BRATTLEBORO — 118 Elliot Gallery presents a selection of recent portraits painted by multiple artists with Brattleboro people as subjects.
According to a news release, “Who We Are” sets forth “a demonstrative statement about Brattleboro: who's here now, living, working, painting and 'being the portrait' in a town known for its eclectic downtown shops and thriving arts community.”
The show features the paintings of Leonard Ragouzeos, Robert Thomson, and a series from Leigh Niland's drop-in class, “Shopkeepers & Secret Lives,” hosted by River Gallery School of Art, in which several painters executed two-hour portraits from what the gallery described as “a captive Brattleboro shopkeeper.”
The images are paintings, drawings, and prints made alla prima, or after a live sitting with the subject has occurred.
“The result tells of a Brattleboro the way it is, in a display of both raw and highly worked visages,” write curators Lisa Mendelsund, creative director at 118 Elliot Gallery, and Leigh Niland, a member of the arts faculty at River Gallery School of Art.
“For many reasons, it felt like the right time to do a show celebrating community,” Mendelsund said, “and there is no better vehicle than portraiture. Sitting down and painting someone's face takes time. Time and proximity foster connection and appreciation.”
“This is a culturally polarized moment. Portraiture reminds us that under our political leanings, beneath our social affect, lies humanness: the things we all share.”
Mendelsund said that the show was timed to correspond with a number of other seasonal community events and “to highlight all the unseen folks who make these events happen: the artists, entrepreneurs, and local characters who weave the fabric of our town.”
She describes “Who We Are” as “an optimistic show, and we've never needed an infusion of spirit so much as we do now. This exhibition will leave you smiling, and feeling closer to your fellow town-folks.”