Karen Ponzio Photos
Jo Kremer.
The top floor of the Marlinworks Eagle building in East Rock was the setting for the opening of the studios of a small but dazzling array of artists on Saturday afternoon, with a display of works as eye-grabbing as the foliage of East Rock Park right outside their windows. The five artists — Linda Lindroth, Nancy Karpel, Craig Newick, David Margolis and Jo Kremer — were participating in the artist-organized City-Wide Open Studios weekend this past Saturday and Sunday, which also included events in Erector Square and City Gallery.
Lindroth, Karpel and Newick had all participated in previous years, when CWOS was helmed by Artspace. Margolis was having his first experience not only having his studio open but showing his work, and Kremer, who had participated elsewhere, was enjoying getting to know her new space and neighbors in the building. It all made for an afternoon of sharing and support that felt both intimate and expansive at the same time.
Lindroth's pieces, both large and small
The ideas of intimacy and expansiveness could be found in Lindroth’s work, located in the first room encountered on that third floor, on the walls and large tables. A variety of pieces, including one from her Polaroid exhibition recently on display at the New Haven Museum, were available for viewing, but the majority of works displayed were archival pigment prints, some up to 44 by 45 inches, made from “ephemera, found objects, and boxes” that she manipulates.
“Artists go around and find junk and make stuff out of it,” she said with a laugh. “My objects are detritus, and I look for them on streets, in people’s basements, online. I can find boxes anywhere.”
Lindroth’s archival pigment prints begin when she photographs an object on a white background, then silhouettes it while keeping the rough edges. Though she does her computer and digital work at home, she comes to this space for “looking, seeing, thinking, and bringing in people from the outside world,” as with this open studio weekend.
“It can be a very quiet place of contemplation,” she noted, though on this day it was filled with a steady stream of friends and fellow artists, including her neighbors from the other studios.
Nancy Karpel — who specializes in contemporary jewelry made from precious metals, gemstones, rare minerals, enamels, and found objects — had also participated in the yearly open studios and was happy to resume this year with this group.
“It’s all for the benefit of the artists,” she said. “We have to do something since Artspace is no longer.”
Karpel adjusts her display
One of the highlights of her work on display was a collection she started making this summer using pieces of sea glass she obtained many years ago from a woman who brought them back from Italy. When she was almost done with the series, which included pieces with a Hawaiian theme, the wildfires broke out.
“I felt really bad,” she said. “I’d been there before and never forgot my experiences there, so I said, ‘I can’t just sell these sea glass pendants with these Hawaiian images, the plumeria flowers and the seahorses. I just have to donate at least half to them.’”
That led to her establishing the Maui Fundraising Project, donating 50 percent of the proceeds from those pieces to the Hawaiian American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
“It’s almost like I had anticipated needing these pieces,” she said.
One of Karpel's pieces from her Maui Fundraising project.
Karpel made her way through the studios of the other artists, including the space across the hall now occupied by photographer David Margolis, who was displaying his photos for the first time anywhere.
“I’m new here,” he said, noting that he had just moved into the space here in May.
“This is what I did in college, but then I got into business and I neglected it,” he said. Recently, with the encouragement of family and friends, he has taken a big step back in. “I love it, it’s great,” he added.
His work on display included a selection of photos from a 12-day trip to Israel in May with his temple in Hamden. His first time there, he “sort of became the group photographer,” he said, taking hundreds of photos.
“This kind of motivated me to get them up,” Margolis said, noting that he chose ones that were “meaningful” to him.
More photos from Israel and other areas around the world he has traveled to covered another wall, including a photo of the East Rock monument taken from the steps of the building. Another display of urinal photos, taken with his iPhone, surrounded an actual urinal (which was not for sale).
“My family thinks I’m crazy, but I took a picture of a urinal back in 2011 that I thought was interesting, and then I would just go into a bathroom and say, ‘this could be interesting,’” he said. “Now I think I have about 500 photos, so I just picked some that I thought would be a nice display, and then I decided to go overboard and actually get one.”
Then there was the selection of candid portraits framing a large mirror, portraits of people in Margolis’s life, that made the viewer a part of the exhibit, seeing yourself not only in the mirror, but in the diverse group of faces surrounding it.
“I’m putting myself out there,” he said, excited to be a part of this day as well. “Hopefully I’ll have some friends come down, I like hanging out here anyway.”
The mirror and portrait display by Margolis.
Each of the artists had made it a point to tell me to make sure to visit the studio of Craig Newick, architect and owner of Newick Architects, where diminutive detailed wood and plastic models gave a heightened sense of their larger livable spaces and places, becoming pieces of art in their own right.
“I have real models of everything,” he added. “It’s such a descriptive. You have it in your hands, and it moves in time, space, and light in a very real way.… These pieces of wood in your hands have an intimacy. It’s such a descriptive way to show a lay person where we are headed.”
Newick and one of his many creations.
Newick, who moved into this studio on the fateful morning of September 11, 2001, showed me many of his pieces, including his American Institute of Architects award-winning ‘R Kids building, located at 44 Dixwell Ave. He was more than happy to share and discuss his work with any and all visitors.
“This location has always been part of Open Studios,” he said. “The artists really enjoy having the traffic and meeting people and showing the work, so it continues.”
The final studio on the floor was, like art itself, a work in progress, as artist Jo Kremer had only just moved into the space at the end of September. The only piece she had on display for the weekend was an oil painting of a scene overlooking State and Crown Streets from the early 2000s. Kremer said she had created the perspective after spending an evening on the roof of a building down there during a full moon. Some of the view doesn’t exist anymore, like New Haven Coliseum and its winding garage entry and exit. Other parts — Cafe Nine — are still landmarks.
She also mentioned how the former occupant of this space, renowned local artist Constance LaPalombara, who passed away earlier this year, had also painted a memorable scene of Crown Street, and how profound that felt to her. She expressed gratitude not only for the studio, but for how kind and welcoming the other artists had been to her thus far.
“I feel so lucky to have this space,” she said. “It’s been so good getting to know everyone.”
Kremer also mentioned feeling “optimistic” about her art, noting that she already felt inspired by those around her and by her jaw-dropping view of East Rock in all of its autumnal glory.
“I’m excited,” she added. “I feel liberated, like maybe it’s a fresh start.”
