The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 12-5pm

Themes in the exhibition include representations of the landscape and flora in winter, renderings of ice on Lake Champlain, changes to natural landmarks, storytelling through painting, representations of space and time, abstract and psychological ideas about winter, and winter as sculpture.

The exhibition is curated by The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery director Christy Mitchell and Ric Kasini Kadour, editor and publisher of the Vermont Art Guide. “Art of Winter” exists in two forms: A physical exhibition of artwork by 26 artists will be on display at SPACE Gallery, along with an exhibition in print with artwork by 19 artists is included in Vermont Art Guide #3.

Artists include: Alex Costantino, Ashley Roark, Christy Mitchell, Stella Ehrich, Doris Bergeron, Frankie D. (DeAngelis), Tomomi Ueda, Sherri Rigby, Elaine Ittleman, Carol Crosby, Linda Di Sante, Kate Longmaid, Karyn Neubauer, Shona Sladyk, Jan Fowler, Julie Davis, Lorraine C Manley, Nitya Brighenti, June Campbell, Sharon Webster, Erika Lawlor Schmidt, Linda Van Cooper, Martha Hull, Robert Waldo Brunelle JR, Samantha M. Eckert, and Shalvah Herzberg.

The snowflake photographer Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) wrote, “The farm folks, up in this north country, dread the winter; but I was supremely happy, from the day of the first snowfall-which usually came in November-until the last one, which sometimes came as late as May.” At some point in the 20th century, winter in Vermont stopped being a thing of dread, when one dug in and hoped food supplies would last, the well wouldn’t freeze, and nature would be merciful. It was probably sometime in the 1930’s, when Dartmouth ski coach Wallace “Bunny” Bertram tied a tow rope to a Model-T Ford engine and started pulling skiers up a hill on Gilbert’s Farm in Woodstock. Winter started being a time of wonder, pleasure, and frolic.

Artists paint the world around them and it should be no surprise that winter is a frequent theme for Vermont artists. This exhibition is a survey of such artworks. Vermont has a long, rich tradition of painting the landscape. En plein air and in the studio artists forage the state for scenes to reproduce on canvas and board. Many of the works are representations of the land. Cartooning and storytelling also plays a role in Vermont art and artworks that engage these traditions are also present. We find artists engaging the psychology of winter in artwork that trades on mood, memory, and representations of the psyche.

“Art of Winter” is an opportunity for viewers to consider the role this season plays in our lives. One cannot ignore winter. It demands our attention. It forces us to dress differently, to spend resources heating our homes, and to develop an outlook, a personal philosophy, that will get us through until the ice melts, air warms, and life springs from the ground.

S.P.A.C.E stands for Supportive Places for Artists and the Creative Economy. Formerly the Soda Plant Artist Collective Environment, S.P.A.C.E has a mission to create an accessible venue for showing, viewing, and making artwork by the public in Vermont and beyond. By combining creative endeavors with industrial reuse, S.P.A.C.E contributes to the economic revitalization of the industrial South End of Burlington – and beyond!

Vermont Art Guide is a quarterly, printed magazine about contemporary art in Vermont. We offer a curated list of places to see art and publish profiles on artists, art venues, and public art. Each issue is a celebration of the state’s great art scene. Vermont Art Guide is a project of Kasini House. www.vermontartguide.com