An innovative art exhibition at Kent's Corner in Calais, Vermont, is drawing visitors into a profound exploration of memory, personal mementos, and shared human experiences. "Holding: Mementos Kept, Memories Kindled," this year's Art at the Kent exhibit, features works by 22 Vermont artists who examine how objects and memories connect us across time and cultures.
The exhibition opens with a striking installation by Burlington artist Susan Wilson called "Becoming I," featuring nearly two dozen terra cotta and stoneware clay faces emerging from the surface in graduated sizes, creating the illusion of figures stepping forward from the past. "As I work clay over, my simplified head forms – the faces of those who inspire me – emerge," Wilson explains. "I travel with those who are searching, yearning, asking questions, and struggling to move forward in their lives."
Visitors begin their journey through the nearly two-century-old rambling building by walking past a hallway displaying 39 portraits that showcase humanity's diversity. "We wanted to show the breadth of humanity on this wall," says curator Cornelia Nel Emlen, one of three exhibition organizers. "We all have our own stories that we're holding." Co-curator Allyson Evans describes the portrait wall as a "human container" that represents every person's individual narrative.
Among the portrait collection are twelve exquisite works by Middlesex artist August Burns, who created the official portrait of former Governor Howard Dean and has two additional portraits displayed elsewhere in the exhibition. Another featured artist, Kate Gridley from Middlebury, painted the official portrait of former Governor Jim Douglas and received an entire room to display 58 small paintings depicting objects from her earliest memories arranged roughly chronologically throughout her life.
Gridley's installation carries particular emotional weight, as she explains in the accompanying brochure that her exploration of memory began when her father started experiencing dementia. "Years ago, when my very smart, aging father began experiencing dementia, he amassed an enormous library of neurology books, and the brain and memory became a regular part of our conversations," she writes. "As daughter, I was losing him. As artist, I wanted to find a way to embody the explorations about memory that we had been sharing."
Burlington artist Jennifer Koch contributes "Specimens," an installation distributed throughout the show featuring numerous found objects arranged in shadow boxes. Koch begins with classic European paintings, then constructs elaborate three-dimensional headdresses using unexpected items including musical instruments, kitchen utensils, paint brushes, trophies, and toy parts. The shadow boxes create an increasingly captivating experience that curator David Schutz describes as moving from merely interesting to completely addictive.
The exhibition also features "Gratitude in a Time of Loss," a COVID-19 memorial installation by East Montpelier artist Daryl Burtnett that previously appeared at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery last fall. This powerful tribute, which occupies the museum's third floor in a new configuration, consists of hundreds of small pieces, each honoring a Vermont life lost during the pandemic – marking the first time art has been displayed on the building's third floor.
Additional installations include a walk-in closet-sized space filled by Juliana Jennings, co-owner of J. Langdon's antique shop in Montpelier, who has arranged hundreds of personal items from her home rather than her store. The self-contained Spotlight Gallery features works by self-trained Barre folk artist Gayleen Aiken (1934-2005), whose crayon, pen, pencil, and oil paint creations are held in permanent collections at major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
The month-long exhibition, which opened on September 12, runs every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 12. The opening celebration on September 13 attracted several hundred visitors who enjoyed beautiful weather, live music, and catered food. A closing celebration is scheduled for October 12 from 3 to 5 p.m., with additional special events planned throughout the run, all detailed at kentscorner.org.
