The South Burlington Public Art Gallery presents ongoing exhibitions to showcase local artistic endeavors; encourage public dialogue, understanding, and enjoyment of visual art; enrich the environment and community; contribute to an understanding of our surroundings, ideas, and cultures; and open our collective and individual minds and hearts.

On exhibit:

March 16 – May 29, 2024  |  SPRING RELEASE, a Vermont Watercolor Society member show

The Vermont Watercolor Society (VWS) is exhibiting its annual spring membership show, SPRING RELEASE, at the South Burlington Public Art Gallery from Saturday, March 16 through May 29, 2024. The juried exhibition showcases 40 outstanding paintings that illustrate the diverse styles of expression possible with this dynamic medium. This show’s exhibit entries were judged by Downington, PA watercolorist Mick McAndrews.

Lynn Zimmerman "Spring Swans", watercolor, 13" x 19"

Nina Suggs, “Silver & Gold”, watercolor, 15" x 18"
The Vermont Watercolor Society, founded in 1995, celebrates its 29th year of presenting the best of paintings in watercolor. VWS is dedicated to promoting the awareness and appreciation of watercolor to its membership at all levels of ability and to the larger community. The Society provides opportunities and venues for participation, education, fellowship and exhibitions. 

The show is free and open to the public.

Planning Your Visit: Hours, Location & Access

The Gallery may be visited by the public whenever the Library, City Hall, or Senior Center are open. The Gallery is accessible during building open hours: Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–7 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. (Closed Sunday and all federal holidays).  The Gallery is located at 180 Market Street along the main hall of the Public Library, Senior Center, and City Hall. Market Street can be accessed from either Dorset Street, opposite the University Mall, or Hinesburg Road, and is on the Red Green Mountain Transit bus line. Bicycle and car parking is free and available along Market Street as well as in the City Hall parking lot directly behind the building or across the street.

The Gallery does not represent artists or sell their works. If you are interested in a specific painting or artwork, you may contact artists directly. Information about artists and works on display are in a publicly accessible binder located on the Welcome Center desk. 

Have works to show?

Exhibition Space

The Gallery space is a wide, open corridor between the main lobby, auditorium, and Senior Center. It features adjustable lighting and a gallery rail hanging system.

Programming

The appointed Curator is charged with the organization and presentation of quality creative exhibitions that are appropriate for the public nature of the space. Each exhibition is reviewed and approved by the Public Art Committee. The Gallery space is intended to be ever-changing with a minimum of four exhibitions presented each year.

PRIOR SHOWS

January 5 – March 13, 2024  |  Pievy Polyte: From Haiti to Vermont

Burlington, Vermont-based artist Pierrevy “Pievy” Polyte was born in the south of Haiti and grew up supporting his father’s coffee farm. Inspired by his brother and uncle, who were artists, Polyte eventually enrolled in the Ecole Nationale des Arts (ENARTS) in Port-au-Prince. His paintings are inspired by Haiti’s people, landscapes, shipyards, spiritual traditions, and music.

In addition to his work as an artist, Polyte is an agronomist, chef, and teacher, and he is the founder of a coffee cooperative, Peak Macaya, and school in Haiti. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew destroyed Polyte’s farms and schools.  Proceeds from Polyte’s art sales go to Peak Macaya Cooperative, which grows coffee, cocoa, fruit, and vegetables while aiming to promote the biodiversity of Haiti’s second tallest mountain.

October 23 – December 30, 2023  |  South Burlington Art Teacher's Works

The South Burlington Public Art Gallery was pleased to present artwork created by the art teachers from the South Burlington School District: Susie Ely, Kelsey Lewis, Jennifer Goodrich, Elizabeth (Beth) Coleman, Alison Treston, Kim Kimball, Lisa Divoll-Painter, Kristina Bolduc, and Philip Galiga; also included is Julian Barritt, a social studies teacher from the South Burlington High School.

The exhibition featured paintings, mixed-media compositions, “bedazzled” objects, and photographs in a wide range of subject matter, from faces and figures to plants and animals to landscapes and abstract designs. As practicing art educators, these artists have had the opportunity to explore and utilize a wide range of art media, tools, and techniques over the years. 

August 2 – October 19, 2023 |  Let The Light In

The exhibition featured the work of four Vermont artists, Liz Hawkes deNiord, Joy Huckins-Noss, Jill Madden, and Julia Purinton.  Curated by Xandra Ford, who is a student at Essex High School (Class of 2024) and was the South Burlington Public Art Gallery intern in the spring of 2023. 

Clockwise from top left: Julia Purinton, “Nocturne,” oil on canvas, 24"x36"; Joy Huckins-Noss, “Yield,” oil, 14"x18"; Jill Madden, “Breadloaf Beaver Ponds,” oil on linen, 30"x30"; Liz Hawkes deNiord, “Paramita I,” acrylic on canvas, 36"x36"

“Let The Light In” explores the effect of light in art. Some of these artists utilize the absence of light, through its shadow or obscurity, to showcase complex emotional themes, while others use the presence of light, through its colors or patterns, to show similar complexity from a different perspective. All of the artists exhibit light in such a way that it’s brought to the forefront of the viewing experience. 

June 1- July 30, 2023 | South Burlington School District Student Artwork

The South Burlington Public Art Gallery is pleased to exhibit artwork by students from the South Burlington School District (SBSD) - a show curated by SBSD art teachers.

A sampling of student work, from each of the schools, has been selected to showcase the knowledge, skills, and creativity of the student artists at various levels of development. The selections demonstrate some of the best efforts of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Choosing only a few pieces was difficult; many of the students throughout the district created pieces worthy of exhibition. SBSD students have made many fabulous pieces in a wide range of media while exploring imagination, observation, and abstraction. Students have been inspired by master artists, various cultures, nature, experiences, and passions.

March 23 – May 30, 2023 | Vermont Vernacular

The latest exhibition at the South Burlington Public Art Gallery brings together four artists who call the Green Mountain State home:Linda Finkelstein (South Burlington), Kathleen Fleming (Charlotte), Susan Larkin (Isle La Motte), and Phil Laughlin (Williston).  Each is inspired by the natural beauty of the landscape but captures it through a different perspective, style, and medium.

Linda Finkelstein describes her art making as “a way to many places,” either quiet or exuberant.  Kathleen Fleming works in a contemporary style in which the landscape of Vermont, with its colors, shapes, and tones, are endlessly inspiring to her.  In Susan Larkin's most recent work, she focuses on simplifying and distilling the visual story, using shapes, color, and fewer details to get closer to the essence of an idea, a moment in a day.  In Vermont, Phil Laughlin has discovered the subjects rich in tradition that have inspired generations of New England artists, and inspired him to take take up the practice of painting again after setting it aside for a career in graphic design.

Images from upper left clockwise: Susan Larkin, “Drifting” oil on canvas, 24" x 30";  Linda Finkelstein, “Vermont Aglow” fine art print, 20" x 16"; Kathleen Fleming, “Endless” mixed media on panel, 24" x 24"; Phil Laughlin, “Covered Bridge” oil on canvas, 22" x 28".
 

January 5 – March 14, 2023 | Marvin Fishman Retrospective

This winter, the South Burlington Public Art Gallery is featuring a retrospective of Charlotte-based artist Marvin Fishman’s primary two-dimensional series of work. Spanning a multitude of genres, Fishman uses primarily acrylic paints and works on a variety of media, such as canvas, wood, stones, and even dead tree roots. He often utilizes the wet-on-wet method, pouring paint into other wet layers, then manipulating it to shape and blend the colors. “My subjects are imaginary—imaginary faces, landscapes, and abstracts,” the artist says. “Degas said, ‘Art is not what you see but what you make others see.’ I hope that my works encourage the viewer to study them in their whole and in their detail, and not merely to observe casually; to focus down from the whole to see the intricacies, the patterns, and the fine detail. As such, my aim is to give viewers free rein to use their imagination.”


Image:  Marvin Fishman, A Touch ofTangerine, acrylic on canvas, 30"x42"

Sept 14 – Dec 12, 2022  | South Burlington Showcase

Featuring the artwork of Gin Ferrara, Jeffrey Pascoe, and Michael Strauss.

The Gallery's 2022 fall show, South Burlington Showcase, highlighted the talents of three local artists—all from South Burlington—working in a variety of media, including acrylic and watercolor painting and photography. This show was curated by Jessica Manley.


Image:  Michael Strauss, Creemee Shack, Waterfront Park (2019), acrylic & Ink on paper

Sept 1 – Sept 9, 2022 | East-West Crossing Project - Walk Bike Bridge Over I-89

Project design materials for public comment on options.

July 18 – August 30, 2022 | In the Garden

This show was curated by Jessica Manley.

Featuring the artwork of Gregg Blasdel, Kimberly Bombard, Sara Katz, Kate Longmaid, and Dianne Shullenberger.  

In the Garden brought together five Vermont artists who are also avid gardeners or nature enthusiasts. From flowers, vegetables, and “weeds” to pollinators and other garden wildlife, the exhibition immerses viewers in botanical explorations in a variety of media and scale.

November 1, 2021 – January 7, 2022 | Hometown Watercolorists

Artists: Joey Bibeau, Lynn Cummings, Alice Eckles, Martin Lalonde, and Lauren Wooden

www.vtwatercolor.org 

The show featured work by five Signature members of the Vermont Watercolor Society, three of whom are South Burlington residents, Martin Lalonde, Lynn Cummings, and Lauren Wooden. The group is completed with Joey Bibeau of Essex and Alice Eckles of Middlebury. A wonderful aspect of this group show was the opportunity to see many styles of watercolor painting, from landscapes and portraits to abstract works. To learn more about these artists, visit the Vermont Watercolor Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the awareness and appreciation of watercolor.

August 7, 2021 – October 14, 2021  |  One Degree of Separation

Artist: Todd Lockwood

The show featured a series of large, square-format black-and-white portraits. Describing the process to create these powerful photographs, Lockwood says, “My challenge is to create a transcendent portrait and at the same time create a portrait that’s true. I try to eliminate the effects of personality and performance, and this is what’s left.” 

Portraits included those of former governor Madeleine Kunin (shown here), Vermont State Representative John Killacky, two-time Vermont Poetry Out Loud winner Claude Mumbere, and filmmaker Jay Kraven.