Busy Week For SCAN: Two Shows Curated, One Extended

By Shannon Hicks

Members of the Society of Creative Arts of Newtown have been very busy this week.

In particular, Rosemary Rau and Marianne Scanlon have led the efforts to curate and hang two new shows, as well as add new works to a show that has had its run extended. All three shows are now on view until May 31.

The artists group is now presenting three shows in its “Art About Town” series. The first, with approximately two dozen works on view, is being hosted by Avancé Esthétiques Day Spa in Sand Hill Plaza. Spa owner Melanie Allen welcomed Ms Rau, Ms Scanlon, and two SCAN artists on Monday while they decided where the new collection would be placed.

Most works are in the hall leading from the front entrance of the spa, with one of Virginia Zic’s paintings gracing the mantel over a fireplace in the front waiting area, another pair of paintings in one of the treatment rooms, and a quirky sculpture by Robert Rabinowitz finding a temporary home on the front desk. Also represented in the show are Ann Marie Foran, Marianne Imhoff, Suzanne Molineaux, Barbara Saltman, and Amy Skillen.

Guests are welcome to view “Art About Town: Avancé Esthétiques 2012” whether or not they have a spa appointment. Call 203-270-8911 for details about visiting.

Also on view is “Art About Town: Stella Restaurant,” which marks a new venture for SCAN’s ongoing series of exhibitions. This is a new show in a fairly new location. Stella Restaurant & Bar, within Dolan Plaza at 213 Greenwood Avenue in Bethel, has been open for about eight months.

Mrs Rau was dining there a few months ago, she said this week, when she opened a conversation with one of the restaurant managers, “and one thing led to another,” she said April 3. When the pair agreed that the walls of the dining room and bar/lounge area — both relatively bare save for textured off-white paint — could use some art, Mrs Rau suggested a show by SCAN.

“Art About Town: Stella Restaurant” opened quietly this week, with nearly three dozen works spread between the two rooms in the sublevel restaurant. On view are land- and seascapes, figure studies and still lifes by five artists. Represented in this exhibition are Beverly Branch, Jeanine Greaves, Ms Saltman, Ms Skillen, and Ms Zic.

Restaurant co-owners Aqif Ramadani, Louie Selmani, and Rocci Selmani, as well as members of SCAN, will host an opening reception for the show — the first exhibition of local art at the restaurant — on Sunday, April 15, from 2 to 4 pm.

Commission derived from artwork sales during the course of the exhibition will benefit the Bethel Food Pantry via the Community Council of Bethel, said Mrs Rau.

Still Time For                                        Stone River Grille Show

Meanwhile, the SCAN curators were also at The Stone River Grille, 1 Glen Road in Sandy Hook, last weekend.

Originally scheduled to close on March 31, “Art About Town: Stone River Grille” is also now on view until the end of May.

Gary Seri, the owner of Stone River Grille, invited the local group to keep its work on view. Curators felt it would be even better if they “refreshed and extended” the presentation, said Mrs Rau.

The Stone River Grille show marked the third offering in the “Art About Town” series. Art by five members of the artists’ group — Pam Danneman, Adele Moros, Margaret Moss, Glen River, and Roberta Shea — had been hung on the second floor of Stone River Grille. Those pieces have now been joined by works by fellow SCAN artists Lee Brownell, Ms Molineaux, Ms Saltman, Marianne Scanlon, Ms Skillen, Mr Rabinowitz and Ms Zic.

Mr Seri announced this week that the commissions that come from the sale of any works from this show will be donated to FAITH Food Pantry. By last weekend that had amounted to more than $50 being donated to the nonecumenical pantry located at St John’s Episcopal Church, which can be seen from the southern windows of the eatery.

Nondiners are welcome, says Mr Seri, to visit the show any time the restaurant is open.