Heavy weather coming

"Beneath Sky'' (marble), by Michael Kukla, in the show (with Rebecca Hutchinson) "Instinctive Formation,'' at Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, Mass.

What cool pads

"Amidst Lotus VII'' (oil on panel), by Linda Perlman Karlsberg, in the "Closer Look'' group show at Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Wesport, Mass., from May 7.

My parents' last house, before everything fell apart, was on a pond where in coves at each end grew beautiful flowering lily pads in water that was tan from nearby cranberry-bog sand heavy in iron and from decayed oak leaves and pine needles. The water, swimmable and loaded with bass, put out a smell  somewhere between rank and pleasantly aromatic, depending on the weather.

 But below the pads often lurked a huge snapping turtle ready to grab a frog or small bird. Adjacent beauty and terror.

-- Robert Whitcomb

That old saw about...

bigsaw

"Unihemispheric Existence'' (detail) (steel, wood, gallery wall), by WILSON HARDING LAWRENCE, in the show "Nuanced: open-endedness, capaciousness and other provocative conditions of making,'' at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, Mass., through Nov. 8.

'Stillness and Motion'

"The Buck and Kick'' (oil stick on paper, mounted on board), by ANDREW NIXON, in his "Stillness and Motion'' show, at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Wesport, Mass., June 3-June 28.

Unvirginal vegetables

 

"Reluctant Sexpot,'' by JESSICA CALDERWOOD, in the "Botanica'' show at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Wesport, Mass., through May 31.

Gamut of emotions from A to Z

"Double Carré''  (oil on wood panel), by Richard Whitten, in his September show at Dedee Shattuck Gallery, in Westport, Mass.

 

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Fruit of the vines

 

 "Sky Vines" (oil), by JAMIE YOUNG, in her show at Dedee Shattuck Gallery, in Westport, Mass., through Aug. 24.

The gallery notes say that  "Young seeks to capture the feeling of a place and the quality of light rather than creating a formal representational landscape painting, embedded in her images of flora are observations of climate change. Her works are energized and gestural, representing the passion with which she captures the beauty of her surroundings. She is particularly attracted to wild vines enveloping leafy trees, bows dipping into rippling rivers, and sunlight shimmering on foliage.''

So near and yet so far

 

"St. Valentine''  (porcelain, slip, glaze), by SERGEI ISUPOV, in the July 2-27 show "The Contemporary Figure: Sergei Isupov, Anne Leone, Dan Ludwig, John Borowicz, Walter Horak'', at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Wesport, Mass. (Photo  here is by John Polak, image courtesy of Ferrin Contemporary).

Arbor art

 

Work by a a student of Mary Wayss, who runs the young artists summer program at Dedee Shattuck Gallery, in Westport.  The gallery is rapidly becoming a major multi-arts regional cultural center.

Prelude to pollution

'Prelude,'' by PAT COOMEY THORNTON, AT Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, Mass.

In New York City. You can feel/smell the edge of summer crud pushing at  the freshness of spring. More homeless on the street. They're usually old; everyone else seems about 25. Is the new mayor tough enough to keep this city under control?