KAREN WATSON'S exquisite collaged writing table dominates the entrance to TABLE MANNERS

JOHN PAQUETTE'S 'DUOMO' table, assembled in reconstructed woods is available in many color combinations of 'naturals', stains, and blacks. 21"x21"x27"tall, $350.

" TABLE MANNERS" Our new exhibit...a group show of 25 artists...Will open on DECEMBER 17th, from 4 to 6 PM, with a holiday party. The show will continue into February; closing day is on Feb. 13th.

Artists have created 2-D and 3-D works that derive from 'Tables'...Still-Lifes, Table-Tops, and TABLES as furniture and sculpture.

Here's our Artist list, alphabetically:

Donna Baldassari, Suzanne Barnes, Emile Bellott, Sheila Boss-Concannon, Allan Brockenbrough, Joseph Capachietti, James Chisholm, Eva Cincotta, Karyl Hayes, Law Hamilton, Michael Hamilton, Marcia Hermann, Mark Hoffmann, Josie Lawrence, Fred Lynch, John Paquette, Michael Pasquale, David Piemonte, Terry Slater, Laura Elkins Stover, Karen Watson, and Alan Witschonke.

MARYLIN HAFNER CHILDREN'S BOOK ART RETROSPECTIVE,

October/November 2009
Marylin Hafner - Illustrator, created thousands of elegant and rather nutty drawings for miriad publishers and authors--most notably for Cricket and Ladybug magazines, and award winning children's books.
Her ink and pencil line-control was perfectly paired with each story's whimsey, and she had a brilliant hand with watercolors.

But Marylin herself said, "my best work has been an enormous output of Unsolicited Mail"...so as a tribute to her indefatigable inventiveness and relentless challenges to the Post Office, we presented a keepsake collection of her treasured* letters and envelopes--an ephemera of Salutes, Sharings, gossamer affronts, and "Irritations" (her word), couched in an anglophilic prose of langorous trivia, frenetic opines, and outright silliness.

We sold many copies of our privately published book of some of her 'immortal' mailings ...see below for a preview pic. The books sell for $30.00, and I've mailed them out around the country for an additional $2. Contact me if you need a copy...
-Elissa Della-Piana

The Gallery Della-Piana

*Thanks, everyone.














That's Abby and Doug Newton on the left, Marylin's daughter and son-in-law, at the opening on October 25th. We had a wonderful crowd of Marylin's family, dear friends, editors, and art lovers. We served Halloween treats in honor of Marylin's favorite holiday!

Visitors were charmed and fascinated by "Room A," which was filled with her children's books and magazine art, but we heard shrieks of laughter from "Room B," in which hung the exhibit of her outrageous illustrated mail!

The Gallery Della-Piana is located at 152R Main Street, Wenham MA, 01984. (978)468-1944. We are open from 11-6 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and on Tuesdays by appointment only. You can contact us at edpgarden@yahoo.com.

A Quick Tour of the Equine Show Installation, On View in the Gallery!

JOHN FLYNN's masterful oil of Hunt Riders...

the first artist to greet you

when entering the Gallery.

In the background (left to right) are

ANNA 'PANSY' HALEY's "White Mare"

and MARILYN FALLON's "Foal with Lightning Bolt."

Our featured Beverly artist and poet, JACK MURRAY, during a visit to the Gallery, stands in front of his on-the-spot rapid drawings. The two drawings on the right, one in dry brush and the other sketchbook page in graphite, briefly demonstrate his control and his command of both horse anatomy and the kinship of the rider to the horse.

Views of installation in the two lower rooms (we call these rooms A and B) give a snapshot of some of the eighteen artists in the show...ANNA 'PANSY' HALEY, EMILE BELLOTT, JOHN FLYNN, JACK MURRAY, and LAURA ELKINS STOVER.

OLDER POSTS...our History, so far.

When you have time - hit the "older posts" button at the end of a column and scroll through our history of exhibits. We keep a virtual tour of each installation...so you can see how the Gallery is re-designed for every exhibit, to better present each theme and artists' point-of-view.

EQUINE BEAUTY, paintings and drawings of Horses and Riders

ALECIA UNDERHILL: "Palomino", oil on canvas
Opening day of our EQUINE BEAUTY exhibit saw over one hundred local horse--and art---lovers crowd into the gallery. Our usual two rooms became three, with the addition of "Room 3" on the second floor to accomodate for the huge number of pieces. For the opening, we also pitched the outdoor tent to try to cast a little more shade during the blistering heat (it wasn't much help!).
JACK MURRAY: Sketch, pen and ink on paper
At 5pm sharp, we introduced an informal reading of several of JACK MURRAY's poems, shared by the voices of James Turner and MaryClaire Wellinger. For the first time, in conjunction with this show, we've designed and published a keepsake book of MURRAY's poems, action drawings, and vintage photographs ($25, for sale in the gallery).
JOHN FLYNN: "Hunt Scene", oil on linen
We are also happy to report that the show had fantastic sales! The public reaction has been wonderful so far, and we can't wait to meet more horse and art lovers to prepare for a future show of the same theme.

Not a DAY goes by thatwe don't meet a new visitor or a new artist!
ANNA HALEY: "White Mare", giclée print on canvas

More views from our EQUINE BEAUTY exhibit, August-October, 2009

MARILYN FALLON: "Foal with Lightning Bolt", graphite pencil on paperTo mark the beginning of our second year, we opened of our tenth show:
"EQUINE BEAUTY: Art of the Field, Trail, and Paddock"...
EQUINE BEAUTY featured the work of eighteen artists from the North Shore and around the U.S., all of whom shared a passion for horses, working in oils, acrylics, graphite, ink, collage, wood-and-canvas sculpture, photos, and prints. Subject matter included exciting New England fox hunting and polo scenes, as well as peaceful observations of grazing horses and tranquil rides.
Featured artists included Jack Murray, an illustrator and poet from North Beverly, whose sketches and poems are drawn from memories of over thirty years of riding in New England; Emile Bellott from Beverly, whose photographs give viewers an intimate look into the world of the Hunt; Anna 'Pansy' Haley of Beverly and Wenham, whose oil paintings reflect the complex emotional and very lively views of horses; and Marilyn Fallon, an illustrator originally from Salem (now living in Florida) who creates breathtaking drawings based on her deep understanding of horse anatomy and behavior. Laura Elkins Stover of Topsfield paints The Hunt; John Flynn captures the classic New England huntsmen in timeless Oils; Olivia Clove is a self-taught painter who depicts the animals she loves in lively portraits; Fred Kepler has created powerful moments on canvas of the Myopia Polo Games; Alecia Underhill from Rhode Island was found at the Annual RISD Alumni sale with her oversized canvases and prints of unusual compositions; Renee Mallett and Vivian Earabino are local photographers who follow the horse Events and Trials, and join Laura Graf in the pursuit of elusive equine beauty; Cheryl Polcaro, printmaker from Montserrat as well as a Veterinarian, fascinated visitors with her out-sized monographs including a saddle, boots, and stirrup; her husband, Tom Polcaro, also from Montserrat draws with graphite powder to generate extreme subtleties; photographer Bill Wasserman has caught some elegant and romantic views of the horse both in the French countryside and his local Ipswich; John Paquette of Connecticut and Michael Pasquale of Boston - both professional architects - present their views of the horse in dramatically different ways...Pasquale suggests a Friesian Horse in abstract sculpture, while Paquette renders miniature drawings in pen and ink.
Several artists on display also included prints for sale.
* Fine "giclee" reproductions on canvas or art-papers, reductions of originals ready to frame, and sets of cards for mailing or framing. Most Photographers are prepared to offer further reproductions of prints in various sizes.

The Gallery is located at 152R Main Street, Wenham MA, 01984, and is open weekly from Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm, and Tuesdays by appointment. (978)468-1944.

Gallery Della-Piana Awarded BEST of NORTH SHORE

Coinciding with the First Anniversary of opening her Gallery in Wenham, Curator/Director, Elissa Della-Piana, was awarded the BEST ART GALLERY on the NORTH SHORE, by North Shore Magazine, in their 4th annual awards issue. The area designated encompasses towns from Melrose to Andover, Gloucester, Newburyport and Southern NH. "It's a special honor for our little town", said Della-Piana, "and I'm especially happy to let my Artists know that they are showing in the Best of the North Shore."

Elissa poses deliriously with her award and North Shore Magazine.

OUR RECENT SHOW...a little history

  "LITTLE ITALY" exhibit featured small artworks...all were memories or imaginings about Italy!

Our call-for-entries resulted in a really fun, and yet romantic 'trip' to the Old Country...included in the 46 artists and 100 works are oils, acrylics, watercolors, collages, photos, computer-generated images, encaustics, ink and pencil drawings, constructions in wire, tin, paper, glass, and ceramics...cartoons and classically romantic landscapes.

  Artists emerged from all the local and surrounding towns, and from Boston, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. 

Lexington collagist, Karen Watson, and Newburyport's Ann McCrea at the opening event.

  Sandra Venus of Wenham, who studied Architecture at RISD, displayed drawings of Etruscan and medieval Viterbo...a town somewhat north of Rome. Ann McCrea of Newburyport included several rich collages of images, papers, and gold, that celebrated the Etruscan, Venetian, and Umbrian essenses she treasures, and Hamilton resident, Diane Carnivale brought her native exuberance to her brilliant, explosive action-paintings of Tuscan landscapes.

Ann McCrea with her works.

  Boston artist, Lisa Angelini, known for her exquisite handpainted tiles, broadened her sphere to exhibit two elegant acrylic/collage pieces that honor 'il territorio' in unusual ways.

  Well-known Fine Artist, Greg Kitterly, has researched the actual formula for oil glazes used by Brunelleschi in the early Renaissance, to create amazing depths of color in his paintings of the Villa Adriana and the Volcano, Stromboli.  Fred Lynch of Winchester, who teaches a class in Viterbo every July, has included his sepia ink paintings of "non-views" around that ancient town...(as if there could BE any non-views!)

(from left) Painter Allan Brockenbrough, sculptor Jill Herrick-Lee, and director/curator Elissa Della-Piana, with guests.

  The Gallery also added some of Tomie dePaola's beautiful - and amusing - scenes from his famous "Strega Nona" books.

  One extremely whimsical piece that sold right away, was a Wire sculpture of a PIZZA, by Salem's Katie Stannard. An Italo-American Antipasto fantasy sculpture leaped directly from a cookbook...constructed in paper, by Pamela Braverman-Schmidt was a crowd-pleaser. And a popular exhibit that included works in Encaustic by Milisa Galazzi of Rhode Island entitled, "NONA" and "NONO", Donna Baldassari's oil Portrait of her beloved "NONNI", and Beverly artist, Alissa Watters' "CANNOLLO" imortalized on a plate.

Josephine Currie, photographer, and opening night attendees. (We estimated about 100 at the opening.)

Here are some of the Reviews that hit the local and electronic media...Wickedlocal News Media write-ups and reviews: KATRINA HART's pastel landscape, "Umbria", refers to the clear lake reflections of Italian cypresses that are a part of her Italian memories. Hart studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, and is one of the artists exhibiting at Gallery Della-Piana's 'Little Italy' show through July 18th.

Artist Allan Brockenbrough of Hamilton painted 285 nailheads in colorful acrylics to create the shimmering illusion of a sunset in Venice for a local art exhibit about Italy. Brockenbrough has exhibited more conventional works locally, but was inspired by the Gallery Della-Piana's theme,"Little Italy", to create this dimentional construction.  (see photo of Allan's "Sta Maria della Salute" in the righthand column...kind of a cross between Pointilism and Chuck Close...)

LITTLE ITALY EXHIBIT FEATURES SMALL ARTWORKS

Wenham artist Elissa Della-Piana hosts an art exhibit of her own works and 45 other New England artists' works that celebrate Italian themes, from romantic scenes to whimsical food sculptures. The "Little Italy" show,... features paintings, photos, sculptures, and collages from many Hamilton and Wenham artists.

Sandra Venus of Wenham, who studied Architecture, is exhibiting her delicate line drawings of ancient Etruscan structures of Viterbo, Italy. By contrast, South Hamilton's Diane Carnevale's exuberant and lush paintings of Tuscan landscapes are framed in dramatic Italianate carvings."...

Young Artists and Readers at the Tomie Show

Lots of Pic's of the TOMIE dePAOLA exhibit...School groups came to TOMIE's show, agape with wonder...this class brought art supplies to copy his work! The little prodigy in the blue dress is 3 years old.

We had such a great time at the Opening, and have seen more and more of Tomie's fans come in every day. Norman Laliberte came by to see Tomie and and tell us that they were studying art together years ago in NY. Tiny tots were star-struck, and grown women told their stories about reading his books as kids and now are reading his books to their own kids. Which is all only sensible...as the Power of Children's Books is phenominal. 

Happily, there are many collectors of Art, as well, and the thrill of owning a genuine page from one of Tomie's books is parallel to knowing that it will never be devalued!!

We saw almost every new book we stocked the Gallery with, "fly-out-the-door", so had to reorder many more. The first to go were the STREGA NONA Pop-Up books, which are (in Editors' lingo) "over the moon"!

Kids get down to work on their Tomie art...

She was fascinated by Tomie's Fruit Trees...

The Three-year-old is reproducing his Watermelon - which is behind her!

The session ended with a Reading, and the kids sent their art to Tomie for his "collection".

Tomie dePaola Opens in Wenham, April 4th