
Painter Danielle Klebes' next exhibition will open at Jennifer Terzain Gallery in Litchfield, Conn., on Saturday, Oct. 29 Self-portrait photo by Danielle Klebes
On the penultimate floor of Maxon Mills in the Wassaic Project's 2023 summer exhibition, "Counting the Seconds Between Lightning and Thunder," several life-sized, 3D portraits on wooden cutouts stood like ushers, guiding the viewer to climb the last staircase and enter the final installation: Danielle Klebes' "7th Floor Walk-up."
A collection of over 100 paintings made up the contents of this space, an interior blending reality with imagination. From the red plastic Solo cups on the mantle to the taxidermy on the walls, from the books on the bookshelf to the magazines on the coffee table to the floor itself, everything in the space was a painting, creating a liminal space between reality and fantasy.
Klebes was born in Rochester, N.Y., but moved for the first of many times just two weeks later. Her mother, an artist as well, lived her life following her muse, which meant that Klebes and her sister followed along with her.
This itinerant childhood left Klebes with brief stints in "all of New England," Florida, and even some time in Japan. Now rooted more than she's ever been in Wassaic, a hamlet in Amenia, N.Y., Klebes is investigating place and what it means to be in a community.
In 2020, she applied to The Wassaic Project's exhibition and residency program. "It's pretty famous in the art residency world," said Klebes, "and I'd been doing residencies for about three years, so I was dying to get to Wassaic."
The residency and the exhibition were both canceled due to the pandemic. A fellowship opportunity opened instead, which Klebes applied for and received. She was a fellow for about five months and then was hired as the full-time programming coordinator. "This is like my dream job, so I'm so excited."
This is also the longest she's ever been anywhere. Standing relatively still, Klebes now gets to observe as other artists come and go, inspired and ignited by an ever-changing cast of characters. She said: "I love the community aspect of being in a residency. It keeps me pushing myself. If I'm alone in my studio, it's too easy to let yourself off the hook. It's really important to be around people that inspire you."
Klebes knew she loved painting from a very early age. She took a painting class as a child at the Currier Gallery (now Currier Museum) in New Hampshire. "I wasn't interested in make-believe. I was very serious." It is this kind of serious make-believe that is at the center of Klebes' work. Her upcoming solo show, "NOWHERE," at the Jennifer Terzian Gallery in Litchfield, Conn., opening Sunday, Oct. 29, will showcase interiors transporting viewers into a world where reality and imagination coexist.
The beauty of everyday life is in a conversation with the intricate details that often go unnoticed in what Klebes calls a sort of "eye spy" approach to painting. "I'm having fun doing multiples," she said, "where the same things appear…find this car, find this calendar..."
In the few weeks leading up to the show, Klebes is interested in painting real spaces and the made-up ones of her imagination. She explained, "It's the accidental things that make you realize it's a real space." She continued: "I did this painting of my brother and sister, and my brother was wearing these weird black socks, and you realize these would never be there unless they were really there because they're just so strange. Those moments only happen in real life. By inventing, it cleans it up too much somehow. So in my last month before the show, I want to paint real spaces."
Sharing a home with her girlfriend, former Wassaic print fellow McKinzie Trotta, and working at The Wassaic Project has provided Klebes a new stability and space to explore. It has also provided ample storage space for her paintings—her mother's ever-changing abode required a recent relocation of her artworks from her basement.
The question of what makes a space "real" now pervades her artistry. With incredible attention to detail, she dissects the essence of presence, the tangible evidence of existence, and the struggle to portray "now HERE" instead of, perhaps, "nowhere."
"There's something about queerness in a small town," she explained, "I feel much more like I want to shout it from the rooftops." Now reunited with some of her older work, she's curious about the characters and what role they will play, the role that a chosen family plays in one's life.
Klebes mused, "I am still trying to find the balance of reflecting my life in my work," and continued, "I love painting. Period. I'm curious. I like people. It's what always comes back."
Mickey Stringer of of North East, left, checks in with Chris Virtuoso, volunteering on Saturday, May 12 at the Old Town Garage on South Center Street as a Climate Smart Task Force member. Stringer’s loaded pickup was part of a long line of vehicles along South Center as residents used the opportunity to dispose of air conditioners, mattresses, lumber, and other bulk items. Town Supervisor Christopher Kennan said he didn’t recall seeing such a long line of vehicles in past years.
Elm Drive Elementary School in Millbrook.
MILLBROOK — Preparing for the village-wide vote on the proposed 2025-26 school budget scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, the Millbrook Central School District held a public hearing on Tuesday, May 6, to review the budget and hear residents’ comments.
The CSD proposed 2025-26 budget to be voted upon as Proposition 1, showed total expenditures of $35,649,651, an increase of $1,074,576 (3.11%) over the current year.
“We’re trying to trim as much as we can,” said Elliott Garcia, Assistant Superintendent for Business, during his budget summary.
Two additional propositions are included on the ballot, both anticipating a bond issue to fund repairs, renovations and improvements to school buildings.
Proposition 2 would bring repair to the Middle and High School buildings, with more work at the middle school estimated to cost $37,381,383. Work would include HVAC, electrical, window replacement, roof and ceiling repair, elevator service and doorway improvements.
The high school work would include HVAC at a total estimated cost of $1,883,099.
The total amount would, however, be reduced by $12 million in currently available funding, so that a bond issue would be needed to cover a total of $27,264,482, to be repaid over a number of years. Taxpayers would need to pay the annual interest on the bonds during the life of the bonds.
Separate funding of energy efficiency improvements at the middle school and high school would carry at total estimated cost of $3 million that would also need to be bond-financed, but that funding would return to the school budget in the form of energy cost savings.
Proposition 3 would bring HVAC, electrical and window replacement at the elementary schools at an estimated cost of $21,779,259, also to be financed by bond issue.
Students from the Middle School Student Council presented a report on a recent survey they conducted and analyzed. Their report was titled, “Repair Our School.”
For their building conditions study, the nine students conducted an in-school survey of students, teachers and staff, receiving 228 responses.
Interpreting the responses as percentages, the students reported that 90% indicated that the middle school does not look as good as it could; more than 80% said they were concerned about the state of the building; 67% had classes interrupted by roof leaks; 75% said it was difficult to learn because of the roof leaks; and 94% said that if the school were their home, they would not stay.
“Our student government never stops working,” said Principal Steven Cabello, adding that the students’ efforts have been invigorating.
School superintendent Caroline Hernandez-Pidala praised the students’ project, the time and care invested in their survey study and their reporting of the results.
“I’m super impressed,” Hernandez-Pidala told the students.
The May 20 polling location is at the Middle School, in the Band room adjacent to the auditorium. Polls will be open between noon and 9 p.m.
The proposed budget, details of the propositions and a copy of the ballot are posted on the CSD website at www.millbrookcsd.org.
Voters in two other school districts will decide on higher spending plans for the coming school year on Tuesday, May 20.
Webutuck Central School District and Pine Plains Central School District propose higher K-12 budgets for the 2025-2026 school year.
The proposed budget for Webutuck, with an enrollment of 637 students from K-12, shows a 5.96% increase from the previous year to $28,665,850. Pine Plains proposes spending $38,712,336, an increase of 2.71%.
Ray Nelson, Earthwise Architecture, requested two variances for 7-9 Main St., one to allow a 9-unit floorplan and another to waive the parking requirements for the building, at a public hearing held by the village Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday, May 6.
MILLERTON — Ray Nelson of Millerton presented two possible updated floorplans for the apartment building at 7-9 Main St. to the Zoning Board of Appeals at a public hearing on Tuesday, May 6.
Nelson, on behalf of the building’s owner, is seeking two variances for the property: one allowing a density increase and another waiving the parking requirements for the property.
Village code requires at least 5,000 square feet of lot space per unit for multi-unit properties and 1.5 parking spaces per unit.
The building was configured with 12 units under previous ownership, a non-conforming use.
Nelson submitted a 9-unit plan and a 6-unit plan. He argues the 9-unit plan, which would house one fewer total bedroom than the 6-unit layout, would not require additional parking because the smaller units attract tenants that use fewer parking spaces — young couples, single people and very small families.
“There’s a need for apartments that are in the village,” Nelson said.
The submitted 9-unit floorplan is a reduction from a previously declined 12-unit plan that sought to maintain the current number of units in the property.
Zoning board members concluded the public hearing after brief discussion with the three Millerton residents that attended the meeting.
Zoning board members could not reach a final decision on the variances that night, citing required further deliberation, but they indicated a positive attitude to Nelson’s new plans.
Ralph Fedele with Mary Leitch, 103, who attended the one-room Irondale Schoolhouse until it closed and she moved on to Millerton High School.
MILLERTON — The Irondale Schoolhouse will celebrate its opening day on Saturday, May 24, when it will ring in its eleventh summer season with the old school bell.
Lemonade and cookies will be provided for visitors. A history exhibit is on display inside the schoolhouse and there will be a formal unveiling of a plaque commemorating membership in the Country Schools of America, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the memory of country schools.
The Irondale Schoolhouse is an 1850s one-room schoolhouse that served the Irondale community until 1930. It was moved in 2013 to Millerton to serve as a public information and visitor center managed by the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse.
The Schoolhouse will be open throughout the summer on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A team of docents will be on hand during these times to share knowledge and stories of early rural education At irondaleschool.org a short video shows how the Schoolhouse was rescued from destruction, carefully restored, and moved to its present location.
Over the years, under the leadership of Ralph Fedele, the Irondale Schoolhouse Board has worked to maintain the building, staff the docent team, and host special children’s events.
It also has raised for annual local school scholarships. This year, $2,000 awards will be given out to each of two winning applicants.
Some of this year’s activities include:
— Wednesday, May 14, and Thursday, May 15: Webutuck School Students field trip — “A Day in the Life of a One-Room School”
— Sunday, June 8: National Children’s Day/Ice-Cream Social & Hoola-Hoop Competition
Board members of the Friends of the Irondale Schools House are: Catherine Fenn, President; Claire Goodman, Vice President; Dick Hermans, Treasurer; Shannon Olsen, Secretary; Ralph Fedele, President Ex Officio, Docent; Rob Cooper, Maintenance; John Brunese, Scholarship Program; John Hicks, Docent; Lisa Cope, Communications & Events; Alicia Sartori, Communications; Stone Scasso, Maintenance.