To Open At Sculpture Barn

DANBURY — What is “time” but an abstraction of the movement of the universe? Or “place” a way for us to make sense of the magnitude out there? And “nature” just a name for all existence on our lucky planet?

These are the themes to be addressed by the art of Roger Majorowicz, Vincent Baldassano and David Boyajian in “Abstractions of Time, Place & Nature,” which will open at Sculpture Barn on June 2. It will remain on view through August 12.

An opening reception will take place at the Sculpture Barn gallery on Sunday, June 3, from 4 to 7 pm.

Roger Majorowicz learned blacksmithing on his father’s western South Dakota ranch as a youth in the 1930s and ‘40s. He studied sculpture at Minneapolis College of Art and earned two Fulbright scholarships to study in Florence and Italy. As an instructor he chaired the sculpture departments of the University of Illinois and Maryland Institute College of Art.

For 50 years he has exhibited works in galleries and museums worldwide, including the Corcoran in Washington, D.C., the Walker in Minneapolis and the Baltimore Museum of Art; and created commissioned sculptures in Europe and the U.S.

Since settling in Whitefield, Me., in 1983, Mr Majorowicz has owned and operated Iron Horse Sculpture Studio and has produced pieces for public schools throughout the state.  Mr Majorowicz works in steel and cast iron, incorporating farm implements and (for his “Tong Series”) blacksmithing tongs. Drawings from his daily work journals will accompany his sculptures in “Time, Place & Nature.”

Vincent Baldassano refers to his works as “improvisations in paint.” Through complex color and recurrent shapes in oils, encaustics or works on paper, a Baldassano painting offers an emotional interpretation of a particular time and place.

Throughout his career Mr Baldassano has earned arts grants and fellowships, including awards from the McDowell Colony, SUNY (Painting Fellowships), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Gateway Foundation (Gateway Community College, New Haven).

His exhibition calendar has been consistently full for more than three decades and includes solo shows in Santa Barbara, Minneapolis, Nashville and Basel, Switzerland, as well as venues throughout Connecticut and New York. His work has appeared in exhibitions at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Housatonic Museum of Art, and the Museum of Art of Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France.

Mr Baldassano has taught college-level courses in painting, drawing, design, art history and art appreciation, and currently is on the faculty of Gateway Community College and the National Academy School of Fine Arts in New York City.

David Boyajian, founder of Sculpture Barn, is best known for his “monumental seedlings” in steel, stainless steel and bronze. All are abstractions of nature as a metaphor for life’s cycle in balance. Fabricated volumes of bursting seedpods and unfurling blossoms harden the ephemeral into elegant outdoor sculptures all celebrating renewal.

These large scale pieces are visible in the four-acre sculpture field as visitors approach the venue with tours available during gallery hours. Smaller garden sized versions will compliment Mr Baldassano’s paintings and Mr Majorowicz’s constructions within the gallery space.

Prior to setting up shop four years ago in the expansive studios at Sculpture Barn, Mr Boyajian was the director of sculpture studies at the Silvermine School of Art in New Canaan, where his tenure lasted 20 years. Mr Boyajian holds a masters degree in sculpture from the Rinehart School at the Maryland Institute College of Art where co-exhibitor Roger Majorowicz was his professor.

“It makes me proud to be able to show the sculpture of a brilliant man who has remained a mentor and friend for so many years,” said Mr Boyajian.

Boyajian has exhibited internationally and is a member of the New York Sculptors Guild. His work is widely collected throughout the United States and his Connecticut State public commissions can be see in Hartford, New Haven, Hamden, Bridgeport, Torrington, Willimantic, Stamford, and Darien. His work is in the collections of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Film Director Barry Levinson of “Diner” fame, and Dr. Robert Ballard, a National Geographic oceanographer and underwater archaeologist, as well as in the public collection at Pepsi-Co and Colorado’s Ft. Collins Museum of Contemporary Art. David Boyajian currently teaches at Western Connecticut State University, Norwalk Community College and in his Atelier at Sculpture Barn.

Mr Boyajian will give a “walk and talk” about the work of all three artists, free of charge, on Sunday, June 30, at 3 pm.

Sculpture Barn is a self supporting arts center located at the intersection of Milltown Road and Route 39 on the Danbury-New Fairfield town line. The center aims to make the experience of creating and collecting fine art both educational and memorable through exhibitions, classes, and performance events.

Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm. For more information call 746-6101 or visit SculptureBarn.com.