Summer Exhibits at Silvermine Include Collaborative Works by Charles Hinman and Gary Lichtenstein

Silvermine Arts Center is proud to announce its summer exhibition, "Kites," a collaboration between painting pioneer, Charles Hinman and master printer, Gary Lichtenstein, and "Where are We (going)?" a Silvermine Guild group show organized by independent curator Emily Cheng. Silvermine's Viewing Room will feature new silkscreen prints by Guild Artist, Roger Mudre and photography by Brooklyn based artist, Jason Gardner. The exhibitions will open on Sunday, July 28 with a reception from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., and will run through September 7. The reception is free and open to the public. Along with the exhibitions, there will be several artists' talks. Charles Hinman and Gary Lichtenstein will be giving an artist talk on Tuesday, July 30 at 6:30pm and Jason Gardner will give his talk on Saturday, August 10 at 2 p.m.

"Kites": Charles Hinman, artist/Gary Lichtenstein, master printer

"Kites" is an exhibition premiering a new body of work born of the collaboration between artist, Charles Hinman and master printer, Gary Lichtenstein. Their artistic partnership began in 2011 and this new series continues their exploration into translating the visual vocabulary of Hinman's signature hard-edged, shaped canvases into the realm of prints. By combining color and the use of subtle hand embossing, they have created a suite of prints that epitomizes the core of Hinman's ideology: "Though the works at first glance appear serene and placid, they are ever changing as the surface of the ocean or the expanse of the sky. Ever dynamic, they are ever alive."

The prints faithfully reconstruct Hinman's paintings down to the inclusion of subtle lines referencing the support systems of his three dimensional work. As the viewer gazes at the work, the profound complexity of the arrangements of space unfolds into an ever- changing visual experience.

An American pioneer of hard-edged shaped canvases, Charles Hinman challenged the confines of the rectangle from the start. His work first received global acclaim in Sidney Janis Gallery's 1964 exhibit, Seven New Artists, after which famed dealer, Richard Feigen, began representing the artist. As his painting progressed, his flat canvases became three-dimensional, a defining element of his work. He is also known for embracing contrast on multiple levels: through his use of color, texture, light and shadow. Major works can be found in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Albright-Knox Gallery, and the Rockefeller Collection. In 2012, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Charles Hinman is currently represented by the Marc Straus gallery in New York City.

During his 30 years of collaborations with many well-known artists, master printer Gary Lichtenstein has established a reputation as one of the most gifted printmakers in the world. Integral to this is Lichtenstein's sense of color relationships gained from his years as a painter of color-saturated abstractions. Mr. Lichtenstein began exploring the silkscreen process while at the San Francisco Art Institute and soon "recognized the collaborative potential inherent in the discipline." In 1978 he started his own printmaking studio, SOMA Fine Art Press, in San Francisco as a forum devoted to creative collaboration among artists from around the world. Lichtenstein's work is in the collections of many museums including New York's Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian, the Art Institute of Chicago, the International Print Center NYC, and Art Asia (Hong Kong). A Connecticut native, Lichtenstein established Gary Lichtenstein Editions in Ridgefield, CT returning to his roots after working for years in California.

This collaboration between Gary Lichtenstein and Charles Hinman was made possible by a generous grant from the Grace Jones Richardson Trust.

"Where are We (going)?: Guild Group Show

"Where are We (going)?" organized by independent curator and artist Emily Cheng, marks a new direction for Guild group exhibitions at Silvermine. This change is evidenced in the show's title and theme, which are inspired by Guild Artist, Susan Sharp's painting, "Where are We?" Unlike the traditional model of submitting work to a predetermined theme, this group show is selected from curatorial threads found in the paintings, prints, photographs and objects currently being produced by the Silvermine Guild membership. In her exhibition statement, Ms. Cheng suggests that the show can be thought of in philosophical terms akin to Paul Gauguin's prophetic image, "Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?" However, unlike Gauguin's tableau, which visually expresses his contemplation on the meaning of existence, Ms. Cheng writes, "The theme of uncertainty in this exhibition is not so much found in the overt content of the individual art works, but uncertainty as it is experienced through the viewing process...As in, What am I looking at? Where is this situated?" A prime example of this experience can be seen in the selection of images by Guild photographers Karen Neems (Stamford), Sandi Haber Fifield (Westport), Torrance York (New Canaan) and J. Henry Fair (New York City), all of whom create work inspired by the world we know, their photographic processes eschewing the familiar." Other Guild Artists exhibiting include: Hanneke Goedkoop (Rowayton), Robert Gregson (Orange), Shelby Head (Madison), Liz Dexheimer (Washington), Eve Stockton (Alexandria, VA),Tina Blackburn (Santa Fe, NM), Amanda Duchen (Woodbridge) and Susan Sharp (Easton).

Independent Curator Emily Cheng most recently curated Richard Meier, Sculptures and Collages and co-curated Eye World at New York's Triple Candie. Ms. Cheng is also the recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Yaddo and is a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant recipient. She has exhibited extensively in the U.S. and internationally in both solo and group exhibitions.

Silvermine Galleries' Viewing Room, will debut a selection of new abstract silkscreen prints by Guild Artist Roger Mudre, which he produced in collaboration with Master Printer, Gary Lichtenstein, from July 28 through August 4 and August 28 through September 7. August 7 through the 25, photographer Jason Gardner will present a "visual anthropology" of the culture, music and rituals of the authentic folkloric Carnival festival in Pernambuco, Brazil. The exhibit will be part of Silvermine's 3rd annual ArtsFest.

For more information about the exhibitions and other upcoming events at Silvermine Arts Center call 203-966-9700 or visit our website at www.sivermineart.org.