Sundays, January 11, 18 & 25, 4:30 pm
Saturday, January 31, 2pm
Free Admission
AVA Gallery and Art Center (AVA/Alliance for the Visual Arts), located at 11 Bank Street, Lebanon, NH, is pleased to announce a series of films and talks with a focus on sculpture, to be presented during the month of January. The upcoming exhibition of bronze sculptures by Sumner Winebaum, on display from January 9 through February 6, 2015, along with AVA’s plans to construct a building dedicated to the pursuit of three-dimensional studies and exploration provide the logical frame of reference for this series. All three Sunday afternoon programs—to take place on January 11, January 18, and January 25, at 4:30pm—as well as the concluding program on Saturday, January 31, at 2pm, are free and open to the public.
On Sunday, January 11, at 4:30pm, two films by the late AVA artist Clifford B. West will be shown—Bronze: River of Metal and Harry Bertoia’s Sculpture. The 30-minutes long Bronze: River of Metal (1972) traces bronze, the metal and its uses, from its discovery in the third millennium BC to the 20th century. A significant part of the film is devoted to Renaissance bronze sculptures; most notably Donatello’s over-sized bronze of San Ludovico, which was created from 14 separate castings. The film Harry Bertoia’s Sculpture features work in spill-cast bronze as well as beryllium copper, and focuses specifically on Bertoia’s so-called “sounding sculptures,” which in recent years have gained particular recognition. Italian-born Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) is also known as a furniture designer. Both of these films have received a Ciné Golden Eagle Award.
On Sunday, January 18, at 4:30pm, Ernest Montenegro will give a talk titled “Right Under Our Noses,” on the process of creating the 53 foot tall sculpture, “ourhandsthenandnow,” commissioned by the city of Claremont, NH, for its 250th anniversary celebration. Montenegro’s work spans a myriad of styles, from abstract to realistic, from intricate reliefs to monumental bronzes. The recipient of several prestigious awards, with sculptures included in public as well as private collections, Montenegro is particularly known for his public sculptures. “ourhandsthenandnow” was created from traces of the hands of more than a thousand individuals; these traces were cut in steel and welded in a filigree pattern onto a metal structure. Made of corten steel, the sculpture also functions as a sundial and serves as a symbol of a city that has survived by working hands. It was inaugurated on October 26, 2014. Montenegro’s work will be featured in an exhibition at AVA, opening on April 17, 2015.
On Sunday, January 25, at 4:30pm, Paul Sanderson’s film, Augustus Saint-Gaudens: Master of American Sculpture will be shown. Henry Duffy, Museum Curator at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, will introduce the film. The film traces Saint-Gaudens’ life, both personally and professionally, from his birth in Dublin, Ireland and his work in New York City and Paris to his death in Cornish, New Hampshire. During a career that spanned three decades, Saint-Gaudens created nearly 150 works of art, including a number of major monuments to the heroes of the Civil War. The film, which premiered at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2007, studies in-depth several of his major monuments, including the Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, the Sherman Monument in New York’s Central Park and the Adams Memorial in Washington, D.C.
On Saturday, January 31 at 2pm, Sumner Winebaum will give a gallery talk about his work in the exhibition titled Bits and Pieces in Bronze. Winebaum, of York, ME, has been a key figure in the development of several organizations, including the Wentworth Coolidge Commission and the Strawberry Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH. His sculptures are included in public and private collections, including The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester NH, and The University Gallery in at UNH in Durham. Winebaum builds his sculptures up in clay before casting them in bronze—a technique that allows him to give his figures a strong sense of abstraction while still being fairly representational. Winebaum’s work will be on display at AVA through February 6, 2015.
All of the programs will take place in AVA’s Clifford B. West Gallery.