FALLS VILLAGE, Conn. — When the “Shape+Color+Movement” art exhibition opens at the David M. Hunt Library on Saturday, March 11, it will feature the work of artists, David Crum, Joel Foster and Richard Griggs.
The exhibit has been on hold for quite a while; it first was planned almost three years ago, but was interrupted by COVID-19. Now the artists are getting ready for their long-delayed opening.
Crum, who lives in Millerton, and is self-taught, derives his style from inspirations such as de Kooning, Frankenthaler and Pollock. He allows his paintings to speak for themselves: “They are open to suggestion.”
Foster works in large format, possibly a reaction to becoming legally blind in 2008. This is a result of a genetic condition called Stargardt disease, which blocks all central vision. As a younger man, he was also a printmaker and fabricated large metal sculptures for public spaces. He painted houses, mostly Victorians, in all their colors.
At his studio in Wassaic, Foster has developed a method of working through his blindness; he uses tape to achieve the lines and patterns of his works, something he admitted to never doing when he painted houses. Foster works with architectural and abstract forms as well as intricate patterns.
Foster has exhibited expansively, including at RE Institute in Millerton in 2015; the Seti Gallery in Kent in 2011; the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, the New York State Museum in Albany; and pop-up shows at Open Access Disability in Soho in connection with the Museum of Modern Art. Having attended SUNY Purchase, he also studied under Tal Streeter and Murray Zimilies. He is the recipient of an A.R.T. (Artists Resource Trust) Fund grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. He is a member of the Blind Artists Society.
Griggs, of West Cornwall, has worked for more than 20 years collecting used items and instilling in them new life in the form of art. Griggs is a kinetic artist known as the ThingMaker, working under kinetic sculptor Tim Prentice.
The opening will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. with works on display and all three artists available for chatting. For more information, go to www.huntlibrary.org or call 860-824-7424. The show will run through Friday, March 31.
