North Bennington We Are: A Photo Event

Ongoing exhibit in the North Hall at the Mill Gallery

On Saturday, September 22nd, father and daughter photographers, Jay and Sophie Paris, took black and white digital portraits of individuals and families whom they encounter on the streets, byways, churches, homes and places of business in North Bennington, Vermont. As the sun went down that Saturday night, the Paris's then printed and framed approximately thirty images from the shoot, which was then hung in the Mill Gallery of North Bennington's Vermont Arts Exchange. The next afternoon, all "subjects" and residents of North Bennington and surrounding towns were invited to attend the reception on Sunday, September 23rd.

In the fall of 2000, the Paris's undertook a similar shooting and show, which was highly acclaimed as an original look at a day in the life of a small Vermont town. Portraits from that exhibit will also be on display. "I look forward to seeing the people and places of the village seven years later and seeing what we discover," said Sophie Paris.

Jay Paris has been a photographer and writer for many national and regional magazines including Time, National Geographic, Yankee and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. He is also the founding editor of Outbound Traveler and the author of numerous travel books.

Sophie Paris was a United Nations photographer for eight years and recently concluded a three-year assignment in Haiti. She is currently working with the Hilary Rodham Clinton for President Campaign documenting the events leading up to the New Hampshire Primary.

North Bennington We Are: A Photo Event is being funded by a grant from the Fund for North Bennington. The show will be exhibited through the fall until November 9th.

"Modern Music Masters" hand-printed, relief-block portrait prints by Stephen Alcorn.

Ongoing exhibition at the Mill Gallery.

"American music in the 20th century has changed the world," Alcorn said in his artist's statement about the 54 vibrant, hand-printed, relief-block portrait prints. 'Modern Music Masters' pays homage to the men and women who bridged the gaps between tradition and innovation, craft and genius, entertainment and art, music and poetry, composition and improvisation, black and white."

Steven Brower, in PRINT magazine, wrote, "The result of a quarter-century of experimentation with relief-block printmaking, the series is in many ways as inspirational as the music it celebrates."

Alcorn lives in Cambridge, N.Y, with his wife, botanical artist Sabina Fascione Alcorn, and their two daughters. Fifteen years ago, they founded The Alcorn Studio & Gallery at 112 West Main Street in Cambridge, www.alcorngallery.com, a multifaceted workshop featuring rotating exhibits of both artists' painting, printmaking and publishing activities.

While born in the United States, Alcorn spent his formative years in Florence, Italy. It was there that he attended the Istituto Statale d'Arte, an experience that left an indelible impression upon him and infused his work with a passion for bold technical experimentation in a wide range of mediums. Alcorn's work hangs in numerous private and permanent collections in the United States and in Europe. Major publishers throughout the world routinely employ his award-winning portraiture and illustration, and his work has been the subject of numerous feature articles appearing in PRINT, Graphis, U&LC, Linea Grafica, Grafica & Disegno, Prometeo, and Abitare magazines.

Alcorn's celebrated books for young readers include "Langston Hughes: An Illustrated Edition," which won the 1998 Carter G. Woodson Book Award, and "I, Too Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry," which was selected as a Best Book for Young Adults in 1998 by the American Library Association (ALA) and as one of 100 of The New York Public Library's list of Best 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing for 1998. Alcorn's original artwork for the book was chosen for inclusion in "The Original Art '98" Society of Illustrators Show, a juried exhibition featuring the best in contemporary illustration.

"Whether he's interpreting the face of a famous author like Solzhenitsyn, illustrating with impeccable skill and sharp irony a scene from Malraux's 'Man's Hope,' or taking on an entire novel, such as Paul LaFarge's 'The Artist of the Missing,' there's no question that Stephen Alcorn is one of our most technically sophisticated and inspired of artists," said John A. Glusman, vice president and executive editor of Farrar, Straus & Giroux publishers. "The sheer craftsmanship is breathtaking, revealing a kind of artistry that hasn't existed for half a century, nearly obsessed with clean lines, the interplay of light and dark, the myriad possibilities offered by a centimeter of space, a delight in structure, design and texture. But more than the technique is the imagination and visual acuity Alcorn brings to his subjects: playing with perspectives, jostling with angles, combining foreshortened, exterior scenes with larger, emotional interiors, setting our expectations on head so we look, and look again, and marvel. This is multi-dimensional work in the true sense of the term: layered, split-imaged, resonating with multiple - sometimes complementary, sometimes contradictory - meanings, brilliantly executed, unfailingly interesting. Throughout his oeuvre Alcorn has lifted "the veil of familiarity," to use the phrase popularized by Wordsworth and Coleridge when stating the mission of the romantic poets. We see the world anew through his eyes, and remain, always, the richer for it."

Alcorn has taught at the University of Connecticut at Storrs and is a visiting lecturer for the Art & Art History Department at Skidmore College. An avid musician and songwriter, Alcorn is co-founder of the musical ensemble ADESSO. See more of Stephen's work at www.alcorngallery.com

Joe Chirchirillo: Sculpture

Ongoing exhibit at the Mill Gallery

North Bennington, Vermont sculptor Joe Chirchirillo has exhibited in group and solo shows on the East coast since the mid 1970s. He has extensively shown his sculpture in New York City and has been reviewed by numerous publications from the New York Times to Art in America. His current work at the Mill Gallery, combined of natural material with welded steel involves familiar themes to the artist of wind, water, movement and motors. See more at www.joechirchirillo.com

Basement Music Series Posters

Ongoing exhibit in the Basement Gallery

The past four seasons of Basement Music Series posters, all autographed by the artists. Over 40 framed posters co-designed by artist/designers Matthew Perry and Melanie Virgilio.

Renée Bouchard

At Stark Hose Gallery

Renée Bouchard, artist-in-residence, at Stark Hose Gallery will display a collection of paintings and sculptures completed during the past two years. At the end of her residency, in early fall 2008, she will be exhibiting an 8x10 foot wall piece using biomorphic forms to explore the relationships between death and birth. This project is funded in part by a Creation Grant she received from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Daniel Richmond: Sculpture

June 6-June 28 2008 7-9 pm, Opening reception June 6th 7-9pm

Richmond's new work includes realistic woodcarvings of animal skulls and fossils in conjunction with rocks, plantings, natural pigments and performance. Storyteller Lee Johnson is a recent graduate of Bennington College and Poe/Faulkner Fellow at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. He will present material from Gentle On My Mind, a collection of short stories.

Small Works Show

Opening reception: June 28th 6-8 pm

Regional artists: Kristen Richland, Susan Ashley, Gregory Singer, Candace Frye, and Alfred and Matthew Perry. Gallery hours will be Thurs-Friday 12-6, Sat. 11-3 pm

Alex Torres and his Latin Orchestra

Friday, July 11th Hildene Estate

Buy tickets Online! or call toll free today 877-725-8849.

Gates open at 5:00pm, Concert begins at 7:00pm

Latin Dance lessons 5:30-7:00 ( $10 per person included in Concert/Dance lesson ticket package)

Tickets: General Admission
Concert: ADVANCE: Adults $14 Students $10.
Concert/Dance Lesson Package: ADVANCE: Adults $24 Students $20.

Concert: AT GATE: Adults $19 Students $15.
Concert/Dance Lesson Package: AT GATE: Adults $29 Students $25.

Children under 5 are free. Food & Libation available.
State Law Requires that no Alcohol to be brought in.

Please note that state law requires that alcoholic beverages cannot be brought onto the Hildene estate, however Kevin's Sport Pub and Restaurant of North Bennington will be serving libations and authentic food from around the world will also be for sale.

Formed more than 25 years ago, Alex Torres and his Latin Orchestra has played its spicy mix of salsa, merengue and Latin jazz throughout North and South America and has released eight critically acclaimed CDs, including 2005's "25 to Life," celebrating the band's 25th anniversary, 2003's "Mega Merengue Mix y Mucho Mas" and 2002's "Punto de Vista" ("Point Of View"). The band's earlier CDs, "Entre Amigos" and "Elementos," earned a Grammy and Latin-Grammy nominations, respectively.

Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra draw from their roots in Amsterdam's Latino community, playing intricately orchestrated cha-chas, merengues and salsa - original songs in clave rhythm and Spanish.

5 week Latin Dance Lessons

Get dancers in step for sizzling summer fun with a series of Latin dance lessons at Pink's Alley (at the Avalanche Motel) on Wednesday evenings in June and July. Dance lessons will feature three different Latin dance disciplines; La Merengue, Cha-Cha and Salsa , all in preparation for the best Latin live dance music coming this summer. Vermont Art Exchange's (VAE) sixth annual summer concert with Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra will be at Hildene Estate on Friday, July 11.

Individuals and couples of any level are welcome to join Let's Dance So. Vt.'s Wednesday night dance lessons at Pink's Alley, located in the Avalanche Motel on Route 11/30, on June 4, 11, 18, 25 and July 9. Classes are $15 per lesson or $50 (payable to VAE) for the five-week session. Dancers will sure work up an appetite, and Pink's Alley will be open for tapas and cocktails. For information or to register, call Rodrigues at 802-362-1819 or Warren at 802-348-6671.