By Chéye Roberson
Sentinel Correspondent
“Art to the Avenue” mixed art and commerce last Thursday evening, when Greenwich Avenue storeowners in partnership with the Greenwich Art Council placed paintings by up-and-coming artists on their store walls and inside their shop windows, turning The Avenue into an extended art gallery.
“I always enjoy taking part in the event year after year, because it’s a community event,” said David Glucksman, manager of the jewelry store Lux Bond and Green. “We like to support the Greenwich Arts Council. I’m always one of the first people to select an artist.”
Months before the event, storeowners are invited to the Bendhiem Gallery on Greenwich Avenue to choose the work of an artist that best coordinates with the identity and atmosphere of their store.
Glucksman loved “the texture and dimensions” found in the work by the artist he chose to display, Joseph Dermody.
“It’s very sculptural art,” said Glucksman.
The piece uses bent wooded strips to form a graceful and captivating weave. One visitor in the store was taken by Dermody’s artwork as well. “The color and dimension made me stop,” said Ray Engleman.
Along with the artwork, The Avenue was rife with street performers and musicians, filling the air with life and creativity. Visitors were provided with a guide listing all of the participating stores to make them easier to locate. They were also able to purchase the art on display with a 30 percent tax deduction applied for the purchases, since the sales promote the Greenwich Arts Council.
Clarice Shrivell, whose work was displayed in Brooks Brothers, sold at least five paintings that day. She turned many heads with a painting that beckoned viewers to take a walk down a calming yet adventurous set of train tracks surrounded by plant life.
“It looks like a watercolor. I like to keep it a little unfinished. I’m very proud of that one,” said Shrivell. “I like to do nature. About once a week, I’ll paint. So I’m thinking about what to paint all week and when I do it’s like a burst.”
She said that because she and her family are “very outdoorsy people,” she enjoys “plein air” painting, a French term that refers to painting in the open air—and certainly reflected in Shrivell’s paintings.
In Olivine Garbo, the abstract and tranquil post-modern art of Patti Kane meshed well with its surroundings.
“I thought it kind of meshed with the color scheme of the store. It’s modern art—abstract art which is definitely our style. We like to match the art with some of the pieces we have,” said Grace Willis, the assistant designer of Olivine Garbo.
Willis said the size of the paintings have an impact as well.
“We choose large scale, because we have very high ceilings and we can show the space that way,” said Willis.
Grace Kang, the head designer and owner of Olivine Garbo, was happy to display Kane’s work and participate in Art to the Avenue.
“Her work is very airy. Her sense of airiness goes with the aesthetic in the store—the color of spring. I’m very happy to have them in our store,” said Kang. “We’re a huge fan of Art to the Avenue. It’s an amazing place for young artists to display their work. I love how we can do this.”
Many of the stores held receptions for the hundreds of visitors who entered. The event included the work of more than 120 artists.
The art remains on display through Memorial Day, allowing those who may have missed it plenty of time to see it.
