Opening Reception, Friday, May 8, from 6 – 8 PM @Five Points Gallery.

— Five Points Gallery presents three new exhibitions. In the Torrington Downtown Partners Gallery, Hugh O’Donnell’s paper cutouts reflect philosophical notions of nature. Stephanie Lanter’s ceramics work plays with themes of language and communication in the Torrington Savings Bank Gallery.  The West Gallery features four artists working with layered abstractions using elements of painting and collage.

Making the Cut – Torrington Downtown Partners Gallery

Hugh O’Donnell’s exhibition features a selection of painted paper-cutout collages, in which each cutout represents a potential prototype for a large-scale aluminum assemblage. These layered pieces fuse bold color, texture, and line quality into variable vortexes, inspired by the natural world and themes from philosophy. Hugh states, “internal components interact by pushing and resisting each other to attain a deliberate, reflexive, and occasionally playful equilibrium.” The titles of the selected works reference the calyx, the protective outer layer of a flower. This botanical metaphor underscores an ecological struggle inherent in the work. O’Donnell’s influence was reinforced by Goethe’s philosophy and his poem, The Metamorphoses of Plants, which refers to the organic growth of a plant and the blossoming of human love.

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Mixed Messages – Torrington Savings Bank Gallery

Stephanie Lanter’s ceramic and mixed-media works explore modes of communication, language, and emotion. Using unconventional manipulations of clay, Lanter extrudes spaghetti-like forms that reference messages that are warped, broken, and reconfigured, reaching a level below – or beyond – language. The visually represented language attempts to embody and expand phrases that resonate on both personal and socio-political levels. In conjunction with her other works, Lanter’s new mixed-media series, the Fearshare Project, documents public fears. Lanter states, “Wielding fear to unify rather than divide – to build rather than break down – is a powerful exercise in empathy. As many of the shared fears now become reality, I look forward to wrestling with this project with both the urgency and agency it requires.”

Mind, Heart & Body – West Gallery

This group exhibition pairs artists working through various forms of abstraction while playing with Layering, space, pattern, and color.

Cynthia Cooper uses pattern, repetition, and mathematics to create immersive works of art. Embracing contradictions, Cooper paints linear and curved lines along ordered systems that, in addition to randomness, contrast stillness with motion to form compositions that vibrate with tension. Her recent works on shaped canvas are inspired by the forms, color, and graphic motifs of insects, notably referencing the natural patterns revealed in dragonfly wings.

Nancy Hayes creates kaleidoscopic abstractions built from shifting patterns, shape, and color to express concepts rooted in both the physical and spiritual realms. Each painted element influences the next as she pieces these works together, much like building a puzzle. Hayes states, “As a writer does, I am building my own characters, their personalities, and the context in which they live. Just as a reader injects their own personal knowledge into a story, enriching the plot, my objective is to allow the viewer to explore their own visual narrative, enhancing the forms with their own imagination.”

Brian Kaspr investigates abstraction through typography, lettering, collage, and material exploration. The structure of words, letters, and language creates a framework to explore color, texture, and pattern. Letter fragments and negative spaces provide a familiarity that grounds the energetic and vibrant work. Kaspr states, “My artistic work has evolved from my time as a sign painter and designer. What originally drew me to sign painting and lettering was the craft and the look and feel of letterforms. Words and language are fascinating, but rather than convey a message, the letterforms are utilized as a means of mark making.”

Helen Kauder is a collage artist whose work aims to fashion new forms of dialogue between the past and present. Kauder incorporates elements from art history to convey representations of power and privilege through various juxtapositions. Cutting, stenciling, and carving of negative space, she layers new stories onto old objects. She also utilizes the recognizable Isometric Helix (aka French Curves) as a visual metaphor to bridge the past and present. Kauder states, “I contemplate the thoughts and aspirations of the makers and subjects being represented, the excesses, wars, and destruction that their cultures occasioned, and the potential futures that might be written arising from repatriation, restitution, and repair. My collages propose new truths, complicate notions of means and ends, and anticipate new narratives.”