RECEPTION: Wednesday, April 7^th,  6:30pm

ARTIST INTERVIEW AND DISCUSSION: Wednesday, April 7^th, 7:30pm
Paul Graubard will discuss his long career and Pittsfield’s development in conversation with his wife and poet, Karen Chase, moderated by gallery co-owner, Donald Clark

CLOSING CONVERSATION: Saturday, May 8th, 5:00 pm

With the artist and Ute Stebich, expert in Haitian and outsider art, and Director of the Ute Stebich Gallery, Lenox, 1990 – 2004

Stories from the Bible and Other Places is a show of both recent and older works by artist Paul Graubard of Lenox MA. The work, created in acrylic paint, fabric, paper and objects arranged on canvas and wood, depicts personal experiences, ethnic traditions and Biblical stories. Like other Folk and Outsider Artists, Graubard employs rich colors and simple forms in complex compositions to create narratives built from a straightforward aesthetic and process. “Like dance and music, painting requires rhythm and flow, movement, action and tension. I work to make my paintings twirl and surprise,” says Graubard. “There is a Chassidic belief that one can thank the Lord for the gift of life and its bounties by singing, dancing and engaging in joyful creation. This philosophy is a guiding force behind my paintings. My work comes out of a need to celebrate life. This in turn is inspired by my experience of marriage, the Sabbath and Festivals. The spirit is universal.”

Graubard’s upbringing in a traditional Romanian household and his interests in music, religion, fantasy and folk stories are the subjects of his paintings. Not formally trained as an artist, he worked as a teacher, professor, and a psychologist until abandoning his practice and working as a painter full time. In 2000 he participated in a residency at the Vermont Studio Center and in 2004 traveled to Delhi, India for a residency with the Sanskriti Foundation which impacted his paintings immensely.

Paul Graubard’s mixed media paintings have been exhibited extensively throughout the Northeast in group and solo exhibitions including the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. This is his first solo show with Ferrin Gallery.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GRAUBARD.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FERRIN GALLERY.

Here’s the break down of what when down:

ARTIST: Jason Houston Spoke about works on display “Family of Mine” and “Food & Farm”

DINE: The Market provided locally sourced tasty eats from Clover Town Baker, Pittsfield, MA, Equinox Farms, Housantonic MA, Ioka Farms, Hancock, MA, Czajkowski Farms, Westfield, MA, Woodstock Farms, Woodstock NY, Holiday Farms, Dalton MA

DISH: MaryAnne Davis functional porcelain tableware from just over the border in Chatham, NY graced the table

WHO CAME TO DINNER?

Paul Graubard who will be having a solo showing at the galley, Stories from the Bible and Other Places,  March 13th – May 8th; Noted photographer, author and documenter of Pittsfield’s own Colonial Theatre renovations, Nicholas Whitman;  Project Art Resident Artist  Gerit Grimm on visit from Germany, the ever present paper cutter Eric Drury; Watercolorist, June Ferrin; and Performer/Farmer Billie Best of  Crazy Wife Farm.

“Art and life come together at a table. Using handmade dishes to set a table provides the opportunity to express private creativity: ephemeral and memorable. The social fabric, the relationships built one meal at a time becomes the real art and the meal has an energy of a higher order. Conversation is magic, bringing each individual at the table into a personal bond.”

Jay Elling pics coming soon!

Stay tuned for upcoming Dish & Dine @ Ferrin!

RW