Artist Suzanne Chamlin to exhibit at Fairfield University's Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery opening April 12

Artist Suzanne Chamlin to exhibit at Fairfield University's Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery opening April 12

The Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery on the campus of Fairfield University at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts presents "Painting the Landscape and Other Views," an exhibit of work by the noted artist, Suzanne Chamlin, opening Thursday, April 12, with a reception in the gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit runs through May 27. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public. Additionally, Chamlin will speak about her work at the brown-bag Director's Choice lecture on Wednesday, April 18 at 12:30 p.m. Admission to the one-hour lecture is $5.

Walsh Art Gallery director Diana Mille, Ph.D., recently likened Chamlin's painting style to the Tonalism Movement of American painting of the late 19th century. She described the specific intrinsic quality the artist possesses succinctly: "Suzanne's paintings have an incredible tonalist sensibility which she makes contemporary through her unique aesthetic conversation with nature."

The pieces included in the exhibition are both current paintings as well as a variety of work from the past. A selection of her drawings in ink and ink washes on paper will also be exhibited.

Asked about her choices of subjects, Chamlin said, "I choose subjects that are of interest to me aesthetically." She continued, "A personal connection grows out of my process of discovery, both of the content and of the materials that I am using."

It is important to the artist to paint her landscapes on site. She will often return to the same site or to similar locations for another work. She states, "Working on site, I make discoveries that inform my paintings." And she explains, "Having visual information directly in front of me, informs my process of thinking and responding...it influences my decisions about color and shapes."

The softer palette she uses nowadays has developed over time. She added, "I can work on variations and the content of the painting becomes as much about color, as it does about the actual 'scene.'"

Chamlin's work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., The Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven and the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City. She has had solo exhibitions at The Simon Gallery, Morristown, N.J. and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her paintings and drawings have been shown in group exhibitions at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, The Sideshow Gallery, Holland Tunnel Gallery, the Painting Center in New York City and the Jan Weiner Gallery in Kansas City.

Chamlin is assistant professor in Studio Art at Fairfield University and teaches Painting and Drawing. She received her M.F.A. from Yale University in 1989 and her B.A. from Barnard College in 1985.

She is a recipient of residencies at the famed artist colony, Yaddo, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Ragdale Foundation, Fundacion Valparaiso in Spain and the Edna St. Vincent Millay Colony.

The Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays. All exhibitions are open to the public and are free. For more information visit the website at www.quickcenter.com or call (203) 254-4000, ext. 2969.

Posted On: 03-20-2007 10:03 AM

Volume: 39 Number: 183