Art Resource Association: Local artists strut their stuff

By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff – Published: November 20, 2009

For more than a decade, the Art Resource Association has been showcasing the work of its membership – a diverse bunch of central Vermont visual artists – often at Montpelier’s T.W. Wood Gallery & Arts Center.

“I think that this is the best ARA show that we have ever had,” Joyce Mandeville, the Wood gallery and museum’s director, said of the current exhibit there.

“It’s really a beautiful one. Sometimes there is too much work – there’s not enough white space to see the work and it ends up looking church jumble sale – but this is really beautiful show.”

This year, some 60 pieces by more than 40 artists, all from central Vermont, are on exhibit through Dec. 20 – just in time for holiday gifts. The works were selected by Ray and Jody Brown, owners of The Drawing Board in Montpelier, and important members of the professional art community.

“I think the show came together really, really well,” Jody Brown said. “The ARA members show is a wide range of skill level and subject and media.”

“I think what’s important about it is the variety of work it shows – by people all working today,” Mandeville added. “Some of these people are well known, been working for years. For instance, John Hoag is an adjunct at Norwich University in the art department; Frank Woods has been working for years.

“And there are other people who are going back to art after putting it aside for a while,” Mandeville said. “So there’s quite a range.”

“There are some really powerful pieces,” Brown said. “They’ve got some really accomplished artists and some really interesting work. It’s well worth going and seeing.”

The art was all brought to the Wood, and the Browns selected the works. It was then curated by Linda Maney, Melissa Storrow and Mandeville.

“It’s beautifully hung,” Brown said. “Ray and I had suggestions of how to do it, but the way they put really strong pieces with smaller pieces on each wall worked out really well, the way they mixed things up.

“I think it’s probably the best ARA show that they’ve had there,” Brown said, seconding Mandeville.

The purpose of the show isn’t just to showcase the artists, but to help sell the art.

“We’ve had ARA shows that sold extremely well,” Mandeville said. “We haven’t had any sales from this show yet, but it hasn’t been a good year for art sales, period. We just finished ‘The Figure and Beyond’ show and it was the first sales we’ve had all year – and we had good sales out of that.”

Mandeville added that there is wide price range, making many of the works very affordable.

“They’d make a wonderful holiday gift,” Mandeville said, plugging for the artists. “We’ve got everything from under $100 to well over $1,000.”

The ARA has long been an important part of the local arts scene. The collective of professional and amateur artists supports its membership by allowing the artists to show together. Montpelier’s City Center has hosted and continues to show a continuing ever-changing exhibit by ARA members.

“If artists think they’re too good to be part of the ARA, that’s not the case because they have some really powerful work in there,” Brown said, adding with a laugh, “And they qualify for a discount at The Drawing Board.”