Check out this great review of Gar Waterman’s, A Pattern Language, and Tom Edwards’, Dreams and Shadows, in The Arts Paper: https://www.newhavenarts.org/arts-paper/articles/gar-waterman-and-tom-edwards-merge-the-shadows-of-the-past-and-present
From KLG….
February 13th — March 15th, 2020: Kehler Liddell Gallery presents: A Pattern Language, by Gar Waterman, and Dreams and Shadows, by Tom Edwards. The exhibitions open with a reception on Saturday, February 15th, 3:00pm-6:00pm, beginning with Artist Talks at 3:00pm.
In A Pattern Language, sculptor Gar Waterman uses wooden foundry patterns from the National Pipe Bending Company (NPBC) to take a fresh look at a vestige of New Haven’s industrial past. NPBC prospered for over 100 years on River Street in Fair Haven as a subsidiary of The Bigelow Boiler Company. Patterns were a key part of the cast iron production process, but orphaned by changing times and the exodus of manufacturing from the New England landscape. When NPBC closed, the company abandoned the building and left behind a stash of patterns in the attic. A classic example of artistic alchemy with the found object, the sculptures retain the pattern’s original patina of time, use, and color while endowing them with new life and meaning.
While Waterman’s works reimagine a piece of New Haven’s forgotten industrial past, Tom Edwards takes a look at what goes unnoticed in Dreams and Shadows. The artist states that his “primary concern is the visual development of images that describe dream-related memory and a nocturnal atmosphere.” Presenting five triptychs developed in the realm of twilight and moonlight, and another created around memories, Edwards pairs these with a group of etchings printed on plaster that are related to the current political climate around border walls. The created dichotomy begs the viewer to consider the multifaceted darkness the artist is investigating on both a personal and national scale.
Gar Waterman was born in Maine and grew up in Princeton, NJ. After graduating Dartmouth College, Waterman moved to Pietrasanta, Italy, where he lived for seven years and learned to carve stone. His sculpture combines observation of natural phenomena, sensual devotion to the tactile possibilities of material, and a model maker's tinkering sensibility. In 1996, the artist acquired an abandoned warehouse for $1 from the City of New Haven and transformed it into West Rock Studio, where he has lived and worked for the last 24 years.
Tom Edwards received a MFA from Yale University School of Fine Arts, majoring in painting and printmaking. He was awarded the Elizabeth Canfield Hicks Honorary Award in Drawing. He received a MA from Kansas State University, majoring in drawing and printmaking, where he also received a bachelor of architecture degree. Tom's work has been exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibits worldwide, and is held in numerous collections such as: Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Library of Congress (DC), National Museum of American Art (DC), Smithsonian Collection (DC), The New Britain Museum of American Art (CT), Baltimore Museum (MD), and The Boston Printmakers Permanent Collection (MA), to name a few.
Artist Talks are presented in part by ArtEcon Initiative (AEI). AEI is a neighborhood-based non-profit and an outgrowth of ArLoW (Art Lofts West). The primary mission of ArtEcon is to produce and support free, or low cost, arts and community programs for all ages in the Westville West-Rock neighborhood. Programming is made possible in part with support from the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, The New Alliance Foundation, The City of New Haven Mayor’s Community Art Grants Program, and the Pincus Family Foundation. www.ArtEconInitiative.org