LAPIN contemporary presents a solo exhibition by Irish painter and musician Karl Mullen
North Adams— From May 3rd through June 30th, LAPIN contemporary presents “Every Hook in the Book,” a solo exhibition by Irish painter and musician Karl Mullen at Norad Mill.
“Every Hook in the Book” features paintings created with the artist’s distinct approach using a variety of media and diverse methods of applying them. The title, taken from the lyrics of one of Mullen’s original songs, reflects his approach to painting and to life. All is possible and everything is at his disposal from conventional to unconventional media. Every line and mark, pattern and shape, figure, and abstraction stems from Mullen’s intuitive process. The works on view present large scale and abstract canvases, and paper, richly layered with a mixture of vinyl emulsion paint, markers, oil pastels, pencils, raw pigment, clay earth, tea, and red wine. The result is at once vibrant and contemplative, human and sublime.
Karl Mullen is a prolific, self-taught artist widely known in the outsider art world. His artwork is found in private collections, galleries, and museums in the United States and Europe. Equally abundant, his music originates from Leinster kitchens and crossed the Atlantic to transform into the underground punk band Carsickness, and the Celtic-inspired, Pittsburgh-based band Ploughman’s Lunch. Today, Mullen is the lead guitar/vocalist of 5 Pound Horse which will be on tour in Europe this summer.
The exhibit is on view from May 3rd through June 30th at Lapin contemporary at Studio 308 in Norad Mill at 60 Roberts Drive in North Adams. There is an opening reception on May 3rd from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. More information can be found online.
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Dottie’s Coffee Lounge and Dorothy’s Estaminet present ‘For the Love of: Culture, The Figure, and the Landscape’
Pittsfield— Through May 31st, Dottie’s Coffee Lounge and Dorothy’s Estaminet present “For the Love of: Culture, The Figure, and the Landscape,” the works of Katunemo, Ernie Kirk, and Kathy Glenn.
Katunemo is a group of 13 painters, photographers, poets and musicians who celebrate their common culture as a way to enlighten and heal the world.
Ernie Kirk’s photographs deal with the most basic of loves, the love of the human figure. He uses the figure to make enigmatic statements about dance, music, and art.
The love of the landscape is universal, and the landscape in the paintings of Kathy Glenn is one she can see outside her window everyday and all year. The landscape of her immediate environment is the source of endless invention and development in her work.
The exhibit is on display through May 31st at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge and Dorothy’s Estaminet at 438/444 North Street in Pittsfield. There is an opening event on Friday, May 3rd from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. All are welcome. More information can be found online.
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Lauren Clark Fine Art to present “90”, paintings and drawings Joby Baker
Joby Baker at Lauren Clark Fine Art
Great Barrington— On Saturday, May 4th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Lauren Clark Fine Art celebrates the opening of “90,” paintings and drawings by fine artist, jeweler, actor, local legend and dearest friend, Joby Baker.
Even a great painters’ work can lose its emotional lustre over time. Not so with the work of Joby Baker. The work is painterly, lovely, personal, and dark.
Baker hasn’t painted in a while and isn’t going back to it anytime soon. If you’ve admired his work in the past, here’s a chance to savor a small but powerful collection put together by Lauren Clark.
Come enjoy this teaser show in the smashing new space Clark created with glass curator, Mary Childs at 684 Main Street in Great Barrington.There is a reception with the artist on Saturday, May 4th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. All are welcome. More information can be found online or by calling the gallery at 413-528-0432.
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Olga Dunn Dance Company presents ‘Six Dances by Four’ at Saint James Place
Great Barrington— On Saturday, May 11th from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Olga Dunn Dance Company presents “Six Dances by Four” at Saint James Place.
This dance program premiers new works, including a piece accompanied on live piano by Joaquin Pachano playing a Chopin nocturne. Featured company members include Sarah Fol, Kate Chester, Hope St. Jock, and Jane Singer.
“This show, just under an hour, promises to celebrate so much of what we have been doing during the last several months. The chance to work with live piano has been especially exhilarating, and we think the audience will appreciate that as well. So much to preview, to showcase; and we have been underwritten for this performance by an anonymous donor, allowing us to offer the concert for free which has been another blessing,” said Artistic Director Olga Dunn.
The concert is on Saturday, May 11th from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Saint James Place on Main Street in Great Barrington. Admission is free; donations are welcome. More information can be found online.
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The West Stockbridge Jazz Series presents Haneef Nelson
West Stockbridge— On Saturday, May 4th at 7 p.m., the West Stockbridge Jazz Series presents Haneef Nelson.
Haneef Nelson is a New York born and raised trumpeter, educator, and composer. His lifelong love of music started with his early studies at the famed Jazzmobile program in Harlem. At the Jazzmobile he studied trumpet, music theory, as well as played in ensembles taught by jazz luminaries including Eddie Preston, Cecil Bridgewater, Dr. Donald Byrd, John Stubblefield; Frank Foster, Charles Davis, and Roland Guerrero.
Haneef has performed with jazz greats Yoron Israel, Avery Sharpe, Bill Saxton, Paul Brown, and Charles Tolliver. His original music and arrangements for Big Band have been featured around the world and on the records of the New London Big Band. He holds a Bachelor of Music in African American Music Study from the University of Hartford, a Master’s Degree in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and he will receive his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Composition from the University of Hartford in May.
For this performance Haneef will be joined by Michael Carabello on keyboard, Matt Dwonszy on bass, and Akin Hobson on drums.
The concert is on Saturday, May 4th at 7 p.m. at Old Town Hall at 9 Main Street in West Stockbridge. Tickets are $40 and $35 for members. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Becket Arts Center to present a reading of the award-winning play ‘Heroes of the Fourth Turning’ by Will Arbery
Becket— On Saturday, May 4th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Becket Arts Center will present a reading of the award-winning play “Heroes of the Fourth Turning.”
Written by Will Arbery, best known for his work on the HBO hit “Succession,” this haunting play brings together four conservative Catholic friends on the occasion of the installation of a new college president. Their conversations cover politics, religion, race and gender – and disagreements flare.
The reading is on Saturday, May 4th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Becket Arts Center on Brooker Hill Road in Becket. Tickets are $15 and $10 for members. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Climate change expert Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux to give annual Robert H. Woodworth Lecture at Bennington College
Bennington, V.T.— On Thursday, May 2nd at 8 p.m., Professor Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux from the Department of Geography and Geosciences at the University of Vermont, will give a lecture covering the latest climate change science coming out of the 2023 National Climate Assessment and the implementation of Vermont’s first ever Climate Action Plan, which was adopted in December 2021. The talk, called “On the Cutting Edge: Lessons from the 5th National Climate Assessment and the Vermont Climate Action Plan” is this year’s Robert H. Woodworth Lecture in the Sciences.
An applied climatologist by training, Dr. Dupigny-Giroux’s research interests intersect a number of interdisciplinary fields within the context of our changing climate, including hydroclimatic natural hazards, climate literacy, geospatial climate, and land-surface processes. She is an expert in floods, droughts, and severe weather and the ways in which these affect Vermont’s landscape and people.
In addition, Dr. Dupigny-Giroux has served as the Vermont State Climatologist since 1997, and is the immediate past President of the American Association of State Climatologists. In 2020, she was appointed by the Vermont House of Representatives to the Vermont Climate Council as the member with expertise in climate change science. She is the lead editor of historical climate variability and impacts in North America, the first monograph to deal with the use of documentary and other ancillary records for analyzing climate variability and change in the North American context.
Dr. Dupigny-Giroux holds a B.Sc. in Physical Geography and Development Studies from the University of Toronto (1989) and both an M.Sc. in Climatology and Hydrology (1992) and a Ph.D. in Climatology and Geographic Information Systems (1996) from McGill University.
Established in 1988 by former students, the Robert H. Woodworth Science Lecture Series honors a longtime Bennington biology faculty member and pioneer in the development of time-lapse photography.
The lecture is on Thursday, May 2nd at 8 p.m. in the Tishman Lecture Hall at Bennington College. It is free and open to the public. More information can be found online.
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Berkshire Botanical Garden marks Roy Boutard Day, a community celebration with free admission
Stockbridge— Sunday, May 5th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is Berkshire Botanical Garden’s (BBG) annual Roy Boutard Day, a community celebration steeped in history and tradition that honors one of BBG’s most influential past directors; and admission to the Garden is free all day!
Visitors can stroll the 24-acre grounds, enjoy the spring blooming bulbs and trees, visit the gift shop, and attend the Horticulture Certificate Program graduation, followed by a reception hosted by the Herb Associates, a volunteer group that, for 65 years, has created herbal products from the Garden’s 1937 herb garden. Members of the Herb Associates will serve an assortment of herb-infused cookies and Mai Bowle, a May wine punch.
The day also includes a free floral arrangement demonstration, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., led by Manager of Buildings and Grounds Kurt Dietrich. He’ll demonstrate the construction of a formal flower arrangement: from cut flower selection to structural advice, and tips for longevity while putting together two types of tabletop arrangements. Participants will enjoy the spectrum between structured formality and fanciful whimsy, and walk away with inspiration.
Always held on the first Sunday of May, Roy Boutard Day honors the Swedish horticulturist who came to the United States from Canada in the 1950s after graduating from England’s Royal Horticultural Society Gardens. He served as the Garden’s venerable executive director from 1955 to 1985. Under his direction, the Garden expanded its grounds and educational offerings, and won numerous gardening awards.
More information can be found online.
