By CHRISTOPHER ARNOTT | carnott@courant.com | Hartford Courant
Three dozen artists from around the country, including six from Connecticut, have contributed to “QUEERwerks,” a vibrant, expansive and wildly diverse Pride Month exhibit at Silvermine Galleries in New Canaan through July 13.
Even the more abstract, cartoonish and cinematic entries feel deeply personal. In their juror’s statement, curator/historian Stamatina Gregory begins by asking, “What makes a work of art queer?” then declares “I prefer to ask ‘What can queer art do?’” suggesting that queer art can create sites of recognition, affirm ways of being and belonging and imagine new relationships to the world.
As if sharing Gregory’s theoretical wavelength, the artists explore fantastical worlds of their own making (Libby Paloma’s puffy soft fabric-and-vinyl installation “Fertile Ground and New Growth: Dreaming in the Plant Realm”), fly flags (Emily Yurkevicz’s empowering “White Flag” series), project cool vibes (Lane Retmer’s video of a woman in a white suit bumping gracefully against walls and barriers) and raise a chuckle (Arden Henderson’s colorful pop designs “shoe decorations that got me through a bad week in september” and “ifeelgr8”).
The works deserve to be experienced at Silvermine Galleries, where they are artfully juxtaposed and emanate extra warmth and brightness. But if you can’t make it out to New Canaan, every item in the show is viewable on the gallery’s website at silvermineart.org.
The Silvermine Galleries are part of the Silvermine Arts Center at 1037 Silvermine Road in New Canaan.
