Colored cotton canvas at BES

Colored cotton canvas at BES
Meg Musgrove 
Photo by Bryant Musgrove

Painter and printmaker Meg Musgrove will be showcasing a selection of her color studies on raw cotton canvas at BES on Main Street in Millerton, starting with an opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 5 to 8 p.m. 

With meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to quality, every piece is made with the utmost care, from the selection of the water-based inks and 100% cotton fabrics to the construction and finishing. 

Born in Los Angeles, Musgrove exhibited widely under her maiden name, Berk. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from New York University in 2001, and in 2008, she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute. 

Her work, which was narrative and personal in nature, shifted when she started a family. Musgrove explained, “When I had kids, I stopped painting so much and turned to printmaking as a way to keep my practice going.” After working for a time doing surface design for wallpaper companies, Musgrove started her own textile company (megmusgrove.com). She clarified, “Freelance just stopped being fun.”

More recently, Musgrove reignited a passion for painting by exploring color. This experimentation has led to the wall hangings, which Erica Recto, owner of BES, saw and immediately wanted to show in her shop. Musgrove emphasized: “Erica, apart from being a great person, comes to people whose work she loves and whose practice she’s interested in and puts a lot of trust in them to bring their best work to the shop. She has put a lot of trust in me in terms of what I want to bring to the shop and in doing this show. That means a lot.”

In BES’s introduction to the show, Recto writes that the work “emphasizes intuition and joy while avoiding pattern and resolution.” When asked about this idea as it relates to her process, Musgrove shared: “I always try to stop before they’re finished. There’s an uneasy feeling, and that makes it more accessible to people.” 

Her inclination to leave a touch of ambiguity invites viewers to engage with her work, she said: “Things that are too well resolved don’t leave any space for people to get into them.”

Musgrove is continuing her exploration of textiles and is excited about a journey that is leading her to find better, more sustainable materials. She said, “There’s this blurred line between the commercial textiles and my studio work, which is uncomfortable but good.” 

As she finds her way back to her narrative work, creating new stories through the intersection of her two distinct bodies of work, she mused: “They’re coming together. It’s working itself out.”

Latest News

Pine Plains Planning Board approves waiver for proposed dispensary

Planning Board members granted a waiver to the proposed cannabis dispensary located in the historic weigh station on Route 82 allowing the business to operate within 300 feet of the firehouse and the Post Office in contradiction with Pine Plains's local law. Town attorney Warren Replansky explained the town's codes would likely be unenforceable following legal decisions handed down by the Office of Cannabis Management on Monday, Oct. 6.

Photo by Nathan Miller

PINE PLAINS — Members of the Planning Board voted unanimously to grant a waiver to Upstate Pines allowing the cannabis dispensary to operate within 300 feet of the firehouse and the Post Office at their regular meeting Wednesday, Oct. 8.

That vote came after Planning Board attorney Warren Replansky explained recent state guidance superceded the town’s ability to restrict the business on the grounds of its proximity to the Post Office and the firehouse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Packed house hears Hitchcock estate golf course pre-application

Dozens of people crowded into the courthouse at the Washington Town Hall on Reservoir Drive in Millbrook on Tuesday, Oct. 7, to watch a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC. David Blatt and Henry Hay of Centaur Properties LLC described their plan to build an 18-hole golf course with limited membership and residences on the historic 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.

Photo by Nathan Miller
"This is nothing like Silo Ridge," said Centaur Properties co-founder Henry Hay. "This is Buckingham Palace to a craphouse. It's completely different. It's much higher quality."

MILLBROOK — Dozens of residents of the Town of Washington packed into the courtroom in Town Hall on Reservoir Drive for a standing-room-only regular meeting of the Planning Board on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Well over three-quarters of the crowd were there to listen in to a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC, a New York City-based development company that’s proposing an 18-hole golf course, equestrian facilities and luxury residential development on the 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stanford home market sees nine sales in July and August

Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.

Christine Bates

STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.

At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Report
Village of Millerton offices on Route 22
John Coston

Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.

Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.

Keep ReadingShow less