Kim and Scott Cunningham’s exhibit at the Jaffrey Civic Center marks the first time in 40 years the couple has exhibited their work together at a gallery.
“It is just fortuitous, the way it happened,” Kim Cunningham said. “We had already signed up for the time slot a while ago, and then it worked out so well because we were also the former directors, and they named that gallery after us when we left. We’ve had a really positive response, and it’s just been so heartwarming.”
“Clay, Steel, Ink and Paint” by Kim and Scott Cunningham runs through Sept. 12 on the second floor of the Jaffrey Civic Center.
The first floor gallery hosts an exhibit of the work of Fannie Hillsmith, an American Cubist painter who was a resident of Thorndike Pond, while the entryway galleries document the 60-year history of the JCC.
The Cunninghams joke that they are “multi-dimensional” artists, as each of them creates multiple kinds of art.
“We always had jobs, and we always did art on the side. We are just so fortunate that now we’re retired, we can just do this all the time,” Kim said.
Kim creates woodcuts, including those in her popular calendars and books; is a ceramicist; and makes sculpture from “swap shop” materials and found items. She also creates collage and sculpture from materials she finds on the beach on Monhegan Island, Maine, during the couple’s annual visit.
“Monhegan is a magical place, and it’s full of artists,” Kim said.
Kim goes through different phases of interest, as evidenced by her portions of the exhibit.
“I went through a period where I just did a deep dive into foxes, and created dozens of fox faces,” she said.
A selection of her whimsical ceramic fox faces are included in the exhibit, while many more adorn the walls of her home and studio.
Scott primarily sculpts with metal, but he is also a ceramicist, a poet, and a painter, and he plays guitar.
The couple says that trying to decide what to bring to the exhibit at the Jaffrey Civic Center, which honors their 10 years running the center and is part of the organization’s 60th anniversary, was “such great fun.”
“The question was, what do we bring? We have each made hundreds and hundreds of pieces of art. We could have filled the Civic Center many times over, ” Kim said. “It was very much just, ‘What can we haul over there?’ It’s really nice that they have an elevator now. When we were directors, it was always a big deal how to get pieces upstairs.”
At the Cunningham’s home in Hancock, Scott’s sculptures dot the open fields.
“I selected several large pieces that were person-height for the show, and there is also one window-type piece, and we were able to bring those over,” Scott said.
Kim’s works on display include collage, mixed media, ceramics, sculpture, paintings, woodblocks, prints, and drawings.
“We had to really get in there and measure and figure out what would go with what, what we could bring, what would go well together,” Kim said.
Part of Kim’s exhibit is “Transfer Station Transformations,” which is all mixed media created from objects and materials Kim found at the Hancock swap shop.
Scott’s works include tabletop and larger sculptures, paintings, and poetry. Thanks to the exhibit, many of his sculptures have found new homes.
“It’s just been wonderful,” Scott said. “We’re very grateful for the response and the support from everybody.”
The exhibit is free and open to the public whenever the Civic Center is open.
