News & Events

Lauren Clark Fine Art presents “TOPOGRAPHIES and other abstractions”, new work by Bart Arnold, July 13 through July 27, 2019. There will be a reception for the artist, Saturday, July 13, from 5-7pm.

Bart Arnold is perhaps best known as a designer and maker of hand forged sterling silver and gold jewelry, or as the creator of his “Constructions”, three dimensional, painted wall sculptures in which he combines clean lines with complex textures, colors, and/or patinas.

He established his style as a non-objective painter while living in New York and working toward his MFA at NYU and has been developing it for the past four decades. Currently, Bart has combined his rich painting style into two dimensional artworks on paper and canvas. In this show, Lauren Clark will present a recently completed series of this work.

A few words from the artist, “As a non-objective painter my “subject matter” has always been the interplay of color, form, and texture. Visual inspiration comes from the natural world, the cultural environment, and the trends of art history, as I focus on the abstract qualities of what I encounter.

Recently I have been interested in the abstract elements of maps: satellite views, roadmaps, terrains, elevations, etc., and the arbitrary shapes created by geographic and political boundaries. My current work reflects this influence by layering invented shapes and painterly maneuvers within an implied map-like framework.”

Bart’s work has been exhibited in galleries in the Los Angeles area where he lived for several years as well as others from Houston to Munich. Locally, he has shown at Simon’s Rock, Five Points Gallery, Spazi Contemporary Art, Tokonoma Gallery and the Shade Gallery in Lenox among others. He has been represented by Lauren Clark since 2010 beginning with his jewelry collection. In addition to a solo show with her in 2011, he has participated in several group shows in the gallery.

Lauren Clark Fine Art is located at 684 Main Street Great Barrington, MA. Business hours are Thursday through Monday from 11:00 until 5:30 and Sunday from 11:00 until 4:00. For more information call 413.528.0432.

Please join us for the group show, “The Last Waltz”, with gallery artists Joby Baker, Richard Britell, Julio Granda, Geoffrey Moss, Franco Pellegrino, Joe Wheaton and Terry Wise, opening Saturday, November 10, 2018, with a reception for the artists from 4-7pm.

This will be the last show curated and hosted by Lauren Clark at her eponymous gallery at 325 Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington, MA, and featuring her top tier artists.

Some work will be new and previously unseen, some might be well aged but as relevant as ever. Undoubtedly it will all be of interest, and the reason you’ve been visiting year after year to see, to discuss, to collect.

The gallery and framing business will be moving to 684 Main Street, Great Barrington, January 1, 2019. Until then we will continue to operate as usual. Also, all the pottery and glass is and will continue to be on sale during this time. Come see me!

Please join us for a Book Launch & Reading of Belle Fox-Martin’s new collection of poetry and micro fiction:
“Stone Pears”
Friday, October 19, 2018, 6pm.

This is yet another smart and engaging collection of Belle’s poetry and prose. Belle Fox Martin writes as witness to a wide sweep of themes, embracing old love, peace, nature, solitude, revenge, aging and even fantasy. Some prose pieces are like linear conversations, charming in their own right. The poetry is very different from the prose pieces; more abstract, metaphorical and often playful. All in all, her writing teeters on the literary cusp between Samuel Beckett and David Sedaris.

This is Belle Fox-Martin’s sixth book to date and it most certainly reflects her eclectic experiences as a Congregational Minister, artist, social worker, and writing teacher. She lives in Glendale, MA with her wife, Cheryl Hutto, and their one poodle and two little sibling somewhat rodent looking dogs who you might speculate were found roaming the streets of Cuba.

Friday, October 19 at 6pm. Join us for a little cheer!

Jim Youngerman, “New Work: Strange & Alluring” set to open Saturday, August 4, with a reception for the artist from 4-7pm. The show runs through August 26.

Known locally and nationally as a fine artist working primarily in watercolor, ink and graphite on paper, Mr. Youngerman’s work has been recognized as brilliant, lyrical, surreal and often humorous. His work is deep yet whimsical and employs visual commentary on everything from politics to the environment and to our relationship to the animal kingdom.

Included in the show are two unusual collaborations with the artist. The first is a series of collaborative prints which were developed by Jim and poet David Keplinger. Over the period of a year the two exchanged art and words to create this unique body of work.

The experience was unique for both; an unprecedented process of give and take. It all started in September of 2015 when Jim noticed the boots Davey was wearing and snapped a photo thinking he could see a poem in the boots. Jim started the process by presenting David with 12 drawn images.

At this point, David wrote poems in response to them and in some cases, removing sections of the images and inserting the poems. In response to that, Jim then selected specific lines from the poems, merging them with the images. In one piece, David wrote a poem which included flying birds, which Jim later added to the composition. The process continued back and forth, as both finely tuned the balance of image and written word, resulting in twelve giclée prints.

The second, less a collaboration and more of a spontaneous interpretive inspiration by Berkshire musician Johnny Irion, is based on a particular artwork by Jim, making for a wonderful visual and aural experience.

Mr. Youngerman has participated in over 60 art shows locally, nationally and internationally from the 1970’s to the present, and is in many prominent collections. Well known in the theater world, Mr. Youngerman is also an award winning stage and set designer. Having worked with Shakespeare & Co. for 10 years, this summer he is designing the sets for is “As You Like It” in the Roman Garden Theater.

On August 11 from 2-3:30pm, David Keplinger will be reading from his latest collection of poetry along with a discussion and talk back with Jim about their collaboration.

A few words from the artist:

“I make these works on paper one step at a time; never having
a preconceived idea of where things will go. This stream of
consciousness approach produces compositions with
juxtapositions of people, places and objects, which often exist
within ambiguous timeframes.

I use simple lines in a lyrical, figurative, quasi cartoon style to
paradoxically get at something a bit deeper. I juxtapose people
and animals in perplexing situations; in doing so, I attempt to
explore dualities and commonalities. I never draw conclusions
but prefer to pose questions.

My painting has evolved over the years, while always working
on paper. I have always used medium to achieve
my ends, not to try to find meaning within the medium. It’s not
about letting the paint speak or trying to find meaning in the
graphite itself, rather, it’s about using various techniques to
reinforce and illuminate the narrative which I’m putting forth.”

Please join us for a reception for the artist Saturday, July 14, 4-7pm.

As an artist I deal with relationships. Relationships that I have to the world, community, environment, family, and friends. I also deal with the relationship I have with myself at any given time. My art, whether I’m painting, drawing, printing, or sculpting reflects these relationships. I use my environment and my observations in my work. It is therefore, inevitably, autobiographic.

I feel that my art is about life and its contradictions. I look for objects that talk to me and either use them as is, or transform them in my work. For me art is not an end but a constant beginning, a path that continues to lead to new places with doors that have to be opened. It is a process that creates joy, that demands hard work, and can be filled with both frustration as well as satisfaction.

I enjoy working with a wide variety of two and three-dimensional materials, which include oils, acrylics, pastels, inks, encaustics and a wide variety of, found objects. I am currently very focused on learning all the possibilities and techniques of etching on copper plates. I am working on combining the nuance and intricacy of etching with the spontaneity and variety of monotype and collograph. It allows me to draw, collage, and build up layers in the creation of one of a kind prints.

Art has its own voice and often takes me in unexpected directions. I like exploring the possibilities of accidents. It’s challenging and exciting to engage and work with the unexpected. Making art is a necessity for me. It aids me in sorting out and distilling the world around me. I do not replicate what I see, but rather reflect what I see and feel. For me, creating art is an emotional process. I cannot separate my feelings from my work. Yet I am always struggling to distill these feelings and find universal and concise ways of visualizing emotions.

Abby DuBow

June 2018