April 4 – May 10 | Opening reception: Friday, April 4, 5-7 pm
Clifford B. West and Rebecca Lawrence Gallery Entry:
Cynthia Atwood and Mark Lorah | Visceral Resonance
E.N. Wennberg Gallery: Heidi Broner | The Daily
Elizabeth Rowland Mayor Gallery: Chris Papa | Fallin’ Ditch
Cynthia Atwood and Mark Lorah | Visceral Resonance | Rebecca Lawrence Gallery Entry and Clifford B. West Gallery
When we transform insights into mental constructs, we may overlook deeper truths that enrich our experience. Just as focusing only on individual trees can prevent us from seeing the broader context of a forest. The collaboration between these two artists is fundamentally tied to their processes, form, and color. A deeper exploration reveals unique techniques such as hand stitching and mark-making— details that invite us to examine each work more closely, while also encouraging us to appreciate the overall experience. This approach fosters intuitive responses and flexibility, prompting us to reflect on the unexpected connections between two distinct bodies of work and reminding us of the many ways in which everything in life is interconnected. Cynthia Atwood, working primarily in fiber and textiles, presents a collection of fiber sculptures that integrate humor and corporeal threads. Central to her work is the physical responsiveness and the engineering challenges encountered during the creation process. Atwood follows the materials’ suggestions and pauses in moments of hesitation to explore what they convey. This work reflects her commitment to the physicality of the process, revealing her hand and allowing the materials to guide both the content and the themes of labor, sexuality, humor, and even the repulsive. Mark Lorah showcases his latest series of paintings that examine the balance between order and chaos. As both a sculptor and painter, his large-scale paintings invite a physical experience, to be approached with our bodies. The pieces are rich in texture and layered with various collaged elements, such as fabric, glitter, and dried acrylic forms. Lorah views the interplay of process and instinctual impulse as a generative system, where the resulting patterns are both systematic and irregular, evoking a loosely biological character that challenges the separation between information and material. Collectively, Atwood and Lorah encourage a multi-faceted approach to perception, prompting viewers to consider alternative ways of seeing and understanding the deeper connections found in both art and existence.
Biography | Cynthia Atwood has spent 40 years in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. She holds a BFA in Painting and Printmaking from the University of Kansas and an MFA in Visual Arts/Sculpture from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Cynthia has been an instructor in the MFA programs at New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH, Mass College of Art, Boston, MA, and currently at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She considers teaching a privilege and a direct link to her continuing development as an artist.
Biography | Mark Lorah is originally from Concord, Massachusetts and now lives and works in Brookfield, Vermont. He holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI and has attended artist residencies at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. Lorah has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in both painting and sculpture at numerous venues in Vermont, New England, and New York. He created large sculptural installations for the Governor’s Island Art Fair in 2016 and 2019 in New York City and at the Portal Art Fair, in New York in 2017. He exhibits regularly at The Front Gallery in Montpelier, VT.
Heidi Broner | The Daily | E.N. Wennberg Gallery
Each of these paintings starts with the familiar sight of someone moving through their world with unselfconscious grace and assurance, a world that is rich in meaning and significance to them. As the painting develops, various aspects of the subject gradually come to life, adding layers of experience, pleasure, and thought. Colors shift, objects may be added or removed, and an invisible atmosphere becomes visible. Often, the subject’s posture suggests a deeper, more mythic narrative, such as quietly connecting threads of communication, grappling with one’s own shadow, or uncovering the unknown. The everyday tasks we all perform resonate in a satisfying way. These paintings pay tribute to ordinary people, typically engaged in work or some activity. Special attention is paid to their posture and gestures, which reveal their true selves and inner lives. In these works, viewers are invited to appreciate them as personal experiences—much like music—where no explanation or analysis is necessary.
Biography | Heidi Broner grew up in a family of artists, immersed in an atmosphere in which pleasurable visual attention was given to the most ordinary objects and creatures. Drawing and painting were a natural, delightful part of daily life. Her interests have led her to work in a wide variety of media: in addition to painting, she has illustrated books, designed and painted murals, and worked for many years with Bread and Puppet Theater as an artist and performer. In 1999, she began working in the granite industry, hand engraving custom drawings directly onto black stone. Working in the granite sheds alongside the stone craftsmen has given her a deeper appreciation of the skill, patience, and attention to the task that is developed by people who work in the trades. Her work has been collected by both private individuals and corporations.
Chris Papa | Fallin’ Ditch | Elizabeth Rowland Mayor Gallery
Chris Papa’s exhibition, Fallin’ Ditch, explores the delicate nature of the human body and psyche, emphasizing our existence as products of a material world that undergoes growth, decay, and constant change. A sense of fragmentation is central to this body of work, which is expressed through the gradual, piece-by-piece construction of composite pieces using a diverse range of materials. Each component—whether it is a small brick, tube, or shim—has been handmade or processed to some extent, yet it functions as a found object with an autonomy that must be negotiated within the entirety of a sculpture. The individual elements are assembled through actions related to repair and support, such as patching, bracing, gluing, and propping. The title Fallin’ Ditch is inspired by a song from the album “Trout Mask Replica” by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band.
Biography | Chris Papa is a sculptor and printmaker. He has exhibited work throughout the US, Mexico, and Taiwan and he has received awards including a 4Culture Individual Artist Grant, inclusion in the King County Public Art Collection, and a Seattle Public Utilities Emerging Artist Commission. Papa received an MFA in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2014 and received a full fellowship for a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2012. His studio is in Montpelier, VT.
