After the grand opening at Artspace on Friday evening, artists and enthusiasts descended on Erector Square on Saturday and Sunday to see dozens of open studios.

During the first of three weekends, more than 80 local artists opened their workspaces and laid out snacks for visitors in the three-story brick warehouse complex in Fair Haven. Those who battled the crowds saw an almost dizzying array of art in a massive, labyrinthine space.

Many of the artists, like Fethi Meghelli, have participated in the Open-Studio since the inaugural event ten years ago. “It’s terrific because every year artists have a chance to open their studios and have an exchange of ideas with the community,” he explained.

While showing off his most recent pieces, portraits in charcoal on paper, Meghelli said he was pleased that so far, the annual event has maintained a vibrant, open quality. “It’s really an artists’ community.” A resident of New Haven for over 30 years, Meghelli originally trained in Algeria and at the School of Fine Arts in Paris.

Despite the generally positive atmosphere, the event did begin amid some speculation about the future. In July, Leslie Shaffer replaced Helen Kauder as the executive director of Artspace, which organizes the City Wide Open Studios. But since by then, planning was already well underway for this year’s Open-Studio, Shaffer’s arrival raised questions that likely won’t be answered until next year. (Click here to read an Advocate article exploring those questions.)

Most of the artists were reserved about the leadership change at Artspace, but Meghelli weighed in with measured optimism: “I think she’s going to have a lot of energy to make changes, which is good.”

Most of the attention was focused on sharing and exchange among artists and art-lovers. Liz Pagano, a printmaker, hosted her friend and sometimes collaborator Hayne Bayless, a potter, in a studio she’s occupied for five years. Pagano joked that they had been participating in the Open Studios “since the beginning of time.” Bayless noted that “New Haven is pretty unique in have such a strong arts community; even though we always sell a lot, the Open-Studio is more about the community.”

Pagano was happy to show Bayless’s pots alongside her prints and paintings. Together, the two also build lamps with beautifully printed shades and cement or ceramic bases. She described the origins of their collaborative efforts, “I had to pound it into his head that we could work together.”

In a large warehouse space that was opened to selected artists from the community who don’t normally work at Erector Square, Dorothy Powers showed large form. Her dynamic piece represented a figure clad in a burkha as it passes through a series of motions. Powers created her arresting work through Xerox photo enlargements printed on canvas then painted.

She explained, “Women in burkhas are generally such a redundant image, but the wind really took these another place.” The photo-processing exaggerated the light and shadows to dramatic effect.

Powers was attracted to the show at Erector Square because of the generous space it afforded, “I probably wouldn’t have come, but there are so few chances to show such a large piece.”

A husband and wife, both trained as scientists, shared a space to show their paintings and photography. Maria Morabito paints images inspired by signs, symbols, and alphabets. She noted that one particularly vivid series of paintings was inspired by looking at her father’s handwriting. “People pass away and the only thing you have is their signature, their writing.”

Morabito’s husband, Lambert Edelmann, credits his training in cell structures with inspiring his photography. He captures industrial items on film in ways that echo the patterns within proteins or other cells. “The ideas behind industrial construction and the need to construct a living cell are very similar,” he explained.

Louise Harter, a potter, noted that her warmly lit space had been proclaimed “most homey studio” by several visitors. Her partner, Sarah Carrol, was painting porcelain slabs with one visitor to be fired in a wood kiln.

Victoria Branch showed an assortment of mixed-media work, including pottery, collage, and even sculpture crafted from chairs.

Irene Miller displayed prints with layered images. One particularly arresting image combined the photo from the passport her mother used to leave Germany in 1939 with images of her mother’s handwriting. “She doesn’t like this picture at all,” Miller explained ruefully. Other prints utilized household items like the flat face of an iron.

Several of the artists showed their pride for the show by purchasing silk-screened T-shirts emblazoned with an eye, a heart, and symbol for art. Tung Hoang made the silk-screening a family affair by inviting his nieces and nephews to help him create the shirts.

The second weekend will highlight individual artists in their studios while the third will conclude the festival at an alternative space. As happened last year last year, the former Hamden Middle School has been selected as the alternative space.

Sign Up for Email AlertsEmail This Story

Your Email:

Recipient's Email:
Your Email:
Message (optional):