Nina Bentley To Offer Gallery Talk

RIDGEFIELD — Westport-based artist Nina Bentley will offer the final gallery talk coinciding with the current exhibition at Ridgefield Guild of Artists’ gallery space on Sunday, September 14. The 3 pm event is open to the public and free of charge.

Ms Bentley’s talk will be the last in a four-part series of gallery talks offered by the Connecticut chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA) as part of WCA’s exhibit, “Women’s WorK.” The exhibition will also be closing that afternoon.

Ms Bentley will discuss the concepts, relationships, places and situations that provide her (and other artists attending the talk) with artistic inspiration.

“S/Weep,” the piece Ms Bentley has installed for the show, is a variation on her 2002 work, “Weep/Loss,” created after 9/11. “S/Weep” incorporates a broom and many buckets, which fill not with dust and dirt but with tears (created by unspooling strands of filament that hang above the letters SWEEP).

Of this piece, and of others she has constructed during her career from everyday objects, Ms Bentley says, “I create art to gain some perspective on the world, trying to retain a sense of humor ... my work is created in pursuit of social reform, with tongue in cheek and a jaundiced eye.”

Educated at the Chelsea Art School in London, Brooklyn Museum Art School in New York, and University of Wisconsin at Madison, Ms Bentley exhibits throughout this area in group and solo shows, has won numerous awards, and has curated and co-curated exhibits for Westport Arts Center and other art collaborations.

The WCA has, for more than 30 years, championed the contributions of women in the arts professions. WCA promotes opportunities for women in the arts on the local, national and international levels.

RGA’s gallery is on Halpin Lane, off Prospect Ridge Road in downtown Ridgefield.  Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 5 pm. For more information about the guild, its programs, exhibits and outreach activities, call 203-438-8863 or visit                 www.rgoa.org.