Bundy Modern’s annual summer show never disappoints, and this year’s exhibit is a stunning and captivating experience.
Titled “Nor’easter,” the show features the workings of Terry Ekasala, Rick Harlow, and Craig Stockwell displayed on the large walls and in the full light of the Waitsfield gallery.
The show is curated by Richard Jacobs from Putney, Vermont, whose work has also been shown at Bundy Modern.
“Most years, we in New England experience massive storms called Nor’easters. In the winter months these epic events usually stop everything for a few days while we dig our way out of snow drifts and wait for electricity to resume. As artists, we relish any reason to stop in our tracks, slow time, and experience stillness. The reflections of light after a fresh snowfall create an optimal condition for alchemy in our studios to create deeper experiences with color, texture, and spacial illusion in our work,” Jacobs wrotes.
This year’s artists are Terry Ekasala from Burke, Vermont, Rick Harlow from Saxtons River, Vermont, and Craig Stockwell from Keene, New Hampshire, and they all make paintings that ask viewers to slow down and reflect on such metaphors, according to Jacobs. This reviewer found that the works of these artists consistently required getting up close to see the detail, but then backing away to gain a better perspective.
Wendell Anderson, who owns Bundy Modern with his wife, June Anderson, provided a preview of the show last week, explaining several of the works and the artists.
Stockwell’s signature piece for this exhibit is a personal memorial installation that reflects the artist’s recollection of a trip his family took in 1958 when they walked up Mount Washington, passing all the memorials to climbers and people skiing who’d lost their lives.
Stockwell has a video that documents the movies his family took in 1958 which people will be able to watch via a QR code. This piece is a dedication to those who’s deaths he saw chronicled as they hiked. The installation is complex and nuanced and when viewed from the right distance, appears to reveal a visual hallway with abstracts of memorabilia on both sides.
Rick Harlow’s three oversize paintings fill the long side wall of the gallery and each is a fascinating pointillistic work that is dazzling from far away and even more compelling up close.
Anderson instructed this reviewer to stand a certain distance from Harlow’s painting Blue and stare at it for 30-40 seconds. The painting is two shades of blue and after some time turns all a deep rich blue, then morphs again into red, then red on the outside edges.
“It’s taking you for a ride,” Anderson explained, and it did!
He said that Harlow spent much of his life living with indigenous cultures in Columbia and Peru, deeply steeped in their full shaman culture.
Moss, one of his other two pictures begs to be examined from an inch away and must also be seen from 6 or 8 feet away to appreciate the endeavor. It appears green but it is green only in a sense. It’s a nuanced mix of millions of tiny dots of multi-colored paint. His third painting, Aji Picante is a similarly crafted work. These three need to be seen in person.
The third artist, Terry Ekasala creates surreal, abstract landscapes that compel the viewer to step back to understand them, but then approach again to view the layers and brush strokes she uses.
The opening reception is June 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. The show is open June 30 through September 3 and Saturdays from noon until 5 p.m. The show is open by appointment as well, text 802-777-2713 to book.
For more details visit www.bundymodern.com or email
