Paul Suttman
Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, 1963
Bronze, 25" x 12" x 11"

The MORRISONGALLERY
8 Old Barn Road
Kent, Connecticut 06757

860.927.4501

Hours
weds-sat 10.30 - 5.30
sunday 1-4

EXHIBIT | Macdonald & Suttman

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press release
WORKS BY RENOWNED PAINTER, CARROLL MACDONALD, AND SCULPTOR, PAUL SUTTMAN, AT MORRISON GALLERY IN KENT, CONNECTICUT - AUGUST 25th - SEPT. 23rd

KENT, CT - (July 24, 2007) - Recent works by painter, Carroll Macdonald, and a collection of sculptures by the late Paul Suttman will be exhibited at the Morrison Gallery beginning August 25th.

The 7,000-square foot Morrison Gallery with its dramatic open spaces will form a magnificent setting for the lush landscapes and colorful abstract works of Ms. Macdonald, who lives and paints in neighboring Bridgewater, CT. The New York Times, critic Vivien Raynor wrote, "Her pictures have a certain grandeur. Mrs. Macdonald wades in boldly, laying on pigment with a sure hand."

The complementary works of Suttman and Macdonald will be on display on the main floor of the gallery and its adjacent garden in the Old Barns section of Kent at 8 Old Barn Road through September 23th.

"Our gallery is the ideal venue for these two splendid artists," said the gallery's owners Billy and Carlen Morrison. "Carroll's paintings are grounded in technical facility and an awareness of the rich possibilities of historical landscape and still life painting, with a passionate grasp of the dramatic possibilities of color and form. Her landscapes take chances with vibrant color and pulsating light. Each painting creates a magical place and I am especially excited by her new, almost abstract floral designs. They are lush and seductive and the cascading colors, intertwining contours, and burgeoning petals are voluptuous pools that invite visual immersion. They are simply gorgeous and are perfect companions to Suttman's meticulous sculpture."

The Macdonald paintings in the exhibit, primarily oils done in the past few years, focus on landscapes inspired by Litchfield County. "We live in a beautiful part of the world and it is hard to miss the magnificence around us," the artist says.

Ms. Macdonald earned her degree in fine art from Bennett College and attended the Art Students' League for ten years, then lived, worked and taught in New York City. She moved to her studios and homes in Bridgewater and Christmas Cove, Maine, in 1984. The artist has had solo exhibitions at the Union League Club in New York, Paris-New York-Kent Gallery in Kent, Paul Mellon Art Center in Wallingford and New Arts Gallery in Litchfield, among others. She has also exhibited in group shows at the Century Club of New York, the National Arts Club, National Academy of Design, Westport Art Center and the Arts Students League of New York. Her paintings hang in numerous private, public and corporate collections.

Mr. Suttman lived and worked in Kent and was known for his bronze figures, still lifes and art historical reinterpretations. His sometimes surreal sculptures create unforgettable objects that radiate vitality and technical brilliance. One of Suttman's enduring interests was the combination of different temporal, spatial and emotional states; another was the contrast between the illusionistic appearance of painting and the three-dimensional reality of sculpture. He presented these themes in relief sculptures by imbedding forms in overlapping pictorial planes, in lithographs by depicting unexpected aspects of everyday scenes, and in still-life compositions by overstepping ordinary spatial limits and borrowing color from painting.

Suttman, who died at age 60 in 1993, left a trove of elegant works, many of which will be on display -- including early impressionist figures, exquisitely modeled still lifes and scrupulously rendered references to Old Master traditions. The works date from 1961 to 1993 and measure from about 8 inches to 8 feet high.

"Some of these works have never been shown in this region," says his widow, Virginia Bush Suttman, who helped curate the exhibit. "Perhaps they were too large to be shown easily, or I held them back for one reason or another, or they are small things made as studies or for his own pleasure. Paul's sculptures show his love of form, art history, nature, food, wine and women. For him art was not a commodity to be marketed, but a gift to his audience- and this exhibit shows the things he wanted others to enjoy visually, sensuously, emotionally, intellectually."

view Macdonald's work | view Suttman's work