With its ground-floor galleries, AVA Gallery and Art Center regularly has a challenge on its hands to install shows of recent work that play well together.
The shows opening on Friday feature a quartet of Upper Valley artists who fill the frames of their works with profusion, whether they’re photographing compost or weaving in vibrant colors.
“Compost Compositions,” photographs by Evelyn Swett, is exactly what it sounds like. The Hanover photographer trained her camera lens first on her own family’s compost pile, then on others. She’ll facilitate a talk with Marc Morgan, Lebanon’s solid waste manager at 5 p.m. on Oct. 22 and will give a talk about her work in the gallery at 5 p.m. in Nov. 1.
“Borders of Consciousness: Dreaming in Color” features work in fiber and mixed media by Lebanon artist Shari Wolf Boraz and color photographs by Canaan artist Mary Gerakaris. They will give a gallery talk at 5 p.m. on Oct. 19.
Those two shows will surround “Martha Stein: A 40-Year Retrospective.” Stein, a Windsor resident, works in fiber and other materials. She will talk about her work at 5 p.m. on Oct. 25, and her daughter Leah Stein will lead her dance company into AVA on Nov. 2 to form a work choreographed for the exhibition.
All three shows open with a reception at AVA from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday.
Gary Hamel, of Orange, the painter, historian and man-about-town has donated some of his collection of art to Mascoma Community Health, the Canaan clinic.
A show of the donated work, dubbed The Mascoma Collection and curated by Mascoma Valley artists Susan Russel and Michael Kraatz, opens Saturday with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m.
The artists and artisans who form the Vermont North by Hand cooperative, which is centered in Bradford, Vt., will hold their annual fall open studio tour this weekend. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, the artists will open their studios or set up in public locations, including Corinth Town Hall, and show a wide range of artworks and handcrafts. For more information, go to vnbhbradford.homestead.com.
Zollikofer Gallery, White River Junction. Pastels by Diane Taylor-Moore and watercolor and oil paintings by Cathy Finnegan. A reception is planned for 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday. Through Dec. 30
“Watercolor Journal: A work in progress,” paintings by Elizabeth Greene, opens Saturday in Ledyard Gallery in Hanover’s Howe Library. A reception is planned for 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Through Dec. 4.
AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon. “Body of Work: An Exhibition to Benefit AVA,” which features work by West Lebanon artist Laura Boyajian, is on view through Sunday.
Matt Brown Fine Art, Lyme. Paintings by Marcie Maynard and handmade furniture by Peter Maynard, a husband and wife duo from South Acworth, N.H. Through Saturday.
Center for Art + Design, Colby-Sawyer College, New London. “Coming Home: The Ceramics of Vivika and Otto Heino.” Through Tuesday.
Aidron Duckworth Art Museum, Meriden. “Guest Artist Grand Salon,” featuring works by the nearly 60 guest artists who have shown work at the museum over the years, and “Exhibition XXXIV – The Multitudes Contained,” the museum’s final exhibition of Aidron Duckworth paintings and drawings, are on view through Oct. 27, when the museum is slated to close for good.
Center for the Arts, New London. Paintings by Penny Koburger, Ludmila Gayvoronsky and Marianne Stillwagon hang at Bar Harbor Bank and Trust, New London Inn and Blue Loon Bakery, respectively. Through October.
Chelsea Public Library. “Cats, Landscapes and Figures,” mixed media prints by Deborah Sacks. A reception is planned for 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 25. Through October.
Chandler Gallery, Randolph. “An Archive of Feeling,” a group show curated by J. Turk. Through Nov. 3.
Cider Hill Gardens and Gallery, Windsor. Outdoor sculpture by William Ballantyne and paintings in egg tempera and gold leaf by gallery co-owner Gary Milek.
Betty Grant Gallery, Converse Free Library, Lyme. hosts “Serendipity,” street photography by Hanover resident Jim Lustenader. Through Dec. 30.
The Great Hall, Springfield, Vt. “Alchemy: Metal, Mystery & Magic,” features work by Jeanne Carbonetti, Sabrina Fadial, Alexandra Heller, Peter Heller, Pat Musick, Dan O’Donnell, Gerald Stoner and Johnny Swing. and is on view into February.
Hall Art Foundation, in Reading, Vt. Shows include “Made in Vermont,” works by Vermont artists; exhibitions by Richard Artschwager and the super-realist artist Malcolm Morley. On the grounds: “English Sculptors in New England.” Admission is $10, except on the first Friday of the month, when it’s free.
Kendal at Hanover. “Virginia Rice Kelsey: A 64-Year Retrospective” is in the first floor gallery space at Kendal. Through Oct. 31.
Library Arts Center, Newport. The Soo Nipi Quilters Guild exhibits around 70 quilts, including three by the late Marie Bugbee, the show’s featured artist.
Long River Gallery, White River Junction. “Feathers, Ferns and Fish,” prints by Coleen O’Connell and “tattooed” guitars by Weathersfield artist Jenna Rice. Through December.
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, Woodstock. “Creating an American Landscape,” a show of eight of Carleton Watkins’ Yosemite photographs, reproduced from originals in the Billings Family Archives. Through Oct. 31.
North Common Arts, Chelsea. “Hanging Around,” figures made of found materials by Barre, Vt., artist Janet Van Fleet. Through Nov. 9
Piermont Library. “Faces of Piermont,” photographs by Mel Gitchel.
Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Cornish. “On View in Cornish: American Art at the Picture Gallery, 1948–2019” looks back at all of the exhibitions sponsored by the Saint-Gaudens Memorial and features work by Maxfield Parrish, Marguerite Zorach, Paul Sample, Varujan Boghosian, Ben Frank Moss and Shona Macdonald. Through Oct. 31.
Scavenger Gallery, White River Junction. Fall foliage paintings by Claremont artists Sue Lawrence and Andrew Williams. Through October.
Sculpture Fest, Woodstock. Contemporary sculpture in outdoor settings at the Prosper Road home of Charlet and Peter Davenport, at the nearby King Farm, and at the Woodstock History Center, which hosts “Vermont Carvers & Sculptors Exhibition,” work by 15 Vermont sculptors. Both the King Farm and History Center shows are open through the end of October. The work at the Davenports’ is on view year-round.
Tunbridge Public Library. “Colors in Life,” paintings by members of the Connecticut River Chapter of the Vermont Watercolor Society. Through Nov. 10.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio, White River Junction. “Through the Curve,” recent prints by Hartland artist Rachel Gross. Through Oct. 28.
White River Gallery, South Royalton. “Breathe the Wind,” paintings by Kate Emlen. Through Dec. 20.
Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.
Correction: Evelyn Swett will facilitate at talk with Marc Morgan, Lebanon’s solid waste manager, at 5 p.m. on Oct. 22 at AVA Gallery and Art Center, in conjunction with her show of photographs of compost. Swett will talk about her work in the gallery at 5 p.m. on Nov. 1. Swett’s first name and the dates of the talks were incorrect in a previous version of this column.
