118 Elliot presents ‘These Colors Kill Fascism’, a group show of local artists featuring Mary Therese Wright, Gayle Robertson, Tina Olsen, Ellen Cone Maddrey, John Loggia, Nick Garder, and Liza Cassidy.

The exhibit is on view during 118 Elliot events and by appointment.
There will be an artists’ talk on July 24, 6:30 pm, at 118 Elliot.

“This machine kills fascists” is a message that musician Woody Guthrie placed on his guitars in the mid-1940s.The idea originated from a sticker that American machinists attached to their metalworking lathes. Since then, many musicians have been inspired to reference the phrase or versions of it. The artists in this exhibition invoke this saying to state that creativity, in its many forms, helps us resist attempts to limit self-expression.

Many people, from both sides of the political spectrum, still desire a society that applauds self-expressionism, allows opposition, and questions any social hierarchy. This show recognizes that art can build connections and a sense of community in a time of divisiveness. The use of color, texture, field, and line evokes emotions that can sensitize us to our shared humanity and the natural world we live in. These paintings weren’t necessarily chosen as political statements. The artists believe viewing paintings together creates community, emotional resonance, and connection. This creative empathy helps us see people as fellow humans and helps us break down the sense of obstacle or threat in another person. The show opens July 4th for viewing between 5pm – 8pm. Tina Olsen will host readings by local writers reflecting on the current state of the world.

The Artists:
Mary Therese Wright’s artwork and community based projects have been shown throughout the United States. Wright has a keen interest in materiality whether painting, printmaking or metalsmithing. Her current work is a response to the vibrant colors and dynamic shapes of nature. She lives in Jacksonville, Vermont, and draws inspiration from her deep relationship with the trails and water of Lake Whitingham.

Gayle Robertson has been artistically active all her life. Her experiences in the fields of lighting design, computer graphics, 2D and 3D traditional media, spirituality, end of life and bereavement, mix to bring different lenses to what happens in her studio. She uses her art as a way to engage with the moments of life and a tool for exploring all its meaning, calling upon her materials to bring her interests to light. She lives in Southern Vermont where she enjoys being part of the vibrant arts community.

Tina K. Olsen has been painting and working therapeutically in the expressive arts most of her life. She moved to Brattleboro in 2006 to live near her daughter and found a community of artists at the River Gallery School and 118 Elliot. Olsen’s works in oil and watercolor bring life to the healing light of nature. Ellen Cone Maddrey came to painting later in life after careers as a lawyer, an elementary school teacher and a parent of three. Her artistic inspiration is deeply embedded in the mountains and waters of Seattle, her childhood home, and the natural world of Vermont. Her paintings express the comfort and thrill of nature through color and shape. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey, and has a second home in Wilmington, Vermont,

John Loggia has been painting and working in the arts since 1979. He has maintained a practice of drawing and painting while working in film as a production designer and producer. In 2015 John opened 118 Elliot, an arts and education center in Brattleboro, Vermont that he runs with his partner. John, a jazz musician, feels that playing music and painting are two sides of the same coin with each practice informing the other and encouraging experimentation, risk, and unexpected revelations.

Nick Garder works in oils, acrylics, and restaurants. Since 1992, he has tried his hand at various art mediums, including music, but oil painting is home. He tried school, but it wasn’t for him. He is thrilled to join new friends here on the walls of 118 Elliot Street, a venue he has come to appreciate more and more as his time in Brattleboro moves along.

Liza Cassidy is a visual and performing artist with a long time studio practice in Brooklyn NYC, and for the last seven years in her home town of Brattleboro, Vermont. Her focus is on large scale abstract mixed media collage utilizing discarded materials, mostly receipts, to convey human experience, and plein air landscapes in oil. She teaches Sequencing at River Gallery School as well as painting, studio art, and community mending/sewing sessions. She is also a long time collaborator with Theaterlab in NYC as a writer, director and performer.