Last week, I wrote about artist Robert Straight, whose exhibition “Trifecta” debuted at Delaware Contemporary last Friday. I received a kind note from him last week, and as it turns out, he was a former professor at my alma mater, Connecticut College. Yes, yes the world is small, but when you find another connection to the art department at your college of 1,500 people, well that’s not small, that’s infinitesimal!  To give you an idea of how tiny, and perhaps lesser known this college is, I had to constantly correct acquaintances that it was Connecticut College, and not University of Connecticut. “Oh, you guys have a GREAT basketball team!” they’d always say, and I’d always sheepishly correct them, “You’re thinking of U. Conn.”

To circle back to the point of this column, I will be attending this installment of On Art: Conversations with the Artist, featuring Robert Straight at the Delaware Contemporary this Wednesday from 5:25 to 6 p.m. If you choose to stick around after for Open Studio: Painting and Drawing, you can start or bring a painting you’ve already been working on, and create alongside other artists with the assistance of a teaching professor. The Conversation with the artist is free. The open studio is $10 for the session, plus cash bar.

The Brandywine River Museum debuts its exhibition, “The Way Back: Paintings of George A. Weymouth,” Saturday, January 27th. In addition to his reputation as a well established conservationist and philanthropist, George “Frolic” Weymouth pursued painting and drawing. The influence of his mentor, Andrew Wyeth pops up in his incredibly detailed, to the point that they appear as though created under a magnifying glass, paintings and drawings. Weymouth’s landscapes and portraits beautifully embrace elements of the historic Brandywine School established by Howard Pyle, and continued on by the Wyeth family. This exhibition runs through June 3rd.

Moving on to West Chester, Art Trust unveils their new exhibition, “Circle and Square,” featuring John Baker, Dave Beck and Andrew Snyder. Although the press release does not have much in the way of a description for this exhibition, they tease us with a simple and intriguing description, “These artists translate these basic shapes into not-so-basic original forms of art.”

We can conjecture that this show will be enjoyable based on the existing work of these local established artists. I co-host Art Watch Radio with John Baker, longtime art professor of at West Chester University. His colorful sculptures have made their rounds in academic exhibitions, corporate collections, and his West Grove studio has been featured in the Chester County Open Studio Tour.

David Beck, another contributor to the Chester County Open Studio Tour, works out of Smokler Studios as a welder. His work focuses more on the trade and mechanical aspect as the source of inspiration. Beck has also been featured in Lele Galer's Art Watch column. I look forward to observing how the work of these established sculptors play together and tackle the same theme.

Andrew Snyder, a ceramic arts professor at West Chester University brings an element of conceptual composition to his work. While he creates technically beautiful, often asymmetrical vessels the captivating element of his work, for me, exists in the placement which toys with repetition and absurdity. The fusion of playful incongruity with technical purpose creates an interesting dialogue. Join Art Trust for the reception of “Circle and Square,” on Friday, January 26th from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. The exhibition runs through April 13.

Oxford Alliance introduces new exhibition, “Lincoln University Visual Arts Exhibit,”  curated by Lincoln University associate professor of Studio Art, Jeff Chapp. Join them for the opening reception on Friday, January 19th from 5 to 7 p.m. They will also host an artist talk on Wednesday, January 24th at 7 p.m. The exhibition runs through February 10th.

We’ve got some “last calls” coming up at the end of January. So if you haven’t checked out these shows, put them on your calendar before they’re gone. I’ll start with the Delaware Art Museum exhibition, “An American Journey: The Art of John Sloan” which ends January 28th. I feel a personal responsibility to remind everyone of this exhibition as a admirer of so much of the work that bloomed during the turn of the twentieth century. A socialist who co founded the Ashcan School of American Art, he culled inspiration from early 20th century European artists. I see ties to the Viennese Secessionists, Japanese prints, and more locally, Thomas Eakins. Sloan captures that sweet colorful innocence shared by Post Impressionists and Fauvists of the Early 20th century with a twinge Art Deco moodiness. This show runs through January 28th.

Let’s make a leap to a completely different lily pad and discuss some abstract expressionism. Wayne Arts Center has two exhibitions ending this month. Patrick Lee’s “Excursions,” ends Saturday, January 27th as does the Val Rossman and students group exhibition, “Exploration/Inspiration/Abstraction.” Both shows focus on abstract compositions and provide a colorful intermission to the winter doldrums.
As always, don’t forget to tune in to Art Watch Radio 1520 WCHE from 1  to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. This week, John Chambless hosts the Kennett Area Theatre Company and discusses their January pantomime comedy show.

About Caroline Roosevelt

Caroline​ ​Roosevelt​ ​is​ ​a​ ​writer​ ​and​ ​artist​ ​based​ ​in​ ​Kennett​ ​Square,​ ​PA.​ ​She​ ​received​ ​her​ ​B.A.​ ​in Art​ ​History​ ​from​ ​Connecticut​ ​College​ ​and​ ​a​ ​Post​ ​Baccalaureate​ ​certificate​ ​from​ ​Pennsylvania Academy​ ​of​ ​Fine​ ​Arts.​ ​She​ ​has​ ​previously​ ​written​ ​art​ ​coverage​ ​in​ ​Seattle,​ ​WA​ ​and​ ​Philadelphia, PA.​ ​She​ ​currently​ ​co-hosts​ ​Art​ ​Watch​ ​radio​ ​on​ ​1520​ ​WCHE.

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