PRESS RELEASE
The three exhibitions opening at Silvermine Galleries in late March spotlight Silvermine Art Center’s presence as a gallery space, a community space, and an academic center for the visual arts. The annual Instructors Exhibition features special selections and new work from the School of Art’s distinguished artist educators. Heide Follin’s lush solo exhibition, Botanical Paradigm, reveals the artist’s bold new takes on botanical forms and landscape. Pictures from Bridgeport: A Bridgeport Art Trail Sampler presents powerful works by Bridgeport-based artists in a collaboration between Silvermine and the City Lights Gallery. An opening reception for all three exhibits will take place on Sat., March 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. The public is invited.
The Instructors Exhibition
Silvermine’s annual Instructors Exhibition celebrates the exceptional artists who shape its renowned School of Art. These instructors—many of whom have gained regional and national recognition—bring their expertise, creativity, and passion into the classroom, inspiring students of all levels. This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to experience their latest works—from Andrew Davis’s dynamic sculpture, Tricycle and the Hieroglyphic, to Gail Bradshaw’s striking Picasso Jasper Pendant, Nancy McTague-Scott’s intricate solar etchings, and Nash Hyon’s evocative Cloud Bank. Spanning a diverse range of mediums, the show highlights the depth of talent and artistic vision that make Silvermine a leading center for visual arts.
Heide Follin, Botanical Paradigm
For Heide Follin, botanical specimens and landscapes are a jumping-off point. “Energetic forms call out to me as I wander through the garden. I spy a cluster of shepherd hooks with their fuzzy heads bobbing in the wind, which morph into waving arms. I find delight in what’s hidden in the shadows and embrace the vibrant florals and intricate foliage.”
Adept with a range of materials—acrylics, acrylic polymers, and black ink—she also layers fabric onto a variety of substrates—”staining, brushing, or pouring paint in a high-key palette that vibrates against neutrals.” Her works become compositions of texture as well as color and form. Follin describes her process as “working in the fluid space between control and the need to be free,” and her work as “lyrical organic abstraction.”
Board Chair Award winner at the 2023 A•ONE Exhibition at Silvermine, Follin is a member of the Silvermine Guild and a graduate of the School of the Worcester Art Museum. She completed a residency at the Vermont Studio Center and maintains an active studio practice at Wilson Avenue Loft Artists in South Norwalk.
Pictures from Bridgeport: A Bridgeport Art Trail Sampler
In collaboration with Bridgeport’s City Lights Gallery, Silvermine features a selection of works by established and emerging Bridgeport artists. The range of mediums and styles is as diverse as the people of the Park City. Among the highlights are Carlos Biernnay’s dazzling fiber and mixed media pieces, Will Corprew’s paintings that incorporate abstract and figurative elements, Steve Gerber’s colored-pencil drawings that expand the view of vintage postcards of Bridgeport, and Iyaba Ibo Mandingo’s mixed media works that use mahogany pods in compositions that celebrate music, dance, and wisdom.
City Lights Gallery presents local, regional, and emerging artists to Bridgeport and its visitors. The gallery hosts various community-based exhibits and events in music, poetry, and the visual arts.
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Silvermine Arts Center, one of the oldest artist communities in the United States, recently celebrated its centennial (1922–2022). Its five-acre campus in New Canaan, Connecticut, consists of a nationally renowned artist guild, an award-winning school of art offering classes for all ages, an arts and fine crafts shop, a permanent print collection, and a gallery offering over 20 contemporary and historic exhibitions annually. Silvermine is a non-profit 501c3 organization that also offers an Outreach Education Program, Art Partners, and hosts lectures, film screenings, and special events. Silvermine Galleries are open 10am – 4pm, Tues. to Sat. and closed Sun. and Mon. For more information, visit www.silvermineart.org.
