So tonight I went to Fitchburg State University for the opening of Insights Into Surface, by Gregory Kitterle. Loooooooved it! Each piece became my new favorite as I walked down the hallway. If any of you mysterious readers are in the area, see if you can drop by the Sanders Administration building (the art gallery's temporary location since the rest of campus is under construction) before October 25th to see it!
Kitterle uses pencil, dry and wet pigment and Venetian plaster to create traditional frescos, but what caught my attention was his diverse and unusual textures and the high contrast shadows in most of his work. Unfortunately he doesn't have a website, but I found some of his work through google, including this one: http://lesley.edu/aib/portfolio/alumni/mfa_alumni/2008/kitterle_gregory.htm His scenes are vague, fantastical, and left open to interpretation as a result of irregularities in his plaster surfaces. According to his artist statement, the viewer's interpretation becomes as valid as his, the artist's.
General observations about the show: He, Kitterle, was dressed in a casual plaid collared shirt (not too serious) and walked around answering questions from viewers in the hallway. He wasn't very forward, but waited for others to approach him. I never heard him call attention to any specific paintings (unless a question was brought up about one) or thank anyone. He mainly talked about his creative process and inspiration. A question and answer session was held as opposed to a "gallery talk," which began exactly at 6:30 in a lecture hall separate from the art, which I wasn't crazy about. I noticed that I wasn't the only late-comer either; A few people also mentioned that they hadn't expected his talk to start right away. The Q&A lasted about 30 minutes, after which we were released to wander the hall while munching on some fruit with cheese and crackers. Yum! Actually I didn't eat anything, but I noted that the table and platters looked beautiful, thanks to the college, which is very good with those types of things. I signed the guest book and took his artist statement which, unfortunately, had several typos and was printed on half a sheet of printer paper. I believe the university was responsible for making and sending out the gallery cards (electronically through e-mail) because they were very well-designed and high quality; definitely not consistent with the artist-statement-half-sheet-of-paper. I never thought about sending invitations electronically, but I realize that it's very eco-friendly and very easy to click 'forward!'
I didn't stay very long, only about 30 minutes after his Q&A ended, but I really, really enjoyed it. I could honestly have spent an hour just staring at and enjoying each piece. You should check it out! No, really. Go.
As a side note, tomorrow I'm going to the Fitchburg Art Museum to help the new director of marketing, Jerry Beck, frame some artwork for the upcoming graphic novel exhibit which opens Sunday. Jerry is the powerhouse behind the Revolving Museum in Lowell, MA and for the revitalization of Lowell through its artistic community. I know he has big plans for Fitchburg and am excited to see the changes he brings about to the museum and the city.
PS. I am working on resizing photographs of my artwork to give people a sneak peek of my content. Check back at a later date and hopefully I'll have figured out how to do it!
