BRATTLEBORO — On Thursday, Dec. 3, from 5-7 p.m., at Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main St., the public is invited to an opening reception for two new solo exhibitions.
Glass artist Josh Bernbaum, and painter and gallery co-owner Jim Giddings, will be showing new work in two separate solo exhibits. Both exhibits will be on display through Jan. 3. A combined artist talk is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m.
Giddings' work is as much about scraping off paint as it is applying it.
“By selectively leaving some paint and scraping or rubbing away other areas, I can retrieve the white paper surface and a lightness of feeling not unlike a successful watercolor,” he said in a news release. “Then I add more paint, then remove, then add.... I'm trying to have it both ways: depth and richness of oil paint and watercolor-like delicacy.”
Giddings' paintings have been widely exhibited and collected. He taught art history and studio art, and has painted professionally for 45 years while also working as an art handler, picture framer, and member of local art associations. Along with his wife, Petria Mitchell, Giddings founded Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts in 2014.
Bernbaum's art glass mesmerizes with its vibrant colors and surprising intricate textures within this traditional medium.
“I am most interested in color, especially color relationships in the works I create in blown glass,” he said. “Utilizing traditional glass cane (or striping) techniques in new and personalized ways is the driving force behind most of my current designs.”