, and works on paper at the same time. It was also the first time I have shown my recent oil paintings. It was interesting to see the relationships that developed between such a broad cross section of my work of the last three years. 

Cool + Collected was the first show at Melanie Carr Gallery in Essex, CT from October 21 - December 31, 2017. 

The gallery described the show as:

Cool + Collected features the artwork of 14 Connecticut based contemporary artists. All artists included in this inaugural exhibition are artists whose work I collect and have lived with in my home over the past several years. This exhibition includes a curated selection of each artist’s work. 

We all collect/acquire items and objects - some of us more than others. The thing about acquiring/living with original works of art, is this - as time passes, the meaning of the work may shift or change; become deeper, more challenging, more meaningful, or, more relevant. Not unlike relationships, the dialog and stimulation of looking critically at artwork over time is like having a conversation with someone that leaves a lasting impression, one that probes, inspires, and asks questions instead of answering them.  

All artists exhibiting in Cool + Collected are a group of dynamic artists, fully engaged in their practice, and in their creative lives. Enjoy the exhibition, and remember, looking is not seeing. 

-Melanie Carr

 It was an honor to be part of the first show in this exciting new gallery. Several of my collages, including the two below are still available from the gallery's flatfiles.