Cultural Events & Art Exhibitions

This is a select listing of recommended area art exhibitions, musical performances, film events, lectures, programs and special events in Fairfield and Westchester Counties and beyond. The list is updated regularly, so please check back for new events and exhibitions. Please note: Some events are weather-dependent or subject to change. Please check with the venue when making plans.

Holiday Events 

Wednesday, December 11, 5:30 – 8 pm – Grand Illumination Opening Night at Untermyer Park and Gardens, 945 North Broadway, Yonkers, NY. Visit Untermyer’s Walled Garden for the opening of the 2019 Grand Holiday Illumination! After the ceremonial lighting, adjourn to the Temple of the Sky to enjoy hot chocolate and seasonal music in the Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions. After the opening ceremony, the Walled Garden will be lit from 4:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. from December 12 through the night of January 1. For more: untermyergardens.org.

Friday, December 13, 7:30 pm – Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” at The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic Street, Stamford, CT. This celebrated Charles Jones adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol from Nebraska Theatre Caravan is rich with thrilling ensemble music, alive with color and movement and is created to tell this great and enduring tale in a manner that people of all ages will enjoy. Woven throughout this classic tale are beautiful new arrangements and moving renditions of holiday songs such as God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Wassail Wassail, Good Christian Men Rejoice, Away in a Manger, Greensleeves, The Boar’s Head Carol and many more. Featuring a cast of 23 performers, live musicians, and Broadway-style scenery and costumes, audiences cherish this sumptuous holiday classic. For more: palacestamford.org.

Saturday, December 14, 5 – 7 pm – “Baroque to Pops” with Norwalk Symphony Orchestra at Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Maestro Jonathan Yates, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, and a host of guest performers have put together a holiday extravaganza with Bach to Pops. Program includes the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah plus the Hallelujah Chorus with The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut. Featured soloists are Amelia Watkins, Soprano; Sarah Heltzel, mezzo-soprano; William Ferguson, Tenor; and Blake Burroughs, Bass. The evening’s second half begins with the familiar strains of the Farandole from Bizet’s L’Arlesienne, followed by the Seabury Academy Choir singing “How Lovely are the Messengers” from Mendelssohn’s Saint Paul. The ballet students of The New England Academy of Dance performing the Trepak from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and the evening closes with orchestral music and song: Leroy Anderson’s familiar Sleigh Ride, Lucas Richman’s Hanukkah Medley and finally a sing-along of Christmas carols. There will be a visit from Santa, and refreshments will be served after the show. For more and tickets: norwalksymphony.org.

Saturday, December 14, 6 – 8 pm – Holiday Concert Series: Pasquale Grasso Quartet at Magazzino Italian Art Foundation, 2700 Route 9, Cold Spring, NY. Visit Magazzino Italian Art Foundation for an evening of art, jazz, and apertivi as part of their annual holiday concert series. The Pasquale Grasso Quartet, featuring Pasquale Grasso on modern plectrum guitar, Ari Roland on double bass, Keith Balla on drums, and Stefano Doglioni on bass clarinet will perform a selection of classical jazz, ranging from hits by Louis Armstrong to John Coltrane. Magazzino Italian Art galleries will be open until 6:00 pm for guests to enjoy, apertivi will be served at 6:00 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. All proceeds from ticket purchases will be donated to RxArt. To purchase tickets, click here, and to learn more about the event and the organization:  magazzino.art

Sunday, December 15, 4 pm – Noel! With Stamford Symphony Brass at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 628 Main Street, Stamford, CT. Enjoy sonorous brass of Gabrieli and Bach & seasonal sing-a-long favorites including Sleigh Ride, O Come All Ye Faithful and more. Performance by Stamford Symphony Brass Quintet. Special appearance of the Stamford High School Madrigal Singers, dancers from the Ballet School of Stamford and students from Project Music. Fun for the family – Kids tickets are FREE. For more and tickets: stamfordsymphony.org.

December 15, 21, 22, 28 – Nutcracker Dream with Ballet des Amériques at Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Lane, Mamaroneck, NY. Inspired by the work of Marius Petipa and Rudolf Nureyev, Nutcracker Dream is a one-hour family friendly adaptation of the seasonal favorite, created by world-renowned Choreographer Carole Alexis, and performed by Westchester’s premier dance company Ballet des Amériques. Professional dancers from Ballet des Amériques perform the featured roles of the ballet, while additional roles will be cast by audition among young dancers from across the area. For more and tickets: emelin.org.

Sunday, December 15, 10 am – 4 pm – The Music Hall Market at Tarrytown Music Hall, 13 Main Street, Tarrytown, NY. The Music Hall Market is a curated event that highlights the best in handcrafted goods from local & regional artist and makers, indie pop-up shops and local/homegrown businesses. Stop by for delicious seasonal snacks, chances to win great raffle prizes & tickets to Music Hall shows, and to shop handmade goods from over 45 artists & makers! For more: tarrytownmusichall.org.

December 4 – 21 – Caramoor Holiday Tea Musicales at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, NY. The magic of the season is tangible throughout the Rosen House! Take part in Caramoor’s holiday tradition of concerts with charismatic musicians, festive decorations, a chance to sing-a-long, and tea service in the majestic Music Room. Enjoy an assortment of finger sandwiches, scrumptious holiday treats, and a variety of teas (hot chocolate with marshmallows for the little ones). Events throughout December are known to fill up, so be sure to book early! For more and tickets: caramoor.org.

December 7, 8, 14, 15 – Dickens’s ‘Christmas Carol’ at Historic Hudson Valley’s Old Dutch Church, Parking at Philipsburg Manor, 381 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY. Nestle into the historic Old Dutch Church and let master storyteller Jonathan Kruk, complete with musical accompaniment by Jim Keyes, regale you with his adaptation of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” Performances at 3:30, 4:45, and 6:00 pm. While you’re there, visit the Holiday Boutique at Philipsburg Manor for unique items for your gift-giving needs: from Dutch treats to Historic Hudson Valley-themed books and exclusive gifts. Holiday Boutique hours: Thursday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, Sunday, noon – 5 pm. For tickets: hudsonvalley.org.

Through December 14 – “Deck the Walls” at Carriage Barn Arts Center, Waveny Park, 681 South Avenue, New Canaan, CT. Through December 14 – Come visit the Carriage Barn Arts Center to see their collection of one-of-a-kind wreaths, artwork and artisan marketplace, and explore an exhibit of paintings by artist Christian Peltenberg-Breshneff. Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 10 am – 3 pm & Sunday 1 – 5 pm. For more: carriagebarn.org.

Through December 21 – Clay Holiday Annual Sale & Studio Tour at Clay Art Center, 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, CT. Shop Local and Give Hand-Made! Clay Art Center’s highly coveted Annual Holiday Sale and Studio Tour features fine, functional pottery and ceramic sculpture by local and nationally recognized artists. It is an opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind clay art for holiday gift-giving as well as for one’s own use. Don’t Miss their Ornament Wall – hundreds of hand-made ceramic holiday keepsakes. The holiday sale is a time to shop and to discover the area’s only ceramic center, where sculptors and potters work in a cooperative environment. For more: clayartcenter.org.

Through December 30 – December Classic Mansion Tours with Holiday Decor at Lyndhurst, 635 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY. See Lyndhurst mansion transformed into an extravagant wonderland of holiday splendor. Described as one of the “Ten Best Historic Holiday Tours” by USA Today, Lyndhurst goes all-out during the holiday season, filling the mansion with elaborate tableaus of décor, which change every year. Dozens of Christmas trees are expertly decorated and designed to complement the elegant period furnishings within the rooms of the house. During this month only, their curators bring out rarely seen items that belonged to Lyndhurst’s former owners, the Goulds. This is a once-a-year opportunity to see many of the Goulds’ glittering possessions that are usually tucked away in our archives. For more: lyndhurst.org.

Through January 5, 2020 – Glenview’s Holiday Decorations at Hudson River Museum , 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY. The Hudson River Museum is getting festive for the holiday season, with new and traditional Victorian decorations at Glenview, the Museum’s Gilded Age historic home. This year’s installation features garlands, baubles, and trees in each of the six period rooms, a table setting that incorporates Japanese decorative arts in the Dining Room, and new miniature decorations in Nybelwyck Hall Dollhouse. Each room is defined by a specific color scheme. The Dining Room table, side boards, and serving table will be adorned by interior designer Debra Blair of Debra Blair Design. Theatrical designer Karin White, whose client roster includes the New York City Opera, the Westport Country Playhouse, and the Manhattan School of Music, is leading this year’s installation. For more: hrm.org.

Film

Five Wednesdays, July 17 – December 11, 1:00 pm – Adapted Page to Screen Series at Jacob Burns Film Center, 364 Manville Road, Pleasantville, NY. Adapted Page to Screen is a new daytime club at Jacob Burns Film Center: watching a film upon which a book is based followed by a discussion which will be moderated by Series Curator Sarah Soliman. Films include In a Lonely Place (September 11), The Virgin Suicides (October 23), Sometimes a Great Notion(November 13) and Brokeback Mountain (December 11). For more: burnsfilmcenter.org.

New Releases and Film Series at Avon Theatre Film Center, 272 Bedford Street, Stamford, CT. The Avon Theatre features the best of independent, world and documentary films, foreign and Hollywood classics and educational programming that enhances the cultural richness of the downtown Stamford community. Itself a 1939 historic landmark, provides a forum for in-person, community dialogue with directors, actors and other luminaries in a vibrant “Main Street America” setting. Series include: French Cinematheque, Documentary Night, Discover Indian Cinema, The Black Lens, Cult Classics, and other special events and film series for members and the public. For more information: avontheatre.org.

New Releases and Film Series at Jacob Burns Film Center, 364 Manville Road, Pleasantville, NY. Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) is a nonprofit five-screen cinema and education center located in Pleasantville, NY. One of the most successful suburban art houses in the country, they celebrate film as a vehicle for entertainment, education, and inspiration. With their films, events, community screenings, visiting artists, and special guests, they strive to further their nonprofit mission, spark dialogue and encourage an acceptance of a diversity of perspectives among their theatergoers and the community—something they started when they opened their doors in 2001. For more: burnsfilmcenter.org.

Bedford Playhouse Home of Clive Davis Arts Center, 633 Old Post Road, Bedford, NY. After over three years of fundraising, planning, and construction, Bedford Playhouse opened its doors to its 167-seat Main Theater, the largest of its three theaters, in May of 2018. Home of the Clive Davis Arts Center, the new Playhouse is a vibrant cultural and social destination featuring outstanding films, arts-related programming and educational offerings — as well as a fun, welcoming place to socialize. It’s a special place where culture and community come together every day. For more: bedfordplayhouse.org.

Theater and Performing Arts

Friday, December 13, 8:00 pm – A.I.M at Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, SUNY, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. Experience the avant premiere of An Untitled Love from award-winning choreographer and Purchase grad Kyle Abraham. This evening-length dance work is sonically rooted in R&B/Soul Music, comprised of the catalog of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo. It is a creative exaltation, centered on the often overlooked love and unity that exists within the black community. A Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award winner, Doris Duke Artist Award winner, and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Kyle Abraham is one of today’s most in-demand choreographers, and the first black choreographer commissioned to create a work for the New York City Ballet in over a decade. For more and tickets: artscenter.org.

October 20, 2019 – May 5, 2020 – The Performing Arts Center 2019-2020 Season at SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. The Performing Arts Center is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 Season, which continues “to disrupt the widespread notion that modern society does not want to leave the living room, by making The PAC itself a living room for the entire community,” states director Seth Soloway.  “What happens in a living room? Shared experience, and critical conversation. At The Performing Arts Center we continue to provide experiences that spark conversations and make connections; in so doing, we further enhance our reputation as a welcoming community hub for an increasingly diverse audience base.” This year’s unique experiences welcome old friends and new to The PAC’s stages, and include expanded offerings in dance, featuring notable artists such as alumni Kyle Abraham and the fabulous Paul Taylor Dance Company and four brand-new works commissioned by The PAC, two of which will be World Premieres. Of note is the new work from Purchase College faculty member and alum Doug Varone, which will feature dancers from the Purchase College Conservatory of Dance. For more and tickets: artscenter.org.

October 9, 2019 – May 31, 2020 – Long Wharf Theatre 2019 – 2020 Season, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven, CT. From their blog: Long Wharf Theatre Reinvents Itself:  This season at Long Wharf Theater will transcend both time and place with stories which speak to our shared humanity and demonstrate our shared connections. The 2019-2020 season will introduce important voices that speak to our collective past, present and future to New Haven audiences. The season opens with the world premiere of Ricardo Pérez González’s beautiful love story, On the Grounds of Belonging (October 9 – February 3). Also featured is Pride and Prejudice (November 27 – December 22); the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play of survival against great odds, Doug Wright’s I Am My Own Wife (February 5 – March 1); Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap (May 6 – 31, 2020) tells the story of a scrappy basketball hot-shot playing in high stakes game across the Pacific , and Lloyd Suh’s The Chinese Lady (March 18 – April 12) is the powerful and mesmerizing tale of America’s first female Chinese immigrant. For more and tickets: longwharftheatre.org.

Music

Sundays, December 15, January 12, February 9 at 2 pm –Armor Hall Concerts at Wave Hill New York Public Garden and Cultural Center, West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, Bronx, NY. Concerts begin at 2PM and last approximately one hour without intermission. Sunday afternoon performances in Armor Hall open with four concerts in late fall and winter. Following a performances of Cuban classics in mid-November, stay tuned for Jazz from the ‘20s and ‘30s, Old Time Mountain Music and Black Americana, as they honor the American music tradition with performances by living experts whose unique voices and interpretations create new stories and new ways to access these bygone eras. Sun, December 15 – Jason Prover’s Sneak Thievery Orchestra; Sun, January 12 – Bruce Molsky’s Mountain Drifters; Sun, February 9 – Queen Esther. For tickets and more: wavehill.org.

November 10, 2019 – May 10, 2020 – The Sanctuary Series 2019/2020 Season at South Salem Presbyterian Church, 111 Spring Street, South Salem, NY. Mary Jane and Anthony Newman kick-off the 2019-2020 Season of The Sanctuary Series on Sunday, November 10, 4:00 pm with “Newman and Newman play Bach” a recital featuring the great preludes and fugues of J.S, Bach arranged for two pianos, plus one pieces performed on the pipe organ by Mr. Newman who is internationally renowned on the instrument. Now entering its seventh season, The Sanctuary Series remains committed to presenting “extraordinary keyboard recitals in the pastoral setting of northern Westchester’s historic South Salem Hamlet.” The six-concert series will also feature pianists Jeffrey Biegel in a special Holiday concert on December 15, Michael Brown (March 1, 2020), Simone Dinnerstein (March 29), Dominic Cheli (April 19) and Fei-Fei (May 10). For more and tickets: thesanctuaryseries.org.

November 3, December 8, March 8, April 26, June 14 – 2019-2020 Season of Music from Copland House, at venues including John Jay Homestead in Katonah, NY and Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, NY. America’s musical past and future meet in a truly historic setting this season, when the internationally-acclaimed Music from Copland House ensemble (MCH) moves its 2019-2020 mainstage concert series to the John Jay Homestead in Katonah, NY. Four of the five performances in the series (November 3, March 8, April 26, June 14) will take place on Sunday afternoons at 3pm at the John Jay Homestead’s elegant, acoustically outstanding Ballroom. MCH’s December 8th concert takes place at another important historic site in Westchester: the majestic Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown. Each program will last an hour, without intermission, and will be followed by a meet-the-artists reception. As Copland House’s Artistic and Executive Director Michael Boriskin explained, “while the site of our mainstage concerts for the past 10 years, Westchester County’s Merestead estate, is closed for first-stage renovations, we sought an architectural and historical counterpart to our focus on American music past and present … The John Jay Homestead and Copland House are both National Historic Landmarks, steeped in American heritage and identified with commanding, influential, and revered historical figures.” For schedule and tickets: coplandhouse.org.

October 16, 2019 – May 13, 2020 – 2019-2020 Season of the Bedford Chamber Concerts, Fellowship Room of Parish House of St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 382 Cantitoe Street, Bedford, NY. The 2019-2020 season features a variety of musical offerings, from solo and chamber works to orchestral masterpieces. Returning audience favorites include Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti, performed in their Gala Holiday Concert in December, Mozart’s Elvira Madigan Piano Concerto in April, and Handel’s festive Fireworks Music in May. In November they provide for the first time a concert featuring the harp, paired with the flute in music by Mozart and Debussy. April’s concert will present another first; a concert devoted to classical music appearing in films. All concerts begin at 8 PM. Concert dates: October 16, November 20, December 11, March 18, April 15, May 13. For more: bedfordchamberconcerts.org.

October 5, 2019 – May 9, 2020 – 2019-2020 Concert Series at Westport MOCA, 19 Newtown Turnpike, Westport, CT – Purchase a ticket for the entire concert series including performances by Pacifica String Quartet on October 5, Kenny Barron on January 11, Matt Haimowitz on February 29, American String Quartet on April 4 and the Fred Hirsch Trio on May 9. The season begins with Pacifica String Quartet: Recognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often daring repertory choices, their ‘playing is nothing short of phenomenal.’ -The Daily Telegraph, London. For more: westportartscenter.org.

October 6 – April 27 – The Chamber Players of the Greenwich Symphony 2019-2020 Concert Season. October 6-7, 2019 “From Two Worlds”: These concerts juxtapose string quartets from two hemispheres – Gabriela Lena Frank’s Leyendas, an Andean Walkabout, and Mendelssohn’s final quartet, Opus 80 in F minor. Also heard will be EJ Moeran’s Phantasy Quartet for oboe and strings. November 17-18, 2019 “Out of the Salon”: A program of lyrical works for trios in a small setting, featuring flute, piano and strings. Works include Pierné’s Sonata da Camera and Clara Schumann‘s Piano Trio. March 15-16, 2020 “Unabashed Originals”: Celebrating three unique voices and Beethoven’s Bicentennial in a concert of music for clarinet, string quartet and piano. April 26-27, 2020 “Intimacy and Grandeur”: Presenting a Mozart masterpiece: the Violin Sonata in A, K526, as well as Rebecca Clarke’s miniature Lullaby and Grotesque. The Brahms monumental Op. 60 Piano Quartet will be the season finale. Performance locations: Round Hill Community Church, Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich Arts Council Recital Hall. For more and tickets: chamberplayersofthegso.squarespace.com.

September 22, 2019 – May 9, 2020 – Caramoor Fall-Spring Season at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, NY. With expanding audiences and a lineup that continues to go from strength to strength in the summer, Caramoor also remains a hub for musical and artistic exploration all year round. The 2019–20 fall–spring season offers a wealth of the diverse and imaginative programming with which the Westchester venue has long been synonymous, all presented indoors amid the authentic Renaissance furniture, paintings dating from the 16th century, and terra cotta reliefs of the historic Rosen House Music Room. Singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, whose folk opera Hadestown just won eight Tony Awards, performs on September 27. A trio of outstanding pianists are featured in the month of April: distinguished British classical master Stephen Hough (April 26), jazz great Aaron Diehl with his trio, presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center (April 18), and influential jazz pianist and composer Brad Mehldau (April 4). Early music comes courtesy of Sherezade Panthaki in concert with the Helicon Ensemble (Oct 20), violinist Rachel Podger (Sep 22), and the female vocal trio ModernMedieval (Dec 14). All three of the mentorship programs through which Caramoor serves as an incubator for exceptional young talent are showcased, with two concerts featuring the Evnin Rising Stars (Nov 2 & 3), one presented by the Schwab Vocal Rising Stars (March 15), and two programs with the incoming Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, the Thalea Quartet (Nov 17 & May 3). A Roots music benefit with the legendary John Hiatt (Dec 7) plus Roots music by Della Mae (May 9); the Miró Quartet playing touchstones of the repertoire by Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert (March 22); Tony Award nominees Laura Osnes and Tony Yazbeck in an evening of Gershwin (May 2); and many other artists and events grace the Rosen House stage this fall and spring season. For tickets and more: caramoor.org.

Jazz Forum Club, 1 Dixon Lane, Tarrytown, NY. On June 9th, 2017 Mark Morganelli and his wife, Ellen Prior opened the Jazz Forum as the only dedicated Jazz club in Westchester County, New York. This 90-seat weekend-only live music venue is an intimate listening room with a warm and welcoming mood, affordable ticket prices and clear sightlines from all seats. It has been presenting internationally renowned and master musicians. The club presents headliner Jazz artists on Friday and Saturday nights, Brazilian groups on Sundays afternoons, top-notch Jazz groups on Sunday nights, and monthly jam sessions. With a Steinway grand piano, hand-crafted walnut bar, informal dinner and full bar menu, separate lounge and pool room, and contemporary art gallery, the club has been an astonishing success. It is now the affordable alternative to NYC clubs for music lovers from New Jersey, Rockland County, Connecticut as well as across Westchester as a “wonderful new addition to the New York area Jazz scene.”  For more: jazzforumarts.org.

Visual Art

December 14 – March 29 – Collecting Reimagined: A 2D Curiosity Cabinet at Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT. Sea serpents crushing ships. Seven-foot-tall giants. A mummified Porsche. What other oddities might you find in the Bruce Museum’s 2D curiosity cabinet? The practice of collecting objects and putting them on display in cabinets of curiosities reached its peak among European collectors, scientists, and royalty during the 16th and 17th centuries. Drawing inspiration from these cabinets on paper, this exhibition uses printed works, photographs, medals, textiles, and scrimshaw from the Bruce Museum collections to create a cabinet filled with two-dimensional depictions of typical three-dimensional cabinet objects. For more: brucemuseum.org.

Through February 9, 2020 – Under the Influence: Members Exhibition 2019 at Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Mathews Park, 299 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Under the Influence includes prints by CCP’s member artists representing the people, events, places or other sources of influence that have informed their work. Each piece is accompanied by a reference text or image to provide the context. Jacob Lewis, President of Pace Prints juried the submissions and selected awards. Also on View: Best in Show Winner from CCP’s 2018 Annual Members’ Exhibition, Paul DeRuvo, will have their Ten Years at CCP exhibition in the Lithography Gallery. For more: contemprints.org.

Through December 14, 2019 – In A Dark Wood, Wandering at the Housatonic Museum of Art’s Burt Chernow Galleries, 900 Lafayette Boulevard, Bridgeport, CT. The Housatonic Museum of Art proudly presents a career survey exhibition of sculpture by artist Joseph Saccio entitled, “In a Dark Wood, Wandering.” The show features a selection of two dozen large-scale sculptures, and takes inspiration from mythology, nature and the struggle of living. Using wood, natural materials and found objects, Saccio draws on classical mythology and religious connotations to create profound and fantastical works of art that are frequently dark and pensive. The pieces reflect his feelings about loss and rebirth though the mood is often lightened by flecks of humor. For more: housatonic.edu.

November 24, 2019 – May 17, 2020 – Zoë Sheehan Saldaña: There Must Be Some Way Out of Here at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT. The work of Zoë Sheehan Saldaña tends to hide in plain sight. Even her most elaborate undertakings, such as a reverse-engineered “Strike Anywhere” match or a hand-woven terrycloth towel, masquerade as objects you might toss away thoughtlessly, or stick in a drawer and forget. Underneath these acts of artistic camouflage lies a deep well of conviction, a drive to take full responsibility for things. For her exhibition at The Aldrich – the artist’s largest to date – Sheehan has refused the usual support that a museum offers. She will personally oversee every aspect of the project, down to making paint by hand and applying it to the gallery walls. Deceptively neutral in appearance, the space will be populated by about fifty of her beguiling handmade artifacts. The exhibition is an extended meditation on self-reliance: the instinct to escape the anxious, sometimes hysterical tenor of contemporary life. For more: aldrichart.org.

November 23, 2019 – January 11, 2020 – Jessica Drenk: Second Nature at Heather Gaudio Fine Art, 66 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT. Heather Gaudio Fine Art is pleased to announce Jessica Drenk: Second Nature,” the artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. The show will open with a public reception for the artist on November 23rd, 4-6pm, and will run through January 11th. She reconfigures every-day materials such as books, pencils, plastic bags, even PVC pipe, drawing on their physical properties to re-contextualize them into visually compelling and thought-provoking sculptural outcomes. The exhibition will feature a new body of work emerging from mass-produced utilitarian and readily discarded objects: plastic bags.  Spliced and organized by color, they are transformed into banded formations, layers resembling geological strata.  Repurposing this product into a structure resembling its material origins, plastic as a by-product of petroleum, Drenk’s reconfiguration timely questions the reverberations of our every-day consumption and its long-lasting environmental impact.  Another new group stems from her Cerebral Mapping series made of cut-up book pages saturated in wax.  Here, the tangled patterns are tightly compressed and contained into hard-edged frames, presenting the works as textural paintings in their brown, whites and grey muted tones. For more: heathergaudiofineart.com.

November 22, 2019 – February 23, 2020 – Thomas Cole’s Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek at Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY. This exhibition will illuminate masterpieces from major museums and private collections, and explore the deeper meanings of Cole’s Catskill Creek paintings, considered as an integral series, for the first time. The exhibition is based on new scholarship developed by H. Daniel Peck, Exhibition Curator and the John Guy Vassar, Jr., Professor Emeritus of English at Vassar College, in his book of the same title. Created during the eighteen-year period between 1827 and 1845, which spans Thomas Cole’s mature career, the artist’s paintings of Catskill Creek constitute the most sustained sequence of landscape paintings he ever made. The exhibition includes twelve original oil paintings by Thomas Cole, and represented, as well, are paintings of the Catskill Creek scene by leading nineteenth-century artists who were inspired by Cole: Asher B. Durand, Frederic Edwin Church, and Charles Herbert Moore. The works include Cole paintings from private collections that have rarely been seen in public: View Near Catskill, 1828–29, and Settler’s Home in the Catskills, 1842, as well as major works from the collections of the New-York Historical Society, Yale University Art Gallery, The National Gallery of Art, Albany Institute of History and Art, Olana State Historic Site, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, and The Currier Museum of Art. For more information on the exhibition and related programs: hrm.org.

November 21, 2019 – January 30, 2020 – “In Plain Sight, Library Art Collection – Part 1” – Rediscover: The Landscape Paintings at Flinn Gallery, 2nd Floor Greenwich Library, 101 W. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT. Flinn Gallery will reopen on November 21 after being closed for several months while construction was going on outside its walls. The exhibit is “In Plain Sight, Library Art Collection – Part 1”, which is titled Rediscover: The Landscape Paintings. All of the works in this show belong to the Library’s permanent collection and have been hanging in various locations, often behind closed doors. Now they will be exhibited together along with stories of each artist and information about their artwork. Visitors can come to the Flinn this fall while the project “Reimagine – Renew – Repurpose” continues throughout the rest of the Library. Barbara Opening reception: November 21 @ 6:00-8:00. For more: greenwichlibrary.org.

Through January 5, 2020 – Chagall for Children at Stamford Museum & Nature Center, 38 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford, CT. Marc Chagall’s style has been associated with the art movements of surrealism, fauvism, and cubism but instead of fitting neatly into one category, he created a style uniquely his own. Chagall for Children gives a unique approach to introducing children to art through the life and work of a master artist, helping children and adults alike develop a greater understanding and appreciation of all forms of artistic expression. The exhibit is designed to engage visitors in the exploration of both art and the artist through 14 interactive, multi-sensory components. Each component features one of Chagall’s works with an accompanying hands‑on activity in a variety of media that encourages the visitor to explore and work with specific art principles such as color, composition, light, and texture. Organized by the Kohl Children’s Museum, Illinois. For more: stamfordmuseum.org.

Through December 6, 2020 – How We Live at Hudson Valley MOCA, 1701 Main Street, Peekskill, NY – How We Live​ is a sculpture and video exhibition from the Marc and Livia Straus Family Collection which includes artists from around the globe who explore the particularities of their individual cultures through art. 34 sculptures by 31 artists along with six video artists showcase unique heritages, and in doing so enrich our understanding of the world. This exhibition combines the curatorial vision of O​mar Lopez-Chahoud​, Independent Curator and Artistic Director and Curator of Untitled, Art, and Nicola Trezzi,​ Director and Chief Curator of the Center for Contemporary Art Tel Aviv, in collaboration with the Marc and Livia Straus Family. Featured in this exhibition are works such as G​lobal Encoder​ (1994) by Nam June Paik, monument to V.Tatlin​ (1966) by Dan Flavin, C​radle (​ 1999) by Janine Antoni, Felt Floor​ (2003) by Rachel Whiteread, and ​Traitment Musicale​ (1997) by Chen Zhen. Each work is in part an exploration of an artist’s life through the lens of their practice, a poignant reflection of how cultures shape lives and are in turn molded by those living in them. For more: hudsonvalleymoca.org.

Through December 22, 2019 – “Art Got into Me”: The Work of Engels the Artist at Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. This monographic exhibition features more than fifty works created by Engels the Artist over the past ten years. Born in Haiti, the artist has been living in Brooklyn for more than three decades. For Engels, the canvas is a limited space that requires subversion, inversion, expansion, or containment. He engages in a sort of metonymic game, whereby the container becomes the contained, and the support becomes the object itself. For example, the fabric of the canvas, the wood of the stretcher, and the metal staples are all part of his iconography. Abstract and poetic, his sculptural paintings are both aesthetically appealing and profoundly meaningful. According to the artist, “The strict economy of line and texture, the use of everyday objects, and makeshift elegance recall my grandmother’s home in Port-au-Prince, which against all odds had splendor.” The exhibition will include an artist residency during which Engels will create new works inside the museum. Visitors will be able to view over 50 of his works and will be able to meet him when he is in residence at the museum this fall, working with Purchase College students to create a piece that, when completed, will be moved to the Gordon Sculpture Park in Monkton, Vermont. Public studio visits with the artist are scheduled on Thursday, November 14 and Saturday, November 16 from 12:30 to 3:30 pm. For more: neuberger.org.

Through December 22, 2019 – Cleve Grey: Threnody at Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. Threnody (1973-74) is a 250-foot-wide site-specific painting created by American artist Cleve Gray for the opening of the Neuberger Museum of Art. At that time, college students across the country were demonstrating against the conflict in Vietnam, a war that they felt to be unjust and inhumane. An active anti-war supporter himself, Gray saw this as an opportunity to express his hope for humanity’s spiritual and emotional healing. Threnody is a lament for the dead on both sides of the war. Although the theme of Threnody was conditioned by current events, Gray sought a more reconciliatory image and mood. Somber grounds of red, black, green and violet delineate the four walls in the space that he envisioned as a cathedral. Tall vertical forms engaged in a “dance of death and life” draw the eye upward, taking full advantage of the monumentality of the gallery. For more: neuberger.org.

Through December 22, 2019 – Yto Barrada: The Dye Garden | The 2019 Roy R. Neuberger Prize at Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. The Neuberger Museum’s 2019 Roy R. Neuberger Prize, carrying an honorarium of $25,000, has been awarded to Yto Barrada, an internationally-acclaimed, Moroccan-French multi-media artist. In addition to the cash award, the exhibition, Yto Barrada: The Dye Garden, will be presented for the first time in the United States. Originally presented at the American Academy in Rome and expanded for the Neuberger Museum of Art, Yto Barrada: The Dye Gardenfeatures recent work by Barrada, whose artistic practice weaves together family history and broader sociopolitical narratives, employing a variety of media, including photography, film, video, installation, sculpture, books, and hand-dyed textiles. The artist has long investigated gestures of resistance to structures of power and control. She has an abiding interest in mechanisms of displacement and dislocation, as well as questions of appropriation and authenticity. For more: neuberger.org.

Through January 12, 2020 – HeART & Mind at Silvermine Art Galleries, 1037 Silvermine Road, New Canaan, CT. The HeART & Mind exhibition and accompanying programs will engage our community in conversations about mental health and the healing power of art. It will open a window to creativity and well-being by bringing together works by an exceptional array of artists who are exploring mental health issues—intimacy and inwardness, inclusion and exclusion, anxiety and serenity, love and loss, addiction and recovery, and the yearning to understand and accept ourselves and to connect in an authentic way to those around us. For more information and schedule of programs: silvermineart.org.

Through December 21, 2019 – A MENAGERIE OF WONDERS at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, 37 Popham Road, Scarsdale, NY. Madelyn Jordon Fine Art is delighted to present A MENAGERIE OF WONDERS, a solo exhibition of new paintings by HUNT SLONEM. There will  be an opening reception and book signing Tuesday, October 29, 2019 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. This is Slonem’s second solo exhibition with the gallery and the public is welcome to attend and meet the artist. The exhibition will debut 15 of Hunt Slonem’s newest paintings on subjects for which he is best known – bunnies, butterflies, and tropical birds. As an artist who has fashioned a distinctive, neo-expressionist style over a stellar 40-year career, Slonem continues to evolve his artistic practice, keeping his work fresh and on trend, while remaining true to his artistic roots. Depicting his signature motifs of repeating whimsical animal imagery and fauna, Slonem’s ongoing experimentation with unconventional methodologies and materials, such as diamond dust and resin, provide the perfect conduit to express his artistic vision as an abstract painter of living things in nature. As stated by Slonem “Unlike a lot of contemporary art which is political or shocking or jarring, mine is non-judgmental. I’m exhilarated by nature, including birds, plants and butterfly forms that most people don’t even know exist.” Additionally, included in this exhibition, the gallery will feature an acrylic and aluminum ‘bunnies’ sculpture for the first time. For more: madelynjordonfineart.com.

Through January 26, 2020 – Sparkling Amazons: Abstract Expressionist Women of the 9th Street Show at Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay Street, Katonah, NY. Sparkling Amazons presents the often-overlooked contribution by women artists to the Abstract Expressionist movement and the significant role they played as bold innovators within the New York School during the 1940s and 50s. Through the presentation of some 30 works of art alongside documentary photography, the exhibition captures an important moment in the history of Abstract Expressionism. In the early 1970s, the preeminent editor and art critic, Thomas Hess, would refer to them as “sparkling Amazons.” These women would neither have viewed themselves as “Amazons” nor as feminists; they simply worked and lived as artists, pursuing their professions with the same dedication as their male counterparts even though the social stakes were much higher for them at the time. Several of the artists, including Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Elaine de Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler went on to have distinguished careers and have found their rightful place in the art historical canon. Others, including Grace Hartigan, Perle Fine and Anne Ryan, enjoyed critical success. The remainder, Sonia Sekula, Day Schnabel, Jean Steubing and Guitou Knoop are yet to be fully recognized by art history, a fact that this exhibition addresses. For more: katonahmuseum.org.

Through April 5, 2020 – Eva LeWitt: Untitled (Mesh A – J) at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, NY. This fall, The Aldrich presents the first solo museum exhibition of artist Eva LeWitt (b. 1985). The exhibition, the artist’s largest to date, will debut a significant, new site-specific installation commissioned by The Aldrich. LeWitt’s sculptural practice explores the visual interconnection of color, matter, shape, light, and gravity. Using materials she can control and manipulate with supporting and opposing attributes – rigid/pliable, opaque/transparent, airy/substantial, and handmade/machine built – LeWitt creates exuberant configurations that vaunt a buoyant physical agency. LeWitt’s deft sculptural arrays wondrously wed industrial materials like Plexiglas, acetate, latex, and vinyl with hand-cast and hand-dyed polyurethane foams, sponges and rubbers to form soft, sensuous, and splendidly vibrant compositions. For more: aldrichart.org.

Through March 29, 2020 – Weather Report at Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT. Weather Report will reveal the sky as a site where the aesthetic, the romantic, the political, the social, and the scientific co-exist and inform one another. The depiction of weather phenomena in the visual arts is traditionally linked with either landscape painting or photography, but in the last two decades artists have increasingly turned to other media to explore weather and, by extension, the larger subject of the Earth’s atmosphere. Featuring the work of Bigert & Bergström, Barbara Bloom, Sara Bouchard, Josh Callaghan, Nick Cave, Violet Dennison, Bryan Nash Gill, Andy Goldsworthy, Nancy Graves, Ellen Harvey, Ayumi Ishii, Jitish Kallat, Kim Keever, Byron Kim, Damian Loeb, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Colin McMullan, Hitoshi Nomura, Pat Pickett, Sean Salstrom, and Jennifer Steinkamp, and an installation by researchers Amanda Bunce, Joel Salisbury, and Michael Vertefeuille. Outdoors: works by Tom Friedman, Radcliffe Bailey, Nari Ward and Tony Tasset, through March 15, 2020. For more: aldrichart.org.

Through January 10, 2020 – Life and Art: The Greenwich Paintings of John Henry Twachtman at Greenwich Historical Society, 47 Strickland Road, Cos Cob, CT. An exhibition of 25 paintings will bring viewers into an intimate relationship with the place that American Impressionist John Henry Twachtman (1853-1902), one of the most prominent figures in late nineteenth century American art, loved best, the home and land in Greenwich, Conn., where he resided from 1890 – 1899. Together with the catalog, it will enable viewers to consider the relationship between the artist and his subject matter, and his life and creative output, while setting his Greenwich work in the context of American Impressionism and shedding new light on the movement. It will be the inaugural art exhibition in the Frank Family Foundation located in the new 9,900 square foot museum and library building at the Greenwich Historical Society, which opened to great fanfare in October 2018.  It is especially appropriate that Twachtman be the subject given the artist’s residency in Greenwich and his central role in the Cos Cob art colony, where he taught summer classes to over 100 students between 1890 and 1899. For more: greenwichhistory.org.

Through December 21, 2019 – Rodin: Truth, Form, Life – Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections at Walsh Gallery, Fairfield University Art Museum, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT. By the early 20th century, Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917) was widely regarded as the greatest European sculptor since Michelangelo. Rejecting 19th-century academic traditions that dictated what was “proper” in art, Rodin pursued his own deeply held belief that art should be true to nature. Working in clay, wax, plaster, marble, and bronze with vigorous modeling that emphasized his personal response to his subjects, Rodin explored new ways to express the vitality of the human spirit. With his commitment to the free exploration of form and emotion, Rodin’s work paved the way for the development of 20th-century modernist sculpture. This special exhibition, organized and made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, presents 22 of Rodin’s bronze sculptures, which were modeled between 1860 and 1910. The works on view include preparatory studies for some of Rodin’s most important public commissions, such as The Burghers of Calais and The Gates of Hell, as well as portraits of French authors Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac. A complementary exhibition in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries, Prints from the Age of Rodin (October 4 – December 21), features lithographs and etchings by Rodin’s contemporaries, ranging from views of the urban environment of Paris, to portraits of artists, writers, and thinkers, t o theater playbills and advertisements. Drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, as well as selected items on loan from the Jundt Art Museum of Gonzaga University, the exhibition includes works by Berthe Morisot, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Félix Vallotton that illuminate the rich cultural atmosphere of Paris during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are also several programs and lectures planned, on select dates from the opening lecture on September 12 to an Art in Focus program on December 12. For more: fairfield.edu.

Through February 16, 2020 – James McElhinney: Discover the Hudson Anew and Janelle Lynch: Another Way of Looking at Love at Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY. James McElhinney: Discover the Hudson Anew –  Fourteen years ago, during a period of convalescence, James McElhinney used a sketchbook and watercolor to paint views from his hospital windows. That pragmatic decision was pivotal for the artist. He fell in love with the mobility and intimacy of this small-format media, which can be packed into the lining of a hiking vest, following in the footsteps of historical expeditionary artists. Since then, he has engaged in pictorial conversation with the Hudson River, always with materials on hand. James McElhinney: Discover the Hudson Anew presents the painter’s sketch books and prints related to the River in a comprehensive showing for the first time. Janelle Lynch: Another Way of Looking at Love – This fall, the Hudson River Museum presents color photographs of Catskills foliage from Janelle Lynch’s series Another Way of Looking at Love. Finding subjects on her wooded property during all seasons, Lynch (American, born 1969) focuses closely on dense trees, plants, and flowers to encourage us to look more intently and think more deeply about our natural surroundings. The title of the series is a quote from contemporary British philosopher Alain de Botton, who believes that love is about making connections and about long-term, pro-active commitment. His ideas resonated with Lynch, who related them to her own work reimagining our relationship to nature, the planet, and each other. The exhibition comprises fourteen large photographs and, from the Museum’s collection, an accordion portfolio of five small-format prints from the same series. For more: hrm.org.

Ongoing – Arte Povera Group Show at Magazzino Italian Art Foundation, 2700 Route 9, Cold Spring, NY. Open since March 1st, 2018, this exhibition presents a comprehensive panorama on the artistic practice of 12 artists associated with the Arte Povera movement: Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pierpaolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Giulio Paolini, Pino Pascali, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Gilberto Zorio. Their work came at a defining moment in the 1960s, as Italy was transitioning into an era of burgeoning industrialization, student rebellion, and a decline of the “economic miracle” of the 1950s allowed by the Marshall Plan. The artists aimed to eradicate the boundaries between media as well as between nature and art under the mantra “Art is Life.” The exhibition represents the Olnick Spanu Collection’s core of Post-war Italian art, allowing the space to be an environment solely devoted to this generation of Italian artists. For more: magazzino.art.

 
 

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FAIRFIELD WESTCHESTER MUSEUM ALLIANCE: Established in 2009 to help promote the rich and diverse offerings of eight cultural institutions in Fairfield, Westchester, and the Bronx, the Fairfield Westchester Museum Alliance continues to give local families and visitors the opportunity to enjoy eight great museums for the price of one. Become a member at any of these participating organizations and get free admission at eight neighboring institutions, from the Bronx to Bridgeport. Visitors who are not members of an FWMA organization can request a free same-day pass to all FWMA museums when paying admission at any one of the eight institutions. The eight FWMA member institutions are: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (Ridgefield, CT); Barnum Museum (Bridgeport, CT); Bruce Museum (Greenwich, CT); Hudson River Museum (Yonkers, NY); Hudson Valley MOCA (Peekskill, NY); Katonah Museum of Art (Katonah, NY); Neuberger Museum of Art (Purchase, NY); and Wave Hill New York Public Garden and Cultural Center (Bronx, NY).

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