Christopher Archer
Exeter, NH (June 16, 2009)—From Tuesday, July 7 to Friday, July 31, the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy will present Abstract Rhythm Works by Christopher Archer, Peter Dixon and Lauren Pollaro, featuring sculpture, paintings and assemblage works. An opening reception for the artists will be held on Friday, July 10, 6:30-8 p.m. The Lamont Gallery is located in the Frederick R. Mayer Art Center on Tan Lane. All events are free and open to the public.
Lamont Gallery Manager and curator of the exhibit Sara Zela says, “On view are the spectacular, harmonious, mixed-media assembled wall pieces of Pollaro; and the wonderful paintings of Dixon, which explore the subtleties of value and color using the square; along with the talented, three-dimensional artist Archer, whose work explores audience engagement with his thought-provoking installations.”
Known throughout New England, Archer is a sculptural and installation-based artist who has taught ceramics and worked as a studio potter. His works have been exhibited in many national juried and invitational group exhibitions, earning multiple jurors’ awards, including Indiana State University’s “Clay and Context 2009”; Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art’s “Sense of Place2007 Exhibition”; and the “San Angelo National” at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. Exploring a new and contemporary context of his relationship with clay and pottery, Archer’s recent works have led him to “focus on the delivery systems and stages of witness of objects, as a means to challenge and broaden the language of vessels and function.” He has taught at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, and currently is an adjunct professor at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester. Archer earned his bachelor’s from the College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1992 and his Master of Fine Arts in 2008, from Maine College of Art.
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Lauren Pollaro
Lauren Pollaro
“I stage moments of witness,” Archer says. “I begin as a maker; aware that one’s knowledge is built upon fragmented shades of small engagements. I work broadly; beginning with utilitarian objects and familiar materials. Through installation and arrangement, the work provokes a heightened physical awareness, activating intricate networks of embedded associative implications. In these choreographed spaces of visceral and metaphoric interactions, tensions are engaged, and new linkages are made possible across viewers, actions and objects.”
Dixon is a painter who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in New York City. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout New England, including the Anderson-Soule Gallery; the New Hampshire Institute of Art; and the Thoreau Gallery. He has also been featured in juried exhibitions and faculty shows at the Fitchburg Art Museum, the Sharon Arts Center, and the Chester College of New England.
“In my paintings, I use oil paint and transparent glazes because of the sensitive quality of the medium and the nuances of value I can achieve. My work is color, light and shadow, and value relationships that are in and about the square. Focusing on the square eliminates any vertical or horizontal elements or narrative suggestions. The subject is deceptively simple. One shape diffuses into its background, allowing another to move to the foreground in a soft shift of color and value. I like the subtle way the relationship of foreground and background changes as one looks at the painting. The ‘atmospheric,’ ‘mystical’ movement is created by the eyes’ optical journey through the work,” Dixon says.
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Peter Dixon
Pollaro is a mixed-media and jewelry artist known for her work’s symbiotic relationship: assembled wall pieces evolved from her jewelry designs. In both mediums, she explores with freedom combinations of color, texture and form. Pollaro is liberal in her choice of materials: from acrylic paint, textural papers, found objects, such as weathered, rusty or painted metals, and elements of nature. The pieces are collaged and constructed on painted wood foundations, creating a palette of artistic challenge to facilitate harmony amongst disparate materials.
Born in New York, Pollaro grew up in a family of artists and earned her Bachelor in Fine Arts and English from the University of New Hampshire. After college, she worked in graphic arts and became the art director for several magazines. Her work has been exhibited at the Currier Museum of Art, the Fuller Craft Museum, the Firehouse Gallery and the Society of Arts & Crafts throughout New England. Pollaro has worked as a full-time jewelry artist for almost 20 years, adding wall pieces to her repertoire in the last 10 years.
“I feel strongly about creating art pieces that are accessible and functional for people in their everyday life. I also like the idea that what they are wearing will not be duplicated, and in that way, it becomes their very own. I work with color, texture and pattern, combined with other elements to create complex pieces which evoke a sense of unity. With each piece that is constructed, a new combination has developed. This is the beauty of making one-of-a-kind jewelry; each piece has its own history,” Pollaro says.
Gallery hours in July are: Tuesday–Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed on Saturday–Monday. For further information, contact the Lamont Gallery at 603-777-3461. For directions to Phillips Exeter Academy, call 603-777-4330. A complete list of upcoming events is available on the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at 603-777-4309 and on our website.
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