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A wall of "95" art.

This blog rarely gets to venture into New York City, but here’s something I have to mention. Former Fairfield Weekly writer/photographer Sean Corbett curated the “95 Artists” exhibit at Umbrella Arts in the East Village this summer and it closes next week, but not before they hold a benefit 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28.

From the Facebook invite:

The show includes 77 pieces in all media from over 45 artists living and working along the entire length of I-95. We’ll have a $5 donation at the door, live music, drinks, snacks, great art work from all over the American East Coast, snazzy tshirts and good people.

Featuring video work by Aaron Berman and live animation footage by Die…ter Puntigam projected in the rear outdoor “garden”…

…and musicians: 95 Artist Nick Shifrin, the Tyler Trudeau Attempt (acousic), others TBA…

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Greetings from New London

Coming up quickly is “Greetings,” the 10th aniversary exhibit of the Hygienic Artists in Residence, featuring works by the new and former members of the co-op.

I keep mentioning the Hygienic to my friends and mostly get blank stares.

The Hygienic Building was built in 1844 as a rooming house for whaling sailors and in 1922 the first floor became the Hygienic Delicatessen and Restaurant, New London’s only 24-hour eatery. Flash forward to 1979 and the Annual Hygienic Art Show, “New London’s only winter tourist attraction,” was begun. While the building was closed in 1985, the show lived on each year, and in 1998 the show founders finally were able to buy and retrofit the building into four galleries and six artists’ residential studios. (It would have been a parking lot otherwise, according to their narrative, which also includes bios of the artists participating in “Greetings.”)

The newly renovated building opened in 2000 and has been a “mecca for artists and a model for bringing artists as residents into a declining city center spurring residential revitalization throughout the whole of the New London city center.”

The opening reception is Friday, Sept. 10 from 7-10 p.m. The show runs through Saturday, Oct. 9.

More on the Connecticut art scene on my blog.

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The Brooklyn Museum

If you’ve been meaning to visit the Brooklyn Museum, now is a good time go to if you’ve been watching “Work of Art” on Bravo. (If you live in Connecticut, I recommend the subway.)

Hey, you’ve committed to this program, for better or for worse, all summer. Cap it all off with a visit to the exhibit of Abdi’s work, which was one of the prizes accorded the winner, and enjoy seeing his sculptures and paintings in person — knowing more about the person and his process than you might know about the more formidable works in the collections.

Then consider whether the museum did the right thing in allowing its rooms to be let out as a prize in a reality show. It’s a raging debate. I could be wrong, but I’m very pleased to see a major institution take such a populist approach to art — particularly when the artist is so talented.

More about Abdi and the show on my blog.

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Linda Peduzzi, Oil on Board, "Rock Birds"

The Expressiones Cultural Center in New London has a friendly art opening 5 p.m. Friday.

Alyce Trebra, Linda Peduzzi and Guido Garaycochea show their recent works created with intimacy, between friends. The exhibition, called “A Trio of Friends,” runs through Thursday, Aug. 19.

New London is poised to be the next big art hub in Connecticut. Look at the Hygenic around the corner.  I have a really good feeling about Expressiones, which seems to value beauty in art and public engagement in its philosophy.

Expressiones, which has a storefront gallery and class space on State Street, is a not-for-profit that promotes Latin American cultures in southwest Connecticut.

More on the Trio exhibit here.

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Technobabble by Ronnie Rysz

The 22 Haviland St. gallery’s Facebook page has a particularly nice image of New Haven artist Ronnie Rysz hanging his work in preparation for “Losing All Touch.”

This past Sunday’s Pulse had a nice lead story by Scott Gargan about Rysz and his work. The article describes how the artist linked themes of alienation with our mass addition to modern technology.

For an artist under 30, Rysz certainly takes a dim view of technology. Ironic I found this photo on Facebook.

Gargan provides the following bio: Born in Stamford in 1982, Rysz earned a fine arts degree from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art in Old Lyme, where he was an assistant to master printer James Reed of Milestone Graphics. After graduation, he taught at Western Connecticut State University and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking. He is a prosthetic artist for Alternative Prosthetic Services in Bridgeport.

The opening reception is tomorrow in Norwalk. Turn off your cellphones and go.

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By Ricky Mestre for the White show.

Chase Davis and Janelle Gordon are promoting something called the Spectrum of Colors Art Exhibit. Each week is a different exhibit keyed to a different color, in a different location.

First up, Eileen Walsh is lending her space at the Gallery at Black Rock for the  “Gray Show,” will be focused on written pieces and art showcasing “the power of words.” Friday, Aug 6, 6-9 p.m. RSVP here if you have a Facebook account.

The we go black at the City Hall Annex. Patrons are also asked to wear black. Thursday, Aug. 12, 6-9 p.m.

The third show is the White show. It’s at the NEST, which is marking a temporary return as an art space. This will be the adult show with fashions and art emphasizing erotica, sensuality and nudity. Friday, Aug. 20, 6-9 p.m. You have to be 18 years old to get in. Bring smelling salts.

The fourth show is for red, at the 51 Crescent Avenue gallery, Friday, Aug. 27, 7-10 p.m.

Read my blog on art and design in the Northeast here.

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The sculpture grows and grows.

I first noticed the Starn twins three years ago when my parents too me to the Noyes Museum near my hometown. I expected the Noyes to have carved ducks and provincial crafts, and indeed it does, but I was blown away by the scope of these local-boys-done-good.

I don’t hear too much about South Jersey people who leave and excel at something, although I’m sure it happens. It certainly did with Doug and Mike. Today they have a huge studio in Beacon, N.Y., an artists’ cluster in the lower Hudson Valley. Their project is being replicated on the roof terrace of the Metropolitan Museum of Art where a bamboo structure overlooks Central Park.

More about that here, plus some links.