Upcoming Exhibitions
  

November 8 - January 25, 2009
Curated by Al Kochka, Director of the Geissbuhler Project
Sponsored in part by a grant from the Jeremiah Kaplan Foundation of the UJA Federation, NY
     Born in Switzerland in 1897, Arnold Geissbuhler apprenticed with Zurich architectural sculptor Otto Munch before moving to Paris in 1919. He studied with sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, who had been a student of Rodin’s. At the Académie de la Grande Chaumière he became friends with many artists, including Alberto Giacometti, who became a lifelong friend. He also met a young student, Elisabeth Chase of Dennis, MA, who later became recognized as a Rodin scholar.  They fell in love and married.  
    The Geissbuhler’s travelled extensively. He exhibited in Paris, New York and Boston. The first showing of his work was at the Whitney Studio (later the Whitney Museum of American Art) and his first one-man show was held at the Kraushaar Gallery on Fifth Avenue, where drawings by Rodin were also on display. 
    They resided in Provincetown from 1934 – 1937. Geissbuhler taught drawing and sculptural techniques at Wellesley College for 21 years from 1937 through 1958. He had a sculpture studio in Dennis where they set up residence in 1970.
     Geissbuhler brought with him to America the academic tradition of monumental, heroic sculpture. But he went beyond the traditions of realism and became more abstract, working with new materials such as ceramic.
      The selections in this show trace the artist’s evolving forms of expression influenced by the time in which he lived, the changing artistic movements around him, and how he responded to them.
        This exhibition highlights examples of his work: from his early academic years, his changing styles during the 1930s while at Wellesley and Provincetown, his work during the Great Depression and WW II, his own Atomazon series, his family themes and in his final years, his heroic-sized ceramic works.
Gallery Talks with Al Kochka:
    Thurs: Nov 13, 11 am
    Sun, Dec 7, 2 pm
    Tues, Jan 6, 11 am

 
VERNON H. COLEMAN: Seascapes, Ships & Scenery
October 18 - January 11, 2009
     Vernon Coleman (1898 – 1978) was born in Norwich, CT, where he grew up enjoying puppet shows that sparked his love of theatre, designing sets, and his lifelong interest in art. He studied at the Corcoran Gallery School of Art in Washington, D.C. 
     Later, in the early 1920s after moving with his family to Cape Cod, he became affliated with the Cape Playhouse and became a founder of the Cape Cod Art Club, setting up a studio in Yarmouth Port. During the Depression, he created over 100 murals under the WPA program, some which still exist in public buildings throughout the town of Barnstable. In 1943, he began a 22-year career as a teacher in the Barnstable Schools, for which he is fondly remembered. He is primarily known for his marine scenes, which will be on view in this exhibition.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE CAPE COD SUMMER
   Work of Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
November 1 - January 4, 2009
    "Each house is a wish—a place of tranquility by the sea, where memories are made with families and friends…a particular version of the endless summer."
  - Michael J. Crosbie, PhD, AIA; introduction to book, Architecture of the Cape Cod Summer
   
    This exhibition shows the design process and creations of the region’s top architecture and construction firm, Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders. It explores the compelling art – underpinned by the science of construction, influenced by the specific demands of the region and client, and executed by master craftsmen that make this firm so respected in their profession. The show includes a chronology of the firm’s major work – including its work on CCMA – and a close look at three houses. 
    See the design process of a dazzling seaside home, “House on Champlain’s Bluff,” the inner spaces and architectural  details that make “Pepperwood” a unique work of art, and learn how regulatory constraints were turned into positive influences for “Home On Harper’s Island.”
    The work comes alive through drawings, models, small architectural elements, and stunning color photographs taken by some of the nation’s top architectural photographers.
    The book, Architecture of the Cape Cod Summer, is available in conjunction with this show, with an introduction and text by Michael J. Crosbie, Ph.D., AIA. 
    A series of Related Talks are scheduled in connection with this show:
Sunday, November 2, 2 pm
John DaSilva, Design Principal, Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
“Grounded Wings & Flying Tails: Designing a Seaside Home”
 
Sunday, November 9, 2 pm
Peter McMahon, Executive Director, Cape Cod Modern House Trust
“Modernist Architecture on Cape Cod”
  
Sunday, November 16, 2 pm
Randall Perry, Architectural Photographer
“Photographing the Art of Design”
 
Thursday, December 11, 11 am
John DaSilva, Design Principal, Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
“Grounded Wings & Flying Tails: Designing a Seaside Home”