We are thrilled to welcome visitors back to our Middlebury galleries. We hope that many of you will be able to view our exhibitions live but we realize that this is still a time to be cautious and to feel comfortable. The safety of our staff and our guests is our top concern and we will therefore be following current health guidelines from the state and the CDC, for operating a Vermont business. We feel that, especially now, it is important to give visitors an alternative to being in our physical spaces and so we will continue to present virtual tours of our exhibitions on our website. These virtual tours will give viewers the opportunity to experience shows as they appear in the gallery environment and to see individual works up close, with artist information and details of each piece.
SUMMER SOLOS AT THE FALLS
3 SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Hannah Bureau, Sara Katz & Jill Matthews
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
In this virtual exhibition, “Summer Solos at the Falls”, Edgewater features new collections from three of our established artists in simultaneous solo exhibitions at our Gallery at the Falls. Because our Falls location is a combination of open areas and separate rooms, it provides the space and intimacy needed to view and appreciate separate collections. Painters Hannah Bureau, Sara Katz and Jill Matthews are presenting new work in this exhibition that will be on view through the end of July.
Hannah Bureau’s paintings are landscapes that incorporate some of the traditional practices of landscape painting but become much more complex as the artist works with elements of abstraction and evokes a familiar world but also one with spatial ambiguity, and depth in the visual plains. Her compositions become layers of geometric shapes, piled up and intersecting.
Sara Katz has her studio in North Ferrisburgh Vermont. Her work combines a connection to the natural world and the man made one, with her interest in more abstract principles of art making. Katz works on multiple pieces at one time in a variety of mediums including paint, graphite, pastel, and colored pencil, editing as she goes and working with an energy that is the felt in the work. The landscape is a jumping off point but her paintings become dynamic perspectives of bold color, line work and movement.
Jill Matthews studied fine art at the University of Vermont and went on to have an early career as an art educator. After realizing that her passion was for making art rather than teaching others about it, she focused on painting and began her studio practice. Matthews’ collection for Edgewater is a series of still life paintings of flowers in both crisp, vibrant colors and soft ones, set against quiet and texturally interesting, backdrops of muted tones. The artist most enjoys going beyond the literal representation of her subject to allow room for interpretation, emotion, and experimentation in her painting.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
These four works are calm and uplifting landscape paintings. They are all views of abstract fields and water in a soft celadon green palette. I wanted to create a small body of work that could transport the viewer to a bright place In the midst of homeschooling, social distancing, and a national shut down that has prevented many people from traveling to places they love. I hope the calm brightness of this work can bring joy to your home and to your loved ones.
Painting for me is usually a process of seeking resolution through a series of semi-intentional mistakes. I retain remnants of each layer of marks, to remind me of my indecisiveness after I paint out the discord.
I completed this body of work over the course of last fall and winter, just before the pandemic shuttered us at home. When I look at them all together now, these paintings seem to represent an excitement for the future from the hand of someone who is so optimistic that the mistakes are fully intentional. In a few short weeks, the world has changed. Discomfort with the many things we don’t know undermines this short-lived over-confidence, promising that the next series of paintings will be rife with hesitancy and struggle, like legs that haven’t jogged or hiked in months. Until then, I’ll keep these color fields in view, walk uphill, and lean on hope.
My work has always been a representation of how I see the world. My pieces have always hinted at an exaggeration of simplicity. My process has often been more of a removal of unnecessary elements, leaving strength to what remains.
This process and the “why” of how I approach my work has never become more clear to me, especially given the current times.
What is important? What can stand alone without distraction?
What can fade into the distance, allowing something stronger move forward into clarity?
We are pleased to have been able to reopen our gallery doors and to be able to invite our customers to see this exhibition in person! We recognize however, that this is still a time to be cautious and to follow current health guidelines, and so though we are open for business, we will continue to offer our exhibitions virtually at www.edgewatergallery.com.
For more information on the “Summer Solos at the Falls”, solo exhibitions featuring artists Hannah Bureau, Sara Katz and Jill Matthews, visit or call the gallery at 802-458-0098, or email us at [email protected].
ARTWORK
Hannah Bureau
Sara Katz
Jill Matthews
