Herm Freeman at Ridgefield Guild of Artists

Herm Freeman currently has a show in the Upstairs Gallery at the Ridgefield Guild of Artists. There are only a few days left to check it out, so please go! Herm's paintings transport you to place far away from New England, to the memory of a European vacation. The show closes November 15.

Ridgefield Guild of Artists Wild Things

The Ridgefield Guild of Artists has a new show that is a tribute to internationally acclaimed artist and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The show features work created by area artists and inspired by Mr. Sendak's classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are. The show runs from May 31 - July 2, 2009, with an opening reception on Sunday, May 31 from 3-5 pm.

Bedlam Show at Ridgefield Guild of Artists Features New Work by Noelle Carr

Bedlam opens Saturday, April 4 at the Ridgefield Guild of Artists. This show is a members show that is meant to showcase the creativity of the guild membership as a whole. "A Mother's Love" (shown on left), a new painting by Ridgefield, Connecticut artist Noelle Carr will be on exhibit at the Bedlam show until April 18. There will be an opening reception and party on Saturday, April 4 from 5-7 pm.

Call for Artists: Cameraworks at Ridgefield Guild of Artists

The Ridgefield Guild of Artists is accepting entries for the Cameraworks juried photography exhibition. The juror is Nat Trotman of the Guggenheim Museum. The deadline for submissions is March 18, and the show will run from April 26-May 22, 2009. Artists may submit up to five entries. For the prospectus go to http://www.rgoa.org/ or call 203-438-8863.

Radius Show at Ridgefield Guild of Artists

The 2009 Radius show is currently on exhibit through March 7 at the Ridgefield Guild of Artists. This year's Radius finalists are Caroline Harman, David Ottenstein, Jane Rainwater, Wayne Toepp, Raissa Venables, and Jennifer Wroblewski. Radius is a program developed by the Ridgefield Guild of Artists and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum to exhibit emerging artists from Connecticut and Southeastern New York.Wroblewski

Radius ARTalk with Ridgefield Guild of Artists and Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

A free Radius ARTalk will take place this Sunday, February 8, beginning at 2:00 pm at the Dayton Room of the Ridgefield Library. Featuring the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's Curator Monica Ramirez-Montagut, and Ridgefield Guild of Artist's Exhibitions Director, Debra Browne, this talk will continue with a walk-through at the Guild where one of the two Radius exhibitions is mounted.

This ARTalk will take us behind the scenes for a view into the process of selecting artists for Radius, an artist development program co-organized by the Ridgefield Guild of Artists and Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum now in its tenth year.

Juried Shows - Behind the Scenes at Ridgefield Guild of Artists

This week I had the chance to work behind the scenes at the Ridgefield Guild of Artists as the juror selected works for the Guild's 31st annual juried show. The juror was Benjamin Genocchio, art critic for The New York Times.

Juried shows reflect the perspective of the juror. Mr. Genocchio was a confident juror in that he made decisions quickly about what was accepted or not. He had his own vision of what he wanted the show to be - and it was very different than mine.

That said - what is the purpose of a juried show? Are the works selected the "best?" Can anyone ever say what is the best when art is so subjective? With another juror it would be a very different show.

So what is the purpose of a juried show? Are juried shows relevant? Art is personal. The artist has her own personal relationship with each piece. The viewer then brings his own experience to what he sees in each work. So what we have is Benjamin Genocchio's show. His view, his instincts, his feelings, his perspective of area artists. That is what makes a juried show relevant. It is one person's view, and in the end that is how every work of art is experienced, by each viewer in their own way.