On May 2, 2015 I visited The Bennington Center for the Arts located in Bennigton, VT. The museum is a short 20 minute drive from my home taking mostly back roads to get to the rural type setting of the museum. It contained wide varieties of arts from modern to contemporary and even some regional. There were sculptures, paintings, drawings and even rugs and blankets weaved by Native Americans. The museum itself seems to be located "off the beaten path" as I followed my GPS I wondered if I was actually going to arrive anywhere or if I was going to get lost. There wasn't a big sign by the road just a simple small block lettered sign on the mailbox with an arrow pointing up the driveway, when I saw this I began to have my doubts about the credibility of this place.
However as I turned into the driveway that led to a spacious parking lot, I was relieved to see such a beautiful albeit modern building.The building was fairly large, but not overpowering. It had a very welcoming appeal to it. It had wooden siding a beautiful entry way with panel windows in the doors.
I approached the front desk and paid my $9.00 admission and asked about the audio tour I had read about on their website. The woman at the front desk explained that it was actually out of date and would not be very helpful. I asked about photography and was informed it was okay to take pictures in the Floyd Scholz exhibit and the Covered Bridge exhibit, but not allowed anywhere else.
The art work was spread out in five rooms downstairs and four upstairs. The first gallery was off to the right of the entry way. All of the gallery's had a gray toned carpeting. This one currently featured "Winter Small Works Collection". I found the majority of the works were oil or acrylic. There were a few graphite drawings and one bronze sculpture. With approximately 70 pieces to observe I could have spent all day in that large open room alone. I took my time and checked out each individual work and was easily drawn to the oil painting "Walk with the Dog" by Kirk Larsen. I was intrigued by this work especially because of its intricate but tiny detail. There were two magnifying glasses hanging near the painting so you could look closely at the details. In order to see the smallest of parts, such as the skis on the man, you had to use both of them together. I also appreciated the atmospheric colors of the work. The snow isn't just white, it is blue and gray as well. As I continued through the gallery I noticed the neutral color of the walls complimented all of the paintings nicely.
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I walked through the doorway and into a small hallway with stairs that led up to the Native American artwork, but I decided to wait until I finished this side of the downstairs first. I walked into the next gallery which contained the wooden bird carvings by Floyd Scholz. This is part of the permanent collection of the museum. The thirteen carvings were donated in 2004 by Drs. Myron and Karin Yanoff. This room had a more brightly colored tone and was very warm and inviting. The tags on the wall with each carving simply stated the name of it (usually the name was the bird that it was), the artist and the medium. There was little to no explanation on them, but really none was needed The lighting was fantastic and did a great job showing off the sculptures and also cast shadows onto the walls that seemed to bring the exhibit to life! Each wood carving was either on a wooden pedestal or secured to the wall. Some were carved onto rocks, others perched on branches, but each one had a stunning amount of detail. Floyd Scholz did all the carving as well as the painting on each of the pieces. When I walked into the room I felt like I was actually being watched by all the eyes! . One of the Owl carvings had eyes so detailed and life like that no matter where I went in the room it seemed like he was always watching.
Other than the owl(which didn't have a card next to it) my other two favorite carvings in this exhibit were "Hermit Thrush" (To the right) and "Windigo" Eastern Red Tail Hawk, (below), which was the first bird inside of the door of the gallery. All three of these pieces had a lot of similarities, the balance and texture that they possess and the amazing detail makes these three capture the essence of the exhibit. Th e main difference was the postion that each bird was carved into and how they were perched. The owl was hung on the wall perched on a beautiful branch and was medium sized. The flow of the feathers could be seen and almost felt (even though you are not allowed to touch them.) The detail that had been painted to enhance the feathers was just stunning. The dark brown used on the back and wings blended easily into the light brown of the chest and the feathers were each laced with black, the white fuzz under the head on the front breaks the head away from the rest of the bird and blends into the whites and gray/black that lines the face and into the light brown around the eyes. "Windigo" was also perched, but on more of stump than a branch. It was also the only piece that had "prey" in its grasp. The balance and symmetry present brought the sculpture to life, this was one of the largest carvings in the gallery. "Hermit Thrush" was one of the smallest and seemed to have a deeper detail in the small frail legs. I felt as though I could hold out my finger and the small tan bird would have stepped onto it like in a movie. The eyes were not as intense on this carving as they were on the Owl and Red Tail Hawk
I continued through the entire museum and was pleased with everything. There was four rooms upstairs three filled with painting, drawing and sculptures of Native Americans and one filled with various other portraits. The two final rooms downstairs were wildlife artwork. Everything was amazing and breath taking, but the Floyd Scholz was my favorite exhibit by far! I look forward to returning to The Bennington Center for the Arts and seeing what new exhibits they have for the Spring/Summer.
I have already planned my next trip to the museum with friends and look forward to seeing what else has been added. I have a new appreciation for the bronze sculptures since I took the class Art Appreciation because I really didn't know all the work that went into them and how they were actually made. Learning about casting was very beneficial to this trip to the museum, as I used to glance at sculptures and just walk on by. Since I am very "outdoorys" I love the theme and style of the western and wildlife art that is featured. I could spend all day taking in all of the wonders of the John L Wehle gallery. If you are ever in the area of Rochester, NY it is well worth the visit!
