Bert Gallery

Saturday December 1st, 2007 from 1-3pm
There is a one-day trunk show, Saturday December 1st from 1 – 3 pm of Bonnie Buck jewelry. Meet the artist and preview the new sterling silver and pearl designed jewelry by contemporary Providence artisan Bonnie Buck. Elegant, affordable and quietly sophisticated, Bonnie’s jewelry makes the perfect addition to your holiday shopping list. Holiday refreshments will be served.

About Bonnie Buck:
Bonnie Buck is an artist of many talents. But as a silversmith she has a special aptitude. In the late 1970′s she relocated to Providence. Originally from Ohio, Buck received a BFA from Ohio State University and went onto Rochester Institute of Technology to study at the School of American Craftsman. The result is a twenty year history as a metal smith traversing the commercial arena and the fine art world.

Artists’ Statement:
I enjoy the paradox of creating comfortable accessories out of hard metal by using shapes which compliment the human body, and by the use of fabric techniques in metal. The pieces are hammered, cast or crocheted, and move freely with the body. I am an artist who makes objects that are intended to be worn. The most common compliment is that, “Bonnie Buck’s work feels good on and is meant to function with the lifestyle of the individual who wears it.” I have worked extensively within the fashion and jewelry manufacturing industry making products for reproduction as well as creating special runway items for the NYC fashion market. My work is high fashion jewelry and accessories of original sophisticated style; work which exudes flair and originality. It is art, craft and fashion that has been transformed into wearable ornament.

Trunk Show of Bonnie Buck Jewelry
Saturday, December 1 from 1-3 pm

There is a one-day trunk show, Saturday December 1st from 1–3 pm of Bonnie Buck jewelry. Meet the artist and preview the new sterling silver and pearl designed jewelry by contemporary Providence artisan Bonnie Buck. Elegant, affordable and quietly sophisticated, Bonnie’s jewelry makes the perfect addition to your holiday shopping list. Holiday refreshments served.

About Bonnie Buck
Bonnie Buck is an artist of many talents. But as a silversmith she has a special aptitude. In the late 1970’s she relocated to Providence. Originally from Ohio, Buck received a BFA from Ohio State University and went onto Rochester Institute of Technology to study at the School of American Craftsman. The result is a twenty year history as a metal smith traversing the commercial arena and the fine art world.

Artists’ Statement
I enjoy the paradox of creating comfortable accessories out of hard metal by using shapes which compliment the human body, and by the use of fabric techniques in metal. The pieces are hammered, cast or crocheted, and move freely with the body. I am an artist who makes objects that are intended to be worn. The most common compliment is that, “Bonnie Buck’s work feels good on and is meant to function with the lifestyle of the individual who wears it.” I have worked extensively within the fashion and jewelry manufacturing industry making products for reproduction as well as creating special runway items for the NYC fashion market. My work is high fashion jewelry and accessories of original sophisticated style; work which exudes flair and originality. It is art, craft and fashion that has been transformed into wearable ornament.

Podcasts are coming soon! We promise. To view photographs from this event, Giclee in the Art Market, which took place on August 16th during Gallery Night Providence, please visit our Flickr site.

Thursday, September 20, 2007
6:30pm at Bert Gallery
Part of Gallery Night Providence &
the 2007 Taking a Look Series

Artists as couples pose one of the most complex of human psychological drama. They make Freud’s Oedipus complex seem like child’s play. Just think of international Abstract Expressionist artist couples such as Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner or Elaine and Willem de Kooning. Both couples are well recognized for their individual achievements but their personal and professional lives read like a Marilyn Monroe biography. Bert Gallery will exhibit two twentieth century artists couples in the September/October show Artists Who Marry Artists and explore the competitive, yet successful pairings of Rhode Island artist couples, Florence Leif (1913-1968) and Gordon Peers (1909-1988) along with Percy Albee (1883-1959) and Grace Albee (1890-1985). How did they negotiate home life and the world of art? Did they exhibit together or paint together? Does one artist dominate or influence the other? Visit the exhibition, look at their art and resumes to decide for yourself.

What about artist couples today? A September program will ask artist couples practicing in Rhode Island today to comment on their lives together. Artist couples include – Kenn Speiser, sculptor and Constance Brown, photographer; Jonathan Bonner, sculptor and painter Jacqueline Ott; and Craig Masten and Gail Armstrong, painters. All have been married many years and negotiated two careers in one household. Moderator, John Tessitore will lead a discussion among the couples about their successful marriages.

The program is in conjunction with the Bert Gallery exhibit, Artists who Marry Artists, on view September 4th through October 26th, 2007. Bert Gallery is located along the Providence waterfront at Corliss Landing, 540 South Water Street in Providence, Rhode Island. Open Gallery Night September 20th. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Friday from 11am–5pm, Saturdays 12-4pm or by appointment. Exhibits are free and open to the public.

About the Moderator & Panelists
John Tessitore is Executive Editor of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (New York City), and a Communications Consultant to the United Nations Development Programme and other UN agencies worldwide. From 1986 to 2001 he served as Executive Director of Communications of the United Nations Association, where he worked with the international media and diplomatic community. In 1995 he was Executive Producer of the feature documentary film “In Search of Peace: 50 Years of the U.S. in the U.N.,” narrated by Paul Newman and shown on over 600 Turner broadcasting stations nationwide. A native of Rhode Island (LaSalle ’69), John returned to his home state in 2002, where he appears as an “occasional contributor” to the editorial pages of the Providence Journal.

Kenn Speiser (married to Constance Brown) Born in New York City, Kenn Speiser has had a thirty-five year career living and working as an artist, sculptor, and printmaker in Providence, Rhode Island. With a degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, Speiser has an extensive background working on commissioned projects for corporations and public institutions from Miami, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts, and as far away as Finland. As an artist, Speiser’s primary interests lie in the discovery, alchemy and process, of transforming generally ignored and overlook common objects and materials into something thought provoking and beautiful. Kenn Speiser is currently working on a design project with a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts: www.safetyenvelopes.com.

Constance Brown (married to Kenn Speiser) After studying painting at Lake Erie College, Constance discovered the camera and never looked back. More importantly she discovered that there was a way to make a good living with the cameras that was still creative and challenging. Commercial photography. After attending the Art Center of Design in Los Angeles to further develop her skills and portfolio and a brief fling with Film and Hollywood (where she worked on two documentary shorts nominated for academy awards and one nominated for an Emmy) she came back and set up her own studio in 1977. Since then she had worked producing Executive portraits for many of the leaders of this community, annual report images, capability brochures and public relations work. She has developed a niche specialty working with politicians and in a political year is often “on the road” photographing various politicians during their campaigns including the last two Presidential Elections.

Jonathan Bonner (married to Jacqueline Ott) Jonathan Bonner has had over 40 solo shows and is represented in many public and private collections throughout the United States. The work includes sculpture, installation and works on paper. Bonner has also completed many large-scale site-specific commissions. Recently he has installed work at Nashua Street Park in Boston, the Colorado Convention Center in Denver and the Rhode Island School of Design Campus.

Jacqueline Ott (married to Jonathan Bonner) received an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She has exhibited extensively in the Northeast, participating in recent shows at the Miller Block Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts; the Danforth Museum of Art, Danforth, Massachusetts; risd/works, Providence, Rhode Island; and the Bernard Toale Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts among many others. She has received grants from the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts (Painting Fellowship, 2000; Artist Project Grant, 1991), the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work is in numerous collections, including those of the Newport Art Museum and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum.

Craig Masten (married to Gail Armstrong) is an award winning artist member of the Providence Art Club, Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Wickford Art Association, South County Art Association, Cape Cod Art Association, Newport Art Guild and Newport Art Museum. He has shown his work in numerous juried shows and exhibitions at these organizations, as well as at the DeCordova Museum, the Warwick Art Museum, the Newport Art Museum, BFA Studioworks Gallery, and Spring Bull Gallery.

Gail Armstrong (married to Craig Masten) received a Master’s from Rhode Island School of Design in 1980 and a BFA from Hartford Art School in 1972. She taught art for over thirty years, mainly at North Kingstown High School in R.I. Memberships include the R.I. Watercolor Society, Providence Art Club, Wickford and South County Art Associations, the Newport Art Museum, Newport Artists’ Guild and the Cape Cod Art Association. Gail has exhibited and received awards in numerous open juried shows, including “Best of Show” in “Scenes of R.I.-2005”, an exhibit sponsored by Governor Carcieri and the R.I. State Council on the Arts.

Thursday, August 16 / 6:30pm at Bert Gallery
In exploring the theme What is Original art? Is it a Giclee?, there will be a round table panel discussion examining the opinions of areas photographers and a digital printer. Rhode Island is home to many talented visual artists who pride themselves in being current on the latest developments in the art world. The introduction of “giclee” into the art market is a hot topic. Bert Gallery has assembled a group of artists, all photographers, to weigh in on their opinion of this process. Richard Benjamin is currently using digital printing for his work and Erik Gould dallies in all different photographic processes from silver gelatin prints, printing in the dark room to digital printing. Carmel Vitullo, who began her photography career in the 1940’s, lends perspective into the evolution of photography and developing images. Ted Pfeffer is actively working with many Rhode Island artists producing and managing limited edition digital photographs. Catherine Bert will moderate an open debate among the panelists and audience as to the pros and cons of this “giclee” process and whether it is a fine art process in photography, let along for the reproduction in the wider arena of watercolors and oils.

Moderator
Catherine Little Bert: Owner/Director of Bert Gallery, Inc.

Panelists
Carmel Vitullo: Rhode Island photographer
Erik Gould: Providence artist and the photographer for the RISD Museum
Richard Benjamin: Former Providence Journal photographer known for his photographs of RI, sold exclusively by Picture This Galleries.
Ted Peffer: President of io labs, a Pawtucket digital printing company

The program is in conjunction with the Bert Gallery exhibit “What is original art? Is it a giclee?”, on view July 10–August 24, 2007. Bert Gallery is located along the Providence waterfront at Corliss Landing, 540 South Water Street in Providence, Rhode Island. Open Gallery Night: August 16th. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Friday from 11am–5pm, Saturdays 12-4pm or by appointment. Exhibits are free and open to the public.

About the Moderator & Panelists
Catherine Little Bert, owner and director of Bert Gallery, has passionately researched and written on the subject of local artists since the gallery’s founding in 1985. She has served as Co-President of Gallery Night Providence and Chair of the National Advisory Board at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. She has consulted at exhibitions at the Fall River Historical Society, the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Newport Art Museum and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Carmel Vitullo is a local photographer who took most of her photographs in the 1950s, a time when photography was only beginning to become fully accepted as an art form. She grew up on Federal Hill and spend most of her life taking “Street Photographs” around Federal Hill, Providence, in Italy, and in Oakland Beach, California which are her most popular collections.

Erik Gould, in addition to being the sole photographer for the RISD Museum, supports his own artistic and commercial ventures at his photography studio in Pawtucket. He has presented his own work at countless exhibitions in the New England area.

Richard Benjamin began his photography career as publicity photographer for the Armed Forces Recreation Center. He worked at the Democrat & Chronicle papers and Newsday before settling at the Providence Journal in 1969. He started an early retirement in 1996 in order to pursue his passion for fine art landscape photography, specializing in Rhode Island imagery.

Ted Peffer has been the President of io labs, inc. in Pawtucket since 2000. The company presents services in Photographic, Fine Art and Display Imaging. He’s a former partner and Vice President of Concept Link Ltd, a printing company in Providence. He’s also worked for Faces Imaging and Charette ProGraphics. On the side he is a ceramicist and musician.