Charming toads, immersive house parties delight onlookers at the Wassaic Project’s summer show

WASSAIC — Rain did little to stem the steady tide of gallery-goers at the opening of the Wassaic Project’s summer show on Saturday, May 20, titled “Counting the Seconds Between Lightning and Thunder.” Featuring 40 artists from near and far, the show’s opening reception was packed with attendees, so many that a line snaked around and through art installations as folks waited to ascend the Maxon Mills’ seven flights.

Featuring a vibrant array of work from Marianna Peragallo’s anthropomorphic plant sculptures to Danielle Klebes’ immersive house party on the top floor, one emergent theme of “Counting the Seconds…” was a contemporary perspective of nature and ecology.

KK Kozik’s “Ghost” oil painting, for instance, depicts a crow marching around a dead tree, its jaunty legs evoking a Miyazaki-like whimsy. Dan Gunn’s toad sculpture series, “The Ungrateful Son No.1-7,” plays on the particular brand of ugly-charming that toads often inhabit; and Ping Zheng’s oil painting “Looking into the Distance of a River” warps a natural landscape with a uniquely human blend of movement and nostalgia.

But the show is by no means hemmed to a single theme—indeed, another defining characteristic of “Counting the Seconds…” was a true breadth of styles and fascinations. Standouts include Chiara No’s bizarre stoneware bells, and Fern Apfel’s balanced still lifes of paper and playing cards, but viewers will find much to explore and enjoy.

And though the art was the main event, the opening also featured opportunities for the younger crowd to have fun and express themselves. The upstate New York-based nonprofit Super Stories set up shop under the Mills’ porch awning and provided paint, material and encouragement to artistic aspirants. Many paint-encrusted hands ensued, and co-owners Grace Lang and Ramiro Davaro-Comas described the day as a wonderful opportunity to help kids flex their creative muscles.

The work of the Wassaic Project’s after-school art program was also on display at the opening, tucked neatly into the Maxon Mills’ loft.

A program run by education coordinator Jill Winsby-Fein, the exhibition was the culmination of a year’s worth of effort from students in and around the Webutuck Central School District, and featured many exemplary pieces—including an array of cloche sculptures responding to the work of Cate Pasquarelli, an exhibitor at the Wassaic Project’s winter show (see “Touring the surreal…” from the Dec. 8, 2022, Millerton News for more details).

“Counting the Seconds Between Lightning and Thunder” is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. through Saturday, Sept. 16.

 

This article has been updated to correct the identification of​ Grace Lang and Cate Pasquarelli were incorrectly identified.

Carliann Rittman of Amenia peers through ‘Kaleidoscope IV’ by Natalja Kent. Photo by Elias Sorich

A line forms around ‘Venting Spacetime’ by Shawn Bitters and Matthew Garcia at the opening of the Wassaic Project’s summer show ‘Counting the Seconds Between Lightning and Thunder’ on Saturday, May 20, at Maxon Mills in Wassaic. Photo by Elias Sorich

Amenia resident Pickle Gutierrez with her cat painting, made with materials provided by Super Stories. Photo by Elias Sorich

Carliann Rittman of Amenia peers through ‘Kaleidoscope IV’ by Natalja Kent. Photo by Elias Sorich

Latest News

Employment Opportunities

LJMN Media, publisher of The Lakeville Journal (first published in 1897) and The Millerton News (first published in 1932) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization.

We seek to help readers make more informed decisions through comprehensive news coverage of communities in Northwest Connecticut and Eastern Dutchess County in New York.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pine Plains Bombers defeated at Section IX Regional

Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Michelle Blackburn, no. 12 of Pine Plains, put the pressure on Juliana Manginelli, no. 11 of Tuckahoe, as she tries to find a pass during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. on Tuesday, March 11.

Photo by Nathan Miller

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The Pine Plains Bombers were knocked out in second round of the Section IX regional tournament after a hard fought game against the Tuckahoe Tigers on Tuesday, March 11.

The Bombers won the tip and got off to an early lead, but the Tuckahoe Tigers outpaced them quickly and finished the game 59-25.

Keep ReadingShow less
County comptroller releases special report on federal funding

Dan Aymar-Blair

Photo provided

POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair released a special report early last week on federal monies and how they move through the county level, including the disbursement process in the county; how federal funding benefits Dutchess residents and whether any fiscal distribution issues have surfaced locally as a result of actions taken on behalf of the Trump administration.

According to Aymar-Blair’s report, federal programming represents roughly 10% of Dutchess expenditures, not including any COVID-19 assistance. As an illustration of federal- to county-level distribution and spending, in 2023, under the Biden administration, the county received approximately $65 million from the U.S. government with $25 million going toward direct aid in support of such programs as home energy assistance and food stamps. Federal monies were also disbursed — and continue to be directed — toward county-level agencies, programming and supports such as adoption, foster care and child care needs, emergency/disaster assistance, infrastructure development and maintenance, and workforce initiatives.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Selected Shorts’ comes to Stissing Center

The Stissing Center was bustling just before the show on Sunday, March 9.

Photo by Alec Linden

PINE PLAINS — The Stissing Center was packed on Sunday for an afternoon performance of podcast and NPR series “Selected Shorts.” The sold-out show, which was recorded for national broadcast at a later date, brought a lineup of four accomplished actors and storytellers to the Pine Plains stage to recite a selection of short stories from award-winning authors.

“Selected Shorts,” a product of Manhattan-based performing arts powerhouse Symphony Space, features prominent actors who recite works of short fiction. The full program usually revolves around a theme; Sunday afternoon’s focus was “transformations.”
Comedian, writer and actress Ophira Eisenberg — or “renaissance woman of storytelling,” as Stissing Center Executive Director Patrick Trettenero introduced her — assumed hosting duties, warming up the crowd with jokes about Brooklyn egg prices and doctors with self-esteem issues — “I want a megalomaniac with a god complex and no hobbies.”

Keep ReadingShow less