Artists to Watch 2019
Vermont Art Guide Editor Ric Kasini Kadour: “Vermont Art Guide started Artists to Watch last year as a way of taking the pulse of the state’s art scene. This year, we refined the project a little and recruited ten curators to each select one artist and tell us why they were on their radar. Some reached far and identified an artist who they would like to work with but haven’t yet had the opportunity to do so. Others went for an artist from their own organization or gallery who they felt deserved special recognition. Some chose artists for what they have accomplished and others chose artists they felt had great potential and the were on the cusp of doing something great. The ten artists featured here are making remarkable contributions to Vermont art. It is by no means an exhaustive list but a wonderful place to start.”
Sarah Amos
Sarah’s work is in corporate, public, and private collections, national and international, including the Dartmouth-Hitchcock permanent collection, Katonah Museum, DeCordova Museum, Prudential Insurance in Boston, Time Warner New York, a Hilton Hotel development in Melbourne, and many others. She has participated in the San Francisco Art Fair and Art Miami. Her practice has been featured in Vermont Art Guide #2 and in the forthcoming 2019 book, Singular and Series, Monotype and Monoprint by Catherine Kernan (Schiffer Publishing). Amos is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne, Australia. In 2019, Amos will have solo exhibitions at the BCA Center in Burlington, The CUE Art Foundation in New York City, and the Huntington Museum of Art in Huntington, West Virginia. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Amos lives and works in Enosburg Falls. Find out more at www.sarahamosstudio.com.
Clark Derbes
Clark was born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge. In his youth, he was exposed to the vernacular craft arts of the South, which are reflected in his work. Clark is represented by galleries in Louisiana, Massachusetts, Texas, and Vermont. He was the 2015 winner of the Barbara Smail Award from Burlington City Arts. He lives and works in Charlotte. Learn more about Derbes and art through his video series, “Public Art School,” available at VCAM, www.vermontcam.org.
Hasso Ewing
Hasso is a sculptor who was trained as a children’s illustrator and worked professionally for many years in graphic and landscape design. She holds a BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and completed additional studies in landscape design at Radcliffe College. Hasso’s work has been shown in Maine and Vermont, including at Studio Place Arts, the Helen Day Art Center, and the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center. Her “swimmers world” installation was shown as part of Backstory at the Kent Museum in Calais, September-October 2018. She is a member of The Front in Montpelier and The Mud Studio in Middlesex and is represented by the Artisans’ Gallery in Waitsfield. Ewing lives and works in Calais. Find out more at www.hassoewing.com.
Andrew Frost
Andrew is a photographer, printer, and book maker. He has an MFA from Syracuse University, has published multiple books of photographs, and his work has recently been exhibited nationally and internationally. Andrew was born in Japan and grew up in a military family that had deep roots in the Northeast Kingdom. He currently lives and works in Burlington. Learn more at www.andrewpfrost.com.
Sally Gil
Sally Gil holds a BA from the University of California, San Diego and an MFA from Hunter College of the City University of New York. Her work has been shown in solo exhibitions in New York, North Carolina, and Vermont, including the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe and the Bennington Museum. Her work has appeared in group shows in New York and Vermont. Her 1999-2000 traveling exhibition, with Dan Mills, Mealy Mouthed Materials, Charismatic Shapes, and Other Funny Stories was shown in Alabama, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Among other recognitions, Sally was named the 2018 recipient of a New York City MTA public art commission for the Avenue U station on the N line, in Brooklyn. Originally from Bennington, she lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. In Vermont, Sally works with 571 Projects in Stowe.
Elizabeth Nagle
Elizabeth, a painter in East Dorset, holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her work has been shown in solo exhibitions at the Southern Vermont Arts Center, Equinox Village in Manchester, MASS MoCA, the Carriage Barn Arts Center in New Canaan, Connecticut and the Westport Arts Center in Westport, Connecticut, as well as group exhibitions in Connecticut, New Jersey and the Southern Vermont Arts Center. Nagle also has a wholesale needlepoint business, Doolittle Stitchery. See more of her work at www.elizabethnagle.com.
Andrew Orr
Andrew is a painter who holds a BA in music from Oklahoma Christian University with continuing studies at the University of New Mexico and studies with Carol McIlroy, David P. Curtis and Joseph McGurl. His work has been shown across the United States, including three solo shows at the Southern Vermont Arts Center and in national and regional exhibitions of the Oil Painters of America, the Salmagundi Club, the American Artists Professional League and the Guild of Boston Artists, of which Orr is an elected member. A solo show of Orr’s work, “A Vermont Spring in Oil”, is at Tilting at Windmills Gallery in Manchester Center, February-April 2019. Orr is a board member of the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville. He lives and works in Richford. See more at andreworr.com.
Rhonda Ratray
Rhonda received her BFA from Alfred University School of Art and Design and her MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University. Rhonda has taught at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The School of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Maud Morgan Visual Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts; The Essex Art Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts; and The Brookline Art Center in Brookline, Massachusetts. She currently teaches at the Vermont Art Exchange in North Bennington. Her work has been shown at many universities and galleries including Montserrat College of Art, Emmanuel College, The Adikman Gallery at Tufts University, The Bennington Museum and The Peabody Historical Society, Peabody, Massachusetts. Rhonda is the Artist in Residence and curator of The Left Bank Gallery in North Bennington. She grew up in the Bennington area and also paints under the name Aimee LaPorte. You can find more information at www.ratray.com.
Jackson Tupper
Originally from Kennebunk, Maine, Jackson is graphic designer at Burton Snowboards in Burlington. He holds a BA in studio art from the University of Vermont. He is a member of Burlington’s Iskra Print Collective, where he is a screenprinter and teaching assistant. Among his current projects is a recently completed mural at his workplace. See more of Tupper’s work at www.jacksontupper.com.
Sean Hunter Williams
Sean is a second-generation stone carver based in Barre. He holds a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania, completed after transferring from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After spending four years exploring the arts and culture scene in Berlin, Germany, he moved back to Vermont, where he apprenticed with his father at Barre Sculpture Studios. Sean now creates publicly commissioned work, carves freelance as an independent and for Barre Sculpture Studios, and works on his own studio practice. He is also an aspiring stand-up comedian. Find out more at www.seanhunterwilliams.com.