R.E.M. in the Melville House gallery, art by Jeri Coppola.
Not only does Melville House boast a bookshop, that bookshop doubles as an exhibition space – publisher, bookshop, gallery … what doesn’t Melville House do? The gallery hosts regular exhibitions, the openings to which form part of Dumbo’s “First Thursday Gallery Walk.”
April 19-August 17: William Brayton: Acushnet
William Brayton was born in Westport, CT in 1958. In 1976 he enrolled in studio art at the University of New Hampshire. WIlliam’s undergraduate education was enhanced through apprenticeships in wooden boatbuilding with Paul Rollins, and ceramics with Gerry Williams. After graduating cum laude from UNH in 1980, he completed additional apprenticeships in ceramics with Malcolm Wright and cabinetmaking with Jay Michael. In 1984 William enrolled in the MFA program at Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles where he studied with Paul Soldner, Denzil Hurley, Connie Zehr, and Peter Shelton. As a result of this experience, his three-dimensional work shifted into sculpture and installation art.
In 1988, William was hired by Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts to establish a sculpture program, and to teach drawing. From 2004-8 he served as Dean of the School for Interdisciplinary Arts. In 1989, William was awarded a Pollock Krasner Foundation grant. Other professional and institutional grants followed from MacArthur Foundation, The Mellon Foundation, and the Howard Foundation. Solo exhibitions include shows at Dartmouth College, Amherst College, and the Art Lot in Brooklyn, NY, as well as group shows at the Chesterwood Museum, the Berkshire Museum, and The Hudson River Museum. Photos and reviews of his work have appeared in the Seattle Times, The Boston Globe, Sculpture Magazine, and Art New England.
William’s current sculpture and drawings reference several art historical movements including Post Minimalism and Biomorphic Abstraction. A focus on marine fabrication methods has led to recent sculpture in steam bent white oak, welded bronze, and “Braytoncrete,” a lightweight concrete sculpting material. New work in drawing and digital printmaking collide nautical data on wind and weather with abstract drawing concerns. A collaboration with Hampshire College colleague N.S. Koenings is also underway. William, his wife Eric Wurtz (a ceramic sculptor,) and his son Gavin live and work in Conway, Massachusetts.
Ostria by William Brayton
If you would like to propose an exhibition, please contact Melville House curator Jim Osman at jim[at]mhpbooks.com. Please, contact Jim ONLY for exhibition related queries.
Gallery hours are:
Monday – Friday 12 – 6, and by appointment.
For an appointment call: 718-722-9204