BRANDON — The conflicting emotions of how people feel about the winter season was the spark for the juried exhibit, “Winter as Prism or Prison” at the Compass Music and Arts Center in Brandon. The juried exhibit opens Friday, Jan. 15, and runs through March 26, with an opening reception to be held on Sunday, Jan. 17, from 1- 3 p.m.
Here in New England, winter can be a long, cold endeavor that some find to be a magical time full of fun and striking ever-changing light, while others hunker down and pass the months indoors, waiting for the first signs of spring. Compass asked artists to present their take on the notion of winter as a beautiful prism of light or a prison one can’t wait to escape.
Photographs by Denise Bach reflect the prison of winter and her feelings of suspended time and isolation in an often bleak and un-cozy time of year. She explains, “I usually feel like a shut-in during the winter months, only emerging from my cocoon of layers when necessity demands. As I look outside around me in the season of short cold days I feel a prevailing sense of time standing still; things put on hold, put away, forgotten or buried under the snow waiting for warmer days.”
In contrast, Tom Merwin’s “First Dusting, November Moon” depicts the light of a full moon penetrating deep woods as the first snow crystals of a November dusting begin to dress the boulders and forest floor. The abstract painting uses the full spectrum of the prism colors, showing how, if you look, you can find beauty anywhere at any time.
Exhibiting artists include Bach, Dan Gilman, Jeanne Lamoureux-Wood, Merwin, Norma Montaigne, Marise Morse, Catherine M. Palmer, Ayanna Proctor, and Lowell Snowdon Klock.
During the opening reception, organizers will announce a Juror’s Choice award, receiving a cash prize and a future exhibiting opportunity at Compass, and two Honorable Mentions, also receiving future exhibiting opportunities at Compass.
The Compass Music and Arts Center is located in Park Village at 333 Jones Drive in Brandon.