VERGENNES — Hannah Sessions has a new exhibit on view at Northern Daughters Fine Art Gallery on Main Street in Vergennes. “Keep it Simple” a solo exhibit of new work from Sessions, will be on view April 4-May 31, with an opening reception on April 19, from 5-8 p.m. During the opening reception Sessions will speak about her process and this body of work. Greg Bernhard, her husband and co-owner of Blue Ledge Farm, will read excerpts from his new poetry anthology “ Goats & Those Who Live By Them.”
“For this show I have focused largely on work which highlights one subject alone,” Sessions explained. “The backgrounds are blurred or simplified, or sometimes just a solid color. By ‘keep(ing) it simple’ this has been a great exercise in engagement and attention. Sometimes I feel the need to cover the whole canvas with busy-ness, information, and background ‘noise,’ just as we feel the need to fill every nook and cranny of our lives with stuff and activity. Sometimes this works, but I have held myself back for this body of work; I have simplified.
“For this collection, I have allowed each image to be ‘enough,’ and it has been more fun than I ever could have anticipated,” added Sessions, who also runs Blue Ledge Farm, established in 2000, in Salisbury with her husband. “As a farmer, parent, entrepreneur and artist I have a busy life. This show has given me the opportunity to realize that focusing on one thing at a time (in art and in life) is enough; in fact, it is a breath of fresh air! It takes courage to pursue one idea, and courage to not say too much. For this collection I asked myself ‘what is the minimum I can say?’ to let the moment speak for itself and the viewer have their own interpretations. I hope it is a chance to allow our eyes to rest on open space, to take time to notice some simple marks, simple moments and enjoy a lively respite.”
“It always an honor to have Hannah’s work in the gallery in part because her relationship to her subject is so clear,” said co-gallery owner Sophie Pickens. “She talks about how she lives amongst her muses, and that authenticity shows in her paintings.”
“Hannah took the opportunity of a solo exhibit to explore this process of simplification and focus, and the product is lovely,” added co-gallery owner Justine Jackson. “Her works are painted as the eye sees, focused on one thing at a time, with everything else slightly blurred or abstracted. In this way the viewer is able to experience the awe of that moment.”
For more information contact [email protected] or (802) 877-2173.