“Seeing is Being” is a show about awareness and moments of clarity – those rare moments when everything seems to stand still and one actually sees. The exhibition opens at New Canaan Library’s H. Pelham Curtis Gallery on September 21 and runs through November 5, 2017, with an opening reception on Saturday, September 23 from 3 -5 p.m.
The reception opens at 3 p.m. with a special, soulful dance performance of “In the Arms of Three,” performed by Sophie Graham of New England Academy of Dance. “In The Arms of Three” is choreographed by Ted Thomas & Frances Ortiz (Thomas/Ortiz Dance) and set to music by Francisco Tarrega & Enrique Granados. The piece shows a woman reflecting on three major relationships in her life, from the most tender and beautiful to the most difficult and detrimental. Following the performance, there will be a Q & A with the artists beginning at 3:30. All are welcome to attend.

These moments of “seeing” come to the three featured artists in different ways, yet carry the similarity of creating artwork that resonates with emotion and impact. For printmaker Deb Chaney, the moment is brought about by radical color and movement. Her luscious prints seem
to vibrate, each one to its own pulse. In Cris Xavier and Edhu Nascimento’s Windows series, the artists partially obscure the object to create a reveal, drawing and focusing the viewer’s attention. Their work announces that seeing is the point, not the view. In her collages, which she terms “Land Escapes,” Xavier pares it down even further by employing the barest of lines to liberate the view from itself, to literally allow the landscape to “escape” from the confines of landscape and be freshly experienced.

“Seeing is Being” is sponsored by the Art Committee of New Canaan Library, and is curated by Mary Moross and Micaela Porta. For additional information please contact Christle Chumney at 203.594.5075 or visit newcanaanlibrary.org.