About 50 works - from a delicate ceramic vessel to a 350-pound marble piece - will be part of the National Sculpture Society 2006 Annual Awards Exhibition at Fairfield University's Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery running from Thursday, Sept. 21, through Sunday, Dec. 10. An opening reception with some of the artists will take place on Sept. 21 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Open to NSS fellows, sculptor members and associates, the 73 ^rd annual juried exhibit features works from across the country. Connecticut artists featured are: Alice Sue Chism and Jeremy Davis, both of Old Lyme; Janice Mauro of Redding; Lisa Nonken of Hebron; and Virgil Oertle of East Lyme. After the exhibition at the Walsh, the pieces will travel to the Rainey Sculpture Pavilion at Brookgreen Gardens in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

"This exhibition was met with such tremendous academic and community success at Fairfield University in 1991, we decided it was time to bring it back," said Diana Mille, Ph.D., director of the Walsh. "It will certainly complement the many of the Visual and Performing Arts courses being offered at the University, as well as offering an unique opportunity to see large scale sculptural works by contemporary artists outside of the museum setting."

The National Sculpture Society is the oldest organization for professional sculptures in the United States. Master sculptors and architects including Daniel Chester French, Augustus St. Gaudens, Richard Morris Hunt and Stanford White founded the NSS in 1893. The non-profit organization promotes excellence in figurative and realist sculpture and its membership numbers about 4,000. Current members are represented in museum, corporate and private collections and have contributed public sculptures across the nation.

The exhibit will be on display Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (203) 254-4000, ext. 2969.

Posted On: 08-24-2006 10:08 AM

Volume: 39 Number: 16