Wilton Library will present diverse works of local artists in its January art exhibition, “Through a Different Set of Eyes,” opening on Friday, Jan. 10, with a reception from 6-7:30 p.m. The opening reception is free and open to the public.
This exhibition features artists from Wilton and surrounding towns who submitted inquiries expressing an interest in exhibiting their works at the library. Their work represents a wide variety of styles, media, and subject matter. The artists include Christopher Breining (Norwalk), Randy Carboni (Bethel), Runfang Cui (Wilton), Lorraine Gelard (Norwalk), Bob Leidner (Wilton), Leila Mgaloblishvili (Wilton), Beth Marie Reifers (Norwalk), Carolyn Reifers (Wilton), Christopher Seep (Ridgefield), Carole Southall (Wilton), and Katherine Southall (Norwalk).
“We thought it would be wonderful to kick off the new year with a special exhibition that showcases the works of local artists who actively reached out to us because they wanted to display their work at the library. This show reflects our connections to our community, which are very meaningful to us,” Wilton Library Art Co-Chair Betsy Huffman said. “The title and theme of ‘Through a Different Set of Eyes’ was chosen because it allowed us to include all of the artists, no matter what their style, subject matter, or medium was. Hopefully, the show will allow viewers to realize that whatever their opinions are, there are always other viewpoints possible.”
The artists come from a range of backgrounds. The following descriptions of the artists and their works are from a press release.
Christopher Breining believes that a work of art is an artist’s depiction of his vision of the world. When looking upon a work of art, one is witnessing the vision of [the] artist himself translated to paper or other medium for others to understand and interpret. Breining’s stunning masterpieces are realistic yet unique, put to paper for all to enjoy. Each piece amazingly allows the viewer to grasp Christopher’s original talent and technique.
Randy Carboni is a visual artist residing in Bethel and has been active in the local art community for many years. He has been a member of the Ridgefield Guild of Artists since 1995 and has served on the Guild’s board of directors, created and maintained the Guild’s original website and been the Guild’s historian. He has been a board member of the Ridgefield Arts Council and a moderator of the Abstract/Contemporary forum for the Wetcanvas website. He is also currently a member of SCAN (The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown), the Hamden Art League and the Lyme Art Association.
Runfang Cui is 84 years old. She’s a self-taught painter and began painting regularly after her retirement from the medical field. In the summer of 2023, she relocated from China to live with her daughter in Wilton. She enjoys painting, cooking and TikTok.
Lorraine Gelard is an artist who has worn many hats over the years, from that of art director and illustrator to web designer and muralist. She has been creating art for over 30 years, in many different mediums for large corporations as well as private individuals. A classically trained graduate from the School of Visuals Arts in NYC, Gelard pursued a career in the hectic NYC advertising scene, working for many years at advertising agencies both large and small. She eventually escaped Manhattan to work as an art director for Reader’s Digest in Westchester. These days Gelard explores her creativity through paintings in watercolor and acrylics plus creating large murals for public and private residences. Exploring a new path, she started teaching painting seven years ago and has loved this new venue, finding it exceptionally rewarding and fulfilling. Gelard joined the Wallace Center and has been teaching acrylic painting and watercolor.
Bob Leidner is a retired CPA. He has returned to art in the past three years by participating in art courses at the Wilton Senior Center.
Leila Mgaloblishvili grew up in Wilton and began her art education at the Silvermine Arts Center. Her work combines watercolor, ink and other mediums to explore aesthetics between photorealism and stylized design.
A long-time resident of New Canaan, Beth Marie Reifers has been living in Norwalk for the past 10 years. She has exhibited her oils, watercolors and acrylics as a member of the Carriage Barn as well as the Rowayton Arts Center. She majored in art at Boston College.
In the years since Carolyn Reifers retired from teaching general music to elementary school children in Greenwich, she has found herself pulled toward the visual arts. She realized she needed to learn to draw before she could achieve her goal of becoming an excellent artist. She then moved towards watercolor painting, acrylics, pen and ink, and gouache. Soon she will be taking classes in oil painting. She lives in Wilton with her husband Mark. She has two adult children, a daughter who lives in California with her family and a son who lives in Brookfield. She loves to take long walks and hikes in the woods and on the beach. She reads inspirational books, meditates, and especially loves to do yoga and pilates.
Christopher Seep is a retired medical professional with a lifelong interest in the visual arts, especially photography. He is also a writer, poet, and ceramicist.
Carole Southall attended the University of Washington in Seattle where she studied printmaking with Jacob Lawrence. Important influences from her youth in Missouri and Texas are the storytelling artists Thomas Hart Benton and Peter Hurd. She is now a color and design consultant to Rings End. Before that, she had a career as a fundraiser for such institutions as the National Parks, Lincoln Center and Westport Country Playhouse.
Born in Texas, and raised and educated in Missouri, Katherine Southall has lived in the East for most of her adult life. She practiced medicine in New York City, New Jersey, Maine, Kansas and Pennsylvania. Now in retirement, she volunteers at the Americares clinic. With no time for art school, she gleaned artistic information and perspective from family members, community classes and YouTube. It is a life-long learning process and Southall appreciates that parallel to life itself.
The exhibition runs through Thursday, Jan. 30. A majority of the works are available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the library.