Debut Show For A New Gallery

WOODBURY — When Woodbury Antiques & Fine Art opens its doors on the morning of Saturday, May 19, the recently-opened gallery will have one more thing to celebrate: The debut of art shows in its space.

“Matt Wood: Landscapes & Abstractions” will have its celebratory opening reception on May 19 from 1 to 5 pm. The gallery is at 473 Main Street South/Route 6 in Woodbury and can be contacted by calling 203-266-4753. Gourmet hors d’oeuvres will add to the festivities. The show will then remain on view until June 17.

Mr Wood studied painting and photography while on a swimming scholarship at University of Iowa. Upon graduating, he spent parts of the next five years traveling the United States, living out of his car and taking photographs and painting. Periodically Mr Wood would even bury groups of paintings in places he hoped to revisit at a future date.

Mr Wood later received a scholarship to the prestigious Art Center of Design in southern California, where he again studied painting. More importantly, the artist also began to understand and place his work within what he saw as “the realm of the contemporary.”

Mr Wood’s compositions have a nostalgic quality which harken back to the Impressionists in style, while remaining minimalist in content through repeated painting, sanding, burning and even editing and repainting.

Mr Wood eventually moved to the East Coast, and has spent the past 11 years in Connecticut, where he met and married his wife, Joanne. The couple has a daughter, Bianca.

Mr Wood has become a successful large-scale (individual works) artist and muralist. His client list has been growing, as has his exhibitions history. Mr Wood has at least two more exhibitions coming up within the country this year in addition to a show he will be participating in in Krakow, Poland.

Current works have evolved around the themes of Litchfield County, Maine and Europe. Woodbury — the town in which he and his family live — has become the major inspiration for Mr Wood’s latest works. Its rolling hills and farms, and more importantly to the artist the people, have all become fodder for his output.

The public is invited to attend the opening reception on May 19. Contact the gallery, 203-266-4753, for regular gallery hours or other information.