‘September’s Sunflowers’ is one of the features works in the New Elected Artists Show opening at the Lyme Art Association, Jan. 15.

OLD LYME — On Friday, Jan. 15, two new shows open at the Lyme Art Association (LAA).

The First Impressions Exhibition is a juried exhibition of the Association’s Associate Artist members, accomplished artists who have been successfully exhibiting in selective shows at the Lyme Art Association for a number of years. This exhibit will include a variety of media and themes: landscape, portrait, and still life paintings, as well as sculpture.

The New Elected Artists show in the Goodman Gallery will present work from four new Elected Artists. This year the Elected Artists welcome Michael Centrella, Jacqueline Jones, Susan Termyn, and Len Swec into this most selective and talented group of artists. Both exhibits run through March 11, 2021.

‘Foxglove’ by Betsy Barry is one of the featured works in the ‘First Impressions’ exhibition opening Jan. 15, at the LAA

“The Annual Associate Artists Exhibition highlights the range, creativity, and excellence of our Associate Artist members. This exhibition includes a variety of subjects, media, and styles: paintings or sculptures that capture the range of human emotion, the beauty and grandeur of the Connecticut landscape, or the personal objects and surroundings of everyday life,” notes Jocelyn Zallinger, LAA’s Gallery Manager.

She adds, “The New Elected Artists show in the Goodman Gallery promises to be impressive; our new class of Elected Artists is very accomplished.”

First Impressions and New Elected Artists are on view through March 11, 2021. Visitors to the LAA are asked to wear a face covering when visiting and practice social distancing.

The LAA was founded in 1914 by the American Impressionists and continues the tradition of exhibiting and selling representational artwork by its members and invited artists, as well as offering art instruction and lectures to the community.

The LAA is located at 90 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, in a building designed by Charles Adams Platt and located within an historic district. Admission is free with contributions appreciated. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment.

For more information on exhibitions, purchase of art, art classes, or becoming a member, call 860-434-7802 or visit www.lymeartassociation.org

Lyme Academy of Fine Arts has named noted painter Jordan Sokol (right) as its Artistic Director and Deane Keller Chair. His wife, Amaya Gurpide, an acclaimed artist, will also join the Academy’s faculty as the Director of Drawing.

OLD LYME: The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts has hired noted painter Jordan Sokol to be its Artistic Director and Deane Keller Chair. Sokol, who currently resides in the New York area, will be moving to the Lyme/Old Lyme area with his wife, Amaya Gurpide, herself an acclaimed artist, who will be joining the faculty as the Academy’s Director of Drawing.

In doing so, the two are part of a tradition of husband and wife teams at Lyme Academy that dates back to its founding when Elizabeth Gordon  Chandler launched the school with her husband and teaching partner Laci de Gerenday.  

“We received dozens of serious applicants from around the world for this role,” said new board chair Michael Thomas Duffy, who was part of the Artistic Director search committee.

Duffy continued, “The applicants included artists and teachers from Australia, Italy and throughout the US, and we then interviewed five finalists. The committee was unanimous in selecting Jordan and thrilled that Amaya would also bring her talents to Lyme Academy. This sets the tone for what is to come.” 

Sokol and Gurpide expect to assume their new responsibilities on Feb. 1, 2021 and will immediately begin planning the Academy’s programming for the summer and fall, anticipating a lifting of the COVID  restrictions that have hobbled in-person instruction globally since the onset of the pandemic.

The exact timing of their arrival depends in part on their ability to find a place to live, which is proving challenging  given the overheated housing market in Connecticut.  

The two were introduced to the Academy’s Board of Trustees and local supporters at a virtual Zoom  event hosted by Duffy. The online gathering featured celebrated artist T. Allen Lawson, who studied at Lyme Academy in the 1980s.

Lawson led a wide-ranging conversation with Sokol and Gurpide on art and painting that touched on their influences (Wyeth, Valasquez) and their vision for the future.

The Academy intends to matriculate a selective class of no more than 20 full-time students in the fall of 2021.

Sokol commented, “I’ve been teaching for the last 14 years at both the Florence Academy and now at the  New York Academy. I am looking forward to bringing all that I know to my position as Artistic  Director of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts. It is humbling to me to be following in the footsteps of the superb artists, who led and taught at the Academy in the past, including Deane Keller.” 

Founded in 1976 by esteemed sculptor Elisabeth Gordon  Chandler, the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is located in historic Old Lyme, Conn., which has been a vibrant center for the arts and artists in Southeastern Connecticut for more than 100 years. The Lyme Academy upholds the standard of a Classic Fine Arts education offering a variety of programs under the guidance of master  artists, who share a deep respect for both traditional and innovative forms of teaching. The Academy has been providing students with the necessary foundation and skills to develop their own unique visual  expression for nearly 50 years. 

Lyme Academy of Fine Art is located at 84 Lyme Street, Old Lyme Conn. For more information about Lyme Academy’s past, present and future, visit their website or call 860.434.5232.

OLD LYME — On Saturday, Dec. 6, the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts (LAFA) Board of Trustees and staff said farewell to long-time board of trustees chairman Stephen Tagliatela. The announcement of his retirement follows five years of service to Lyme Academy as he guided the former Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts (LACFA) through its separation from the University of New Haven. 

“Stephen has shown outstanding leadership during Lyme Academy’s most uncertain times. We are so fortunate to be able to move forward based on the solid footing he provided,” said Michael Duffy, newly-elected Lyme Academy Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  

In attendance was Connecticut State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd), who presented Tagliatela with a General Assembly Official Citation from the State of Connecticut. The Connecticut General Assembly recognized his five years as board of trustees chairman, his leadership and his advocacy for the fine arts.  

The Lyme Academy Board of Trustees unveiled a commissioned portrait of Tagliatela by artist, instructor and alumnus Rick Lacey, who is both a LAFA instructor and a LACFA alumnus. Lacey is also a member of the Lyme-Old Lyme High School Class of 2007.

Tagliatela, who is the owner of the Saybrook Point Inn, was also presented with the Elisabeth Gordon  Chandler medal for his service as Chair from 2015 to 2020. 

The board voted in new leadership confirming Michael Duffy as board chairperson, Laura Lee Miller as  Vice Chair and Lee Bowes as Treasurer. Ian Neviaser will continue his role as Secretary of the Board of  Trustees. A complete list of Trustee members is available at this link. 

Duffy commented, “We are grateful for what the board has accomplished over that past year in establishing Lyme Academy as an independent entity and are looking forward to re-establishing the Academy as a prominent Art  School and Center for the Arts.

He added, “We are currently engaged in a search for an Artistic Director for which  we have very strong candidates. In addition, we have just approved the search for an Executive Director, who will lead the business of the Academy.”

Duffy concluded, “We are very excited about the future,” 

Editor’s Note: Lyme Academy of Fine Arts located in Old Lyme, Conn. was founded in 1976 by esteemed sculptor Elisabeth Gordon Chandler. The historic town of Old Lyme has been a vibrant, national center for the arts and artists for more than 100 years.

Lyme Academy upholds the standard of a Classic Fine Arts education offering a variety of programs under the guidance of  master artists, who share a deep respect for both traditional and innovative forms of teaching. The  Academy has been providing students with the necessary foundation and skills to develop their own unique visual expression for nearly 50 years. 

For more information about Lyme Academy’s past, present and future, visit the Academy’s website.  

Musical Masterworks Artistic Director Edward Arron will play the cello in the Beethoven works being performed live in a December concert and also recorded for release to ticket-holders in January. Photo by Hak-Soo Kim.

OLD LYME — Musical Masterworks celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birthday in December when Edward Arron, Artistic Director and cellist, along with his colleagues James Ehnes, violin;  Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; and Che-Yen Chen, viola, will perform three string quartets by Beethoven, spanning nearly 30 years of his life and demonstrating the full arc of his remarkable compositional evolution.

This performance will be filmed in mid-December and the link to the virtual concert will be made available to ticket buyers Jan. 2, 2021.  The video can be enjoyed for three weeks and watched as many times as one wishes. 

Ticket holders will be able to experience Musical Masterworks in a whole new way. The group’s audio-video production team will create an intimate concert experience, providing a virtual front row seat featuring the performers’ artistry.

Edward Arron shared his thoughts about this concert, “We are honored to dedicate this performance to the great master. While under current circumstances, we are not able to reconstitute the full cycle of quartets that we had planned for last spring, we are delighted to provide this fascinating window into the extraordinary compositional mind of Beethoven.”

In 2021, Musical Masterworks will welcome back many favorite artists, including Rieko Aizawa, Todd Palmer, Jeewon Park, Randall Scarlata, Gilles Vonsattel, and Tessa Lark, featuring music from Bach to Corigliano.

Musical Masterworks’ season runs through May 2021.  To purchase a video mini-subscription ($100 each), individual video tickets ($40 each), or student tickets ($5 each), visit Musical Masterworks at Musical Masterworks at www.musicalmasterworks.org or call 860.434.2252.

The display stand at ‘The Bowerbird’ featuring signed copies of Old Lyme resident Ron Breault’s book, ‘Voyaging with Marionette.’

OLD LYME — Signed copies of Ron Breault’s book, Voyaging with Marionette, are now on sale at The Bowerbird in Old Lyme. Breault is a resident of Old Lyme and his book is being marketed as prt of the store’s “Local Author” series.

Visit this link to read a wonderful review of the book written when it was published by our regular book reviewer here at LymeLine.com, Felix Kloman.

Voyaging with Marionette records the 25 years of life experiences Breault shared with his boat.

Those of you who have rescued/restored or built your own boat, fully understand the special relationship that develops — how the two of you meet when the expected/hoped for experience and goals are the main menu.

The dessert is those experiences not expected — a mostly unspoken conversation, motions and sounds as you sail along — the understanding between you of what you can do and have done together. It is also the places visited and interesting people you meet, which, in turn, bring a new dimension to your life.

This book is a collection of those stories demonstrating what can be done as one gets older, which opens doors, motivating and sustaining new and stimulating opportunities. It is also a reminder that life is a continuing, expanding experience … if one just makes the effort.

‘Filtered Light’ (oil on aluminum) by Janine-Robertson is one of the featured pieces of artwork in ‘Deck the Walls.’

OLD LYME — The Lyme Art Association’s annual member show and sale, Deck the Walls, featuring more than 200 works of art in all themes, sizes and mediums, opens Friday, Nov. 27. All the artwork is appropriately priced for holiday gift giving.

The show and sale continues through Jan. 7, 2021.

‘Montmartre Memories’ in oil by Sarah Stifler Lucas is one of the featured paintings in the ‘Deck the Walls’ show on view at the Lyme Art Association.

The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.

The Lyme Art Association is located at 90 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, at the corner of Halls Road.

For more information, call (860) 434-7802 or visit lymeartassociation.org.

The Fairy House outside Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall.

OLD LYME — Take a stroll down Lyme Street this month, look very carefully and you will see all kinds of mystical, magical Fairy Houses tucked into trees, fancifully formed against fences and lingering on lawns.

Find this fairy House is at 30 Lyme Street.

This little piece of wonderment has come about because, through Oct. 28, a variety of businesses, nonprofits, and private residences on Lyme Street has chosen to participate in the 2nd annual “Fairy Doors on Lyme Street.”

The Fairy Door at Lyme Art Association is exquisite.

There are 14 fairy doors on the grounds of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts (LAFA), created by Region 18 students and LAFA alumni.

Another 16 fairy doors can be found along Lyme Street and all the fairy doors can be seen from the sidewalk.

See this masterful creation by Tammi Flynn at EF Watermelon.

This wonderful fairy dropped into Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds.

Olivia Denison and Alexandra Vasquez Dheming were New York City roommates working in the theater industry when COVID shut down their work.

‘Meigs Point, Hammonasset’ in oil by Tom Adkins is one of the signature paintings in the ‘Land and Sea’ exhibition.

OLD LYME — This fall the Lyme Art Association (LAA) presents Land and Sea, an exhibit of outdoor scenes; landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes and backyard-scapes. Art of varied media and styles, all from LAA member artists, will be presented in the historic, sky-lit galleries through Nov. 19.

“We are grateful for the great outdoors right where we are,” said Executive Director Laurie Pavlos, continuing, “The open air that makes visiting safer and the beautiful vistas that calm our anxious hearts.”

She added, “But we miss traveling to see new scenery, climates, and topography. Land and Sea is a response to these impulses; we hope that our visitors enjoy spending time in the gallery this fall appreciating the great outdoors.”

The LAA is located at 90 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Conn. in a building designed by Charles Adams Platt and within the town’s Historic District. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, and by appointment.

The Association was founded in 1914 by the American Impressionists and continues the tradition of exhibiting and selling representational artwork by its members and invited artists, as well as offering art instruction and lectures to the community.

Admission is free with contributions appreciated.

For more information on exhibitions, purchase of art, art classes, or becoming a member, call 860-434-7802 or visit www.lymeartassociation.org