PAST EXHIBITIONS

Artworks in the Show

Lucy Bergamini

Penelope Series Necklace

Blown glass, sterling silver

18 in

$280

For Immediate Release

Canal Street Art Gallery’s A WORLD SUSPENDED IN COLOR Show Opens

The public is invited to attend the artists’ reception of “A World Suspended in Color” Fine Art Glass from 5-8pm on Friday, September 21st.  Take part in celebrating with the artists, and in sharing their process and experience with glass as a medium of expression.  

The exhibition is on view to the public from September 5th through November 3rd.  The Gallery is located at 23 Canal Street in the Historic Downtown Village of Bellows Falls, Vermont and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00am to 4:00pm, and all other days by appointment.

The intention of “A World Suspended in Color" is to showcase a diverse and dynamic range of glass art from the many nationally renowned, awarded and multi-talented glass artists of our region including members of The Vermont Glass Guild.  Canal Street Art Gallery is honored to share with the public work by Clare Adams, Lucy Bergamini, Dominique Caissie, Robert DuGrenier, Alissa Faber, Nicholas Kekic, David Leppla, Melanie Leppla and Chris Sherwin.  

The Gallery is very pleased to exhibit artwork by Alissa Faber from Chittenden County in this show.  Faber creates glass works of art in her Burlington studio. Before moving to Vermont the artist worked in glass and ceramic studios across the country. As a teaching artist in her community, Faber has helped facilitate community art installations with elementary, middle and high school students as well as with members of the Burlington Senior Center.

“A World Suspended in Color” features glass artists from across Vermont and New Hampshire, and the Gallery is especially excited to be sharing and promoting several artists from Windham County. In August of 2005, native Brattleboro artist Chris Sherwin established Sherwin Art Glass within the scenic location of 33 Bridge Street overlooking the Connecticut River in Bellows Falls.  His furnace and all equipment (except the torch) are powered by the hydro-electricity generated by the dam just feet away from his work benches. Sherwin states, “It feels good to be green glassblowing in the Green Mountain State, especially due to my working in a medium that generally uses a lot of fossil fuels.”  

Lucy Bergamini started Vitriesse Glass in Vermont in 1983, and has been a successful wholesale and retail glass artist.  Bergamini has participated in multiple fine art shows, and her work is in both permanent and private collections globally.  The artist has resettled in Windham County in Brattleboro on the site of the Estey Organ Factory in a newly converted studio Warehouse Space. Bergamini feels the urban existence is inspiring her work in new and exciting ways, including being influenced by forms in the human body, the imagery of cell structure and DNA, and combining Feng Shui with her use of color and sculptural, timeless forms.

The art of Robert DuGrenier, who is now based in Townshend, touches both the traditional and experimental arenas of glass art. DuGrenier creates high-end installations for museum and architectural projects around the world. He began in New York City by working on the redesign of the flame for the Statue of Liberty and was commissioned to create and produce the 1/12th scale model from which the French artisans sculpted the new flame. In April 2018, DuGrenier was inducted into the Illinois State University’s College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame, and is currently the President of the Vermont Glass Guild. It is an honor to be showing his incredible works of art!

Tsuga Studio in Chester experienced a fire in September of 2017, rendering the glass shop unusable. Thankfully, the building was not a total loss, but left Nicholas Kekic needing to make a choice of how and where to rebuild. He chose Rockingham! Motivating to make opportunity out of misfortune, a renewed industrial space in Bellows Falls has been made by Kekic into a functional glass studio and gallery. As a third generation glass worker, the culture of the craft shows through in Kekics’ exceptional and functional art. To be in production again, while also participating in the creative economy and community of Bellows Falls is very important to him. Kekic says, “I see more clearly than ever an exciting and long-term path for my glasswork and my future career in Windham County.”

The artworks in “A World Suspended in Color” use the glass-working techniques of blowing, etching, fusing, torching, hand-working, and cutting; along with goldsmithery, painting, and the use of materials such as wood, concrete, copper wiring, and silver and gold leaf.  Through this collection of work by local artists from Vermont and New Hampshire the Gallery, in collaboration with the Vermont Glass Guild, offers an opportunity for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the glass art form.

Canal Street Art Gallery was founded in 2017 by three artists, who saw a need for a centralized and active location for creating and sharing art in the Town of Rockingham, Vermont.  The Gallery represents and exhibits contemporary artists in all styles and mediums, and offers an open space where all creative voices may be heard in an effort to promote southern Vermont artists.

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