The Gallery at the Offices at Depot Square celebrates the powerful perceptions of five art families and their stories with an opening reception, at First Friday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m.
Art – A Family Affair, is an exhibit featuring five regional family of artists to celebrate their perceptions and visuals of the subjects and emotions that inspire them and to witness the way art threads through the family generations. The artists level of experience is beginners to professional and ages range from under 10 years old to retirement.
The exhibit will be on display from Sept. 6 through Nov. 30 and will be open for public viewing Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the opening reception, artists will be available to talk with guests about their work, creative methods and inspirations.
As the youngest of four children, James Varnum graduated from San Francisco Art Institute with a BFA in painting and drawing. His paintings use color to capture the viewer’s attention and draw them into the work. Limited to two or three colors which blend on the surface, Varnum creates textures and contours in the painted surface using various techniques and materials. James’s father, Harold, died in 2012. His mother Connie brought up the fact that Harold had taken multiple art classes at the Sharon Arts Center but had never seen his work. By chance, it wasn’t until moved beds in the studio room that the portfolios were discovered. To everyone’s surprise there were many drawings. In this exhibit these drawings are a few examples of his talent and his influence upon his son.
The Varnum Family is from Francestown and Newton Massachusetts.
The Claff/Rhuebottom Family from Peterborough, were brought together while taking classes at Sharon Arts School. Linda Claff, before retiring, taught English, then ran a bed and breakfast and served as children’s librarian in Hancock. In retirement, she rediscovered black and white photography, and began to examine the patterns and structure of the world through a lens. Of late, her camera seems to be moving closer and closer to subject, her photographs becoming more and more abstract. For her, photography is about making an image, not taking a picture. In 2007, David Rheubottom had recently retired from his post as anthropology professor at the University of Manchester, UK, and had returned to Boston. Rheubottom had used photography as a tool in his ethnographic field work in Macedonia, but was ready to develop his artistic eye. There is a difference in their styles and people occasionally ascribe Linda’s work to David, and vice versa. Hers is high contrast, sharp-edged, and abstract; his is softer, gentler, and more pensive. This twists the stereotypical gender notions, much to their delight.
The Sieswerda Family from Peterborough are father and son. Elias, age 11, and his father John, share a sensibility with their art making. They have a studio at home and at times work side by side. Elias is a student at Mt. Shadows where he studies art with Rosemary Volpe. John is primarily a self-taught artist and has also had the benefit of taking classes at the Sharon Arts Center when it was located in Sharon. Elias and John like to paint with watercolor and also enjoy drawing. Elias’s work is mostly generated from his imagination and John has an objective approach working from life and reality.
Erin Sweeney grew up in Peterborough and has lived here on and off her entire life. She has a studio where she makes work with her 8-year old niece, Ella Sweeney, and her 6-year old nephew Winthrop Sweeney. Her brother, Kevin Sweeney, also an artist and site contractor is their dad and this is his first official art show. The Sweeney Family from Peterborough and Harrisville.
For The Laughner Family, it all started with Vinoy’s mother, Lois Trimble Laughner Sullivan, who worked in the art department at Disney Studios during WW2. Her father was an avid cartoonist and the creative influence launched a family of artists and designers. Vinoy Laughner is a pen and ink artist, landscape oil painter and artist in various mixed and digital media. He was a juried artist at Sharon Arts Center. He met and married fellow artist and illustrator, Carol Sanchioni in 2002. Carol graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City with a BFA in illustration. Her work is inspired by the pets in her life, and her favored medium is oil pastel. She was a teacher at Sharon Arts School in Sharon. Elice Laughner Morgenson is a graphic designer whose work is inspired by science fiction and pop culture, her favorite medium is the mouse and computer. Matt Morgenson, Elice’s husband, is an illustration graduate of New Hampshire Art Institute.
Several events are scheduled during the exhibit and are free and open to the public. For information on events follow the gallery on Facebook or visit shoppeterboroughnh.com.
The Exhibit is at the Gallery in the Offices at Depot Square, next door to Hobbs Jewelers on the third floor (there is an elevator for accessibility). Complimentary refreshments will be served and there will be live music.