BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Canal Street Art Gallery presents the Form and Function Shop, a static space in the gallery hosting rotating shows, now announcing artwork from Chris Archer, Whitney Barrett, Robert Burch, Robert DuGrenier, Nicholas Kekic, Almut Yakovleff, and Andy Snyder, opening July 17 and on view through Oct. 11. Join the gallery on July 17, from 5-7 p.m., for Bellows Falls Third Friday and an opening reception for the artists. All gallery events are free and open to the public; for wheelchair accessibility call 802-289-0104.
Archer, based in Goffstown, N.H., seeks to create new relationships between the form and the hand of the user. Presenting hand-thrown and wood-fired stoneware using techniques such as carving, shape altering, and various appliques, Archer’s work shows a dialogue with the materials, tools, firing partners, and studio spaces the artist uses. Through the process of a wood-fired kiln, Archer finds cultivating a relationship with specific kilns translates to a knowledge of the chemistry which happens with a fiery atmosphere, the ash from the burning wood, and each specific ceramic form.
Barrett, based in Saxtons River, Vt., presents the artist’s newest work in ceramics, drawing with clay slip and titled “Fairytale Identity.” Barrett, a deep lover of fairy tales and fantasy, is interested in playing with metaphors of animals and how we know ourselves as humans. Barrett’s two-dimensional work uses pattern, mark making, and collage integrated with found text and drawings of human figures. These figures, often in exclamatory poses with a variety of animal components such as tails, fur, and antlers, are now translated to a three-dimensional surface.
Burch, based in Putney, Vt., is a glass blower who has been working in his current studio for more than 40 years. Burch’s glasswork consists of vases, perfume bottles, paperweights, and sculptural pieces, with his current specialty being works that incorporate veiled silver glass with delicate bubble patterns. All handblown in his 200-year-old barn, Burch continues to pursue his passion and purpose to get as close to glass as he can.
DuGrenier, based in Townshend, Vt., is a sculptor, artist, and designer working primarily in glass, metal, and marble. Much of DuGrenier’s work is informed by nature and its effects over time on a variety of elements. Since 1980, the artist has had a design studio specializing in glass sculptural pieces and three-dimensional design. Over the years, DuGrenier has worked in collaboration with architects and designers to create custom glass sculptural installations and chandeliers. These are installed in hotels, stores, museums, and private residences around the world.
Kekic, based in Bellows Falls, Vt., finds glass most beautiful when worked in such a way that somehow captures and eventually expresses its fluidity as a material while maximizing the glass’s unique relationship with color and light. Kekic designs his work to be decorative with clean, strong lines in form and color. Most of the artist’s work is also functional, as Kekic is most satisfied making things that are both beautiful and useful.
Almut Yakovleff, based in Alstead, N.H., brings a lifelong passion for pottery together with wheel-thrown stoneware to each hand-decorated piece. With designs influenced by traditional European folk art, Yakovleff’s work is presented in various collections, each with complementary and harmonious color and lines which work together or separate. Yakovleff’s tableware collections often come together with the artist’s use of bone-white glaze, presenting subtle crackling and deep roots in old-world traditions.
Snyder, based in Orwell, Vt., creates with clay an expression of what is in the artist’s heart and mind. Snyder, a farmer, teacher, organizer, artist, legislator, bureaucrat, and activist, creates pottery full of texture, fun, and whimsy. Using a diversity of clay bodies, glazes, sizes, shapes, and designs of pots, plates, mugs, and handles, Snyder makes all his work with the user in mind. The artist especially enjoys working with others during the design phase, often creating custom place settings and commissioned collections.
Canal Street Art Gallery is located at 23 Canal Street, in historic downtown Bellows Falls, Vt., and is open Tuesday-Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; and the third Friday of every month, from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. For more information about the Form and Function Shop, Archer, Barrett, Burch, DuGrenier, Kekic, Yakovleff, or Snyder, visit www.canalstreetartgallery.com, call 802-289-0104, or email artinfo@canalstreetartgallery.com.