The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum presents "Grassroots Invitational," opening reception Tues., December 15, 6-9 p.m., 295 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT. The exhibition will be on view through December 30. Tickets for the opening reception are $55 for non-members and $50 for members. The event will feature a performance by The Southern Connecticut Camerata Madrigal Singers, hors d’oeuvres catered by Michael Gilmartin of Outdoor Cookers and full bar. The opening reception will be sponsored by Pierson & Smith, Inc. and LMMM Board Member Port Draper.
In her three-dimensional mixed media photo collages, Debra Schaffer makes art out of everyday experiences, portraying the mundane that is often overlooked, undervalued, or taken for granted. Old and often mysterious doors and windows, hardly noticed pastoral vistas, and the hustle and bustle of markets and streetscapes become her subjects.
Her art is three-dimensional because she brings thirty years of stone and wood carving experience to her collages. “I think like a sculptor,” said Schaffer. “I never see flat. I always see perspective and want viewers to be pulled into my experiences and share the events and places I have seen.”
Schaffer’s work is in over 300 private and public collections. She has exhibited in over 20 galleries in the tri-state area and several museums including the Hudson River Museum, the Hammond Museum, the Katonah Museum, the Housatonic Museum and the Monmouth Museum of Fine Arts. She has received numerous awards from art experts and institutions throughout the US including art critic William Zimmer, MOMA’s curator Cora Rosevear, Whitney Museum of Art’s curator Debra Singer, and from the Silvermine Guild Art Center’s Annual Art of the Northeast USA, where she exhibited nine times.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Gail Ingis-Claus has a degree in interior design and studied architecture and design criticism. An accomplished artist and illustrator, Ms. Ingis-Claus has been involved in design, architecture, teaching, and art for more than 35 years. Her career has spanned all aspects of design and art with an emphasis in interior design.
She is the founder of the nationally accredited Interior Design Institute, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers and a professor of history of architecture and design. She has also taught at the New York School of Interior Design, Kean College, Union, NJ, Briarcliff Manor, Tarrytown, NY, the University of New Haven, University of Bridgeport, and Fairfield University. Currently, she serves as the Art Director of the Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum..
Ms. Ingis-Claus incorporates her skills of drawing and painting into her illustrative work, fine art and portraits. Her sought-after, award-winning work is represented in private collections, galleries, museums and corporations in the U.S. and abroad including the Fairfield Arts Council, Lyme Association, Madison Art Society, Guilford Art League, Barnes & Noble, the permanent collections of the University of New Haven, and the United States Professional Tennis Association. Her work is represented by Agora Gallery SoHo on-line.
Full tours at the Mansion are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children and young adults ages 9 to 18. Children 8 or under are admitted for free. Tour hours are: 12 to 4 p.m., Wed-Sun. Tours are on the hour and the last tour starts at 3 p.m.
For those who have already visited the Mansion and are solely interested in the art exhibit viewing hours are: Tues-Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
For information on education programs, events and rentals, contact 203-838-9799 or e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com. For reservations contact 203-838-9799 Ext. 17 or bfischer@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com.
