© Chris Durante

There will be a New Members show including drawings by Chris Durante at Silvermine Guild in New Canaan, from January 10-February 19. New members inducted in 2009 in this show include Durante, Binnie Birstein, Silas Finch, Robert Gregson, Susan Halls, Linda Kuehne, Yen-Hua Lee, Constance Old, and Bradley Wolman. The inducted artists work in a variety of media--drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. There will be an artists' reception Sunday, January 10, 2-4 pm.

Many of Chris Durante's recent drawings use forms that resemble fibers and viscera, and create (at least in me) a feeling of looking up through holes in a matrix into the dark sky of outer space. Those fluid black lines are charmers. However, Durante has moved out of strictly black-and-white ink drawing to include wild color, soft pencil forms, collage elements, cuts and burn marks, and heavily burnished and multi-layered surfaces that resemble pewter. Durante's keen eye pulls these seemingly unrelated elements together, but it is still his deft hand moving across paper to create meaning.

The Silvermine Guild Arts Center is located at 1037 Silvermine Rd., New Canaan, CT 06840. As a special event, there will be an informal discussion with Gallery Director Jeffrey Mueller and the new members on Friday, February 5, from 6:30-7:30 pm.

Happy looking,

Lys