J. McLaughlin Hosts 3 Local Artists
When is a store not just a retail space? When it’s also a bit of an art gallery. Three well-known and accomplished local artists—Helen Shulman, Lia Rothstein and Paulette J. Werger—are showing their work at J. McLaughlin, a clothing store on Main Street in Hanover.
Helen Shulman relishes the opportunity to bring art into the thick of Main Street commerce. “As an AVA artist and board member, I feel strongly about bringing the community to art and art to the community. Showing at J. McLaughlin offers a wonderful opportunity to exhibit in a warm and lovely setting in Hanover. It reflects an aspect of AVA’s mission and also demonstrates J. McLaughlin’s commitment to integrate its stores into individual settings by exhibiting the work of local artists. I am proud to be part of this venture.”
Shulman works in oil and wax to produce abstract paintings that shimmer in the viewer’s eye and mind. She quotes Miro, and adds her own thoughts.
“I can't help but think of Joan Miro's comment ‘You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life.’ At the end I am hoping to present something that invites viewers to pause, take a deep breath and drop their shoulders. I hope they will ask not what it is but how it makes them feel.”
When prompted to speak about her own work, mixed-media artist Lia Rothstein commented on two pieces from her Linea series. “Both pieces are encaustic, India ink, and oil on wood panel. Looking at these pieces anew I am struck by how much I feel the darker one (photo, top) reflects how I feel during this pandemic: closed in and isolated yet hopeful for better days ahead. The more colorful grid (photo, just below) is full of hope by comparison.”
Paulette J. Werger has sustained her 25+ years commitment to her metals studio, teaching, mentoring, and with a great passion for creating community through art. She produces one of a kind jewelry, flatware, encaustic paintings and sculpture.
In her online bio, she credits her great-grandfather, a painter in the Hudson River School tradition, as an inspiration for her own career. But there were other, closer influences. She writes, “I also have a love for working with tools influenced by my Dad, who was a mechanic. The childhood activities of drawing and fixing things in the garage formed an interest and passion for metalsmithing. One of my favorite poems is “Ode to Things,” by Pablo Neruda, which has the line ‘I have a crazy, crazy love of things. I like pliers, and scissors.’ ”
This three-artist exhibition will run through the month of December at J. McLaughlin located at 33 S. Main Street, Hanover NH. Photos courtesy of the artists and of J.McLaughlin. My thanks to Sharyn Amberger for her help with this post.
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Susan B. Apel retired from a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.