June 19- July 21, 2013

Handful Of Art, Organized by Partnership for Connecticut Cities

Opening Reception: Sunday, June 23, 2-5pm

Participating Artists:

Michael Angelis   John Arabolos   Amy Arledge   Cat Balco   Ethan Boisvert

Riley Brewster   Frank Bruckmann   Susan Clinard   Megan Craig

Jan Cunningham   Leila Daw   Steven DiGiovanni   Karen Dow   Eileen Eder

Silas Finch   Dean Fisher   Amanda Fornal   Josh Gaetjen   Michael Galvin

Elizabeth Gourlay   Rachel Hellerich   Cham Hendon   Lisa Hess

Danny Huff   Cint Jukkalla   John Keefer   Zachary Keeting   Janet Lage

Martha Lewis   Nathan Lewis   Linda Lindroth   William Lustenader

Barbara Marks    Christopher Mir   Adam Niklewicz   Jason Noushin

John O’Donnell   Perry Obee   David Ottenstein   Hank Paper

J.D. Richey   Lyn Bell Rose   Joseph Saccio   Charles Santarpia

Martha Savage   K Levni Sinanoglu   Joseph Smolinski   Kevin Van Aelst

Thuan Vu   Jonathan Waters   Marjorie Wolfe   Aicha Woods

January 16- March 3, 2013

Life Ascending: Three Views
Susan Classen-Sullivan, Jessica Goodyear, Frank Noelker

Artist Talk & Closing Reception: Sunday, March 3rd, 2-5pm

The John Slade Ely House launches it's 2013 exhibition schedule with Life Ascending: Three Views running from January 16th through March 3rd. Included are sculptures by Susan Classen-Sullivan of Canterbury, mixed media work by Jessica Goodyear of Branford, and photography by Frank Noelker of Storrs, all of Connecticut. An Artist Talk and Closing Reception will be held Sunday March 3rd from 2-5pm. All events are free and open to the public.

Animals have been a subject of interest for artists since the Lascaux cave painters. Life Ascending: Three Views looks at animal forms in the context of renewed interest in life's common origins. Recent genetic evidence shows the preservation for over 500 million years of what scientists call "immortal genes”-- and necessary for every lifeform from microbe to human being. For example, a gene which initiates the growth of an eye in a fly is the same as that in humans. Our new understanding of evolution leads us to see our fate as interconnected to that of all other animals. 

Photographer Frank Noelker has witnessed the conditions of animals in captivity since early in his career. He has visited over three hundred zoos, sanctuaries, and farms around the world. Careful not to exploit his subjects for aesthetic concerns, he often frames his photographs with a wide, inclusive view exposing the stark reality of their environment. In his "Zoo" series animals sometimes appear in front of a painted reproduction of their native habitat giving them a toylike appearance.

Artist/scientist Jessica Goodyear finds inspiration in the ornithological studies of James John Audubon. A video editor for the National Audubon Society in 1993, Goodyear reused the edit logs from that program as the ground upon which she xeroxed Audubon’s birds. Her recycled materials and images reflect a concern for the environment. The three-dimensional folding of the paper makes it impossible to see the work in it's entirety from a single angle.  Thus our stereoscopic vision interacts with the art in a way that requires and rewards extended viewing.

Susan Classen-Sullivan initially found the source for her exquisitely sculpted works in amphibians discovered while running. Sullivan was attracted to the expressive characteristics of their death throes. Transformed by direct observation into both life-size and larger than life-size pure white ceramic sculptures, they confront and invite us to look intimately at animals that are rarely scrutinized so closely. Embodying both ecstatic sensuality and extreme suffering, Classen-Sullivan's sculptures remind us that we share a common physical destiny with all animals.