BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Canal Street Art Gallery presents new artwork from Nancy Fitz-Rapalje, Kim Grall, and Kim Grall III, open Aug. 21 – Oct. 11. Join the gallery on Aug. 21, 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.
Fitz-Rapalje, based in Bellows Falls, Vt., presents paintings from some of her familiar subjects, such as floral still lifes, peaches, and apples. Made in her calculated, geometric style of brushstrokes, Fitz-Rapalje employs her well-known top-down perspective, thereby flattening the background and focusing on placed objects. Fitz-Rapalje, referring to her paintings as “sketches,” describes her practice of painting quickly from observation as “a quick drilling of the eye and a short alla prima battle.” For the artist, the finished painting then becomes a reminder of that day when she really looked, and thus is reinvigorated to do it again.
Grall, based in Westminster Station, Vt., creates two- and three-dimensional artworks expressing the artist’s connection with nature through the use of many natural materials which the artist grows, forages, and makes herself, such as beeswax; earth pigments; plant-based, handmade papers; raw fleece; leaves; feathers; and grasses. Most recently, Grall is making marbled, handmade papers. The artist also uses techniques such as pyrography, painting, and collage to make representations of scenes from the world, focused on birds, bugs, amphibians, and native plants where the wetland meets the forest.
Kingsbury, based in Keene, N.H., shows new abstract acrylic paintings, studies in color and pattern and the practice of making art as prayer. The resulting paintings are Kingsbury’s abstract representation of God. The artist’s paintings are intricate line-made structures layered with opaque and translucent color, and all-over applications creating luminous woven surfaces.
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 above solo shows, visit www.canalstreetartgallery.com, call 802-289-0104, or email artinfo@canalstreetartgallery.com.