West Brattleboro, Vt. – Putney-based artist Adrienne Ginter has just installed two solo exhibits for spring viewing at opposite ends of the state. Locally, a show of twenty finely detailed watercolors, oils, and paper-cuttings can be seen through May at All Souls Church Unitarian Universalist in West Brattleboro. An opening reception is set for Saturday, April 16, 4:30 to 6:-00 p.m. The Governor’s Gallery at the State House in Montpelier is hosting a large exhibit of her paper-cuttings through late June.
The exhibit gracing gallery spaces at All Souls Church includes both intimately scaled and large-format works, some in archival print form. Ginter’s work explores elements of the natural world as well as fanciful narratives depicting ancient myths, history, and her personal experience. In her artist’s statement, Ginter shares that “every scene in nature tells a million little stories, and I work to incorporate an extreme amount of detail to tell not only the macro but the micro stories in a scene. This gives the viewer a greater sense of depth, not only visually but narratively, depending on how close they choose to engage with the piece.” It can take weeks to complete her largest paintings and 30 or more hours for up to ten layers of work in paper.
Originally from Gilford, New Hampshire, Ginter grew up with “an internal drive to make things. My mother covered the dining room table with butcher paper, and I would draw for hours. I also took painting and drawing from a local artist when I was five years old and knew at a very young age that I wanted to be an artist.”
Her adventures in paper-cutting, with an Xacto-style knife blade, began several years ago, rather accidentally, she explained in a 2013 Gallery Walk guide interview: “I was working on a primarily green oil painting (‘Jungle’) and it just wasn’t ‘right.’ I had the idea it could be made out of paper, and that’s when the paper-cuts started. I taught myself how to do it by looking at Polish and Mexican paper artists and am learning more and more as I go along.”
Ginter earned her BFA in Painting from the University of New Hampshire in 2003 and her Master of Fine Arts from Boston University in 2008. She has since exhibited in group and solo shows in galleries and museums across the United States. She has been featured in Art New England and Studio Visit magazines and International Contemporary Artists, Vol. 5. She has enjoyed residencies at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson (2014) and the North Country Studio Workshops in Bennington (January 2016).
The Arts Committee of All Souls Church invites the general public to meet Ginter and speak with her about her creative process at this Saturday’s reception. A buffet of sweet and savory treats is a feature of these gatherings. The church is located in the West Village Meeting House at 29 South St. across from the West Brattleboro common; take the driveway across from the fire station and head uphill to the church parking area. The building is handicap-accessible.
Otherwise, gallery hours are 9-12 on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 10-2 on Tuesday, as well as during Sunday worship and other public events in the building. For further information, call the church office at (802) 254-9377.
