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GALLERY Z
 Gallery Z is excited to feature two artists in its July show: Julian Penrose and
Judith Ferrara. This show hopes to foster a dialogue between these two very
unique artists, bringing new layers of meaning to both of their artwork.
Assemblage and collage artist Julian Penrose was born in Brazil but now lives
and works in Providence, RI. Using his own personal experiences for inspiration,
Penrose creates "eco-friendly" or "green" shadowboxes or freestanding assemblage
pieces by utilizing up to 90% saved, donated, or found materials. By re-using
old materials in attractive and innovative ways, he hopes to reduce the clutter
of today's "waste stream." His assemblage works encourage the viewer to see the
elegance, beauty, and meaning of everyday "trash" while incorporating
architectural elements, humor, ironic double meanings, and threads of cultural
issues and past events.
Penrose uses numerous techniques and personal additions to make his pieces
unique. He often transfers printed images onto different materials and surfaces
to create new meanings. His collages also tend to include stubs, receipts, and
other memorabilia from his day-to-day adventures. "I am fascinated by Andy
Warhol and the development of 'Pop Culture,' inspired and in awe of Robert
Rauchenberg, and pay homage to the exquisite, tailored pieces of Joseph
Cornell!" says Penrose of his artistic influences. Ultimately, Penrose sees his
work as a both a literal and figural collage of his life, but leaves his
assemblages open-ended and up to the personal reflection and interpretation of
the viewer.
Judith Ferrara is both a visual artist and a prize-winning poet. After returning
to painting in 1998 following a long break, Ferrara received the Jacob Knight
Emerging Artist Award in 2000. She works mainly in acrylic, oil, and oil pastel
to help convey expressive and colorful forms clearly inspired by her well-known
predecessors Chagall, Matisse, Hockney, and Van Gogh. Passion and emotion have
become the defining elements of her work: "I am always asking 'but what is this
painting about?' Meaning is finally conveyed to me in the language of emotions:
joy, fear, serenity, or discomfort," she says.
Ferrara's poetry has appeared in The Comstock Review, The Black Fly Review, The
Portland Review Literary Journal, A Journal of New England Poetry, and many
others. She acknowledges the strong link between poetry and painting in her
life, with many of her poems becoming paintings or her paintings becoming the
subjects of poems. In 2003, she received the Worcester Cultural
Commission-Massachusetts Cultural Council creative arts fellowship to work on a
collection of her visual and written work, aptly titled Reciprocity.
The opening reception for the show will be Thursday, July 15th from 5:00-9:00 PM
at Gallery Z. The show will run from July 7 - August 28, 2010.
CHABOT GALLERY
 Chabot Gallery & Peace Love Studios -
Through July 10
Chabot Fine Art Gallery and Peace Love Studios are sponsoring a fundraising
event at Chabot Gallery to bring awareness to mental illness and to learn about
the programs available at Peace Love Studios located in Pawtucket, RI. It is
truly amazing how a paintbrush can help to bring peace of mind to those affected
by these diseases. Peace Love Studios is a non-profit organization founded by
Jeffrey Sparr, who has exhibited at Chabot Gallery. Jeff's goal is to enrich the
lives of individuals coping with mental illness and he has created a symbol of
acceptance which all people, suffers and non-suffers alike, could unite behind
together, thus the symbol of Peace Love.
On exhibition will be paintings by Jeffrey Sparr, Kate Salvi, John Purcell and
Lee Chabot.
ROYAL GALLERY
 Royal Gallery continues its “Symphonies of Italy” exhibit through July25th.
Sandra Wakeen, one of Royal's eminent artists and leader of the two week
artistic sojourn, stumbled upon this creative haven several years ago while
planning a trip to Italy with her husband. She calls her connection to the villa
and the owner Federica, 'serendipitous' and describes how the family adopts
visitors, treating them as if they were one of their own. "We have like minds,
Federica and I," she says, "We share a passion for art. After my visit] I knew
this place was too special not to share." Sandra has since returned to the villa
twice - the year following her initial trip with one additional artist and last
year with the nine person group around whose work Symphonies of Italy is
structured.
The promotion of cultural exchange is the driving force behind the exhibition,
and a concept for which both Sandra and Federica display intense devotion. To
open the dialogue, each American artist brought an example of their work to
share with the family of the Residenza di Palmerino and the two Italian artists
who joined them there. These works, along with everything produced during the
course of their stay, were featured in a show hosted by the villa entitled
Scorci fiorentini - Works in pro-gress.
Royal Gallery is proud to present Symphonies of Italy, an exhibition celebrating
the evolution of this inspiration. Works will be shown by Sandra Wakeen,
Elizabeth Stone, Lindsay Palermo, Douglas Gillette, Art Scholz, Kelly
Leahy-Radding, Beverly Branch, Leeanne Williams, and Rodolfo Ceccotti. The
exhibition runs through July 25th. To further promote cultural exchange, many of
the group's Italian hosts, Federica and Richard Freemantle included, ‘attended’
the opening night reception via a live internet connection!
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