A Very Special First Friday Celebrates Pember Museum’s Collection
March First Friday at the Pember explores creatures of the natural world represented in the Museum’s galleries through the eyes of the artist.
Featured artist Christopher Smith, in his third exhibition at the Pember, will be showing his excellent graphite drawings of Pember Museum specimens exclusively for this show. Smith says that the museum is an endless source of inspiration and ideas for him. “Every specimen is a living story of nature,” mused Chris. This is an on-going project; a culmination of several years of study at the museum which shows no signs of ending any time soon.
“As long as there are animals and skeletons to be found here, I will be drawing them,” asserted the artist. The Pember collection is large – one of the largest natural history collections in New York state – so Smith isn’t likely to run out of material any time soon!
“Art helps us to see familiar things in new ways” offered Pember Trustee Robert McGuire, “and that is especially true for these drawings. Smith will be on hand to demonstrate his art by drawing from a specimen. This is a show not to be missed.”
Primarily an oil painter producing still lifes, land/sea/cityscapes, and portraits, integrating realism with an expressive, modern, painterly approach, Chris is a graduate of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, and has also studied in Rome, Italy. He has exhibited extensively throughout Vermont, New York and Connecticut, and his work is in several private collections.
For your musical entertainment, Jeff Anderson and Tom Behan of the High Peaks Bluegrass Band, a high energy combo, will be performing classics from the Bluegrass, Gospel & Old Time genres.
First Friday takes place on March 9, from 7-9 pm and is a free event.