Cornwall Bridge Gallery is a fresh addition to the
rich culture that we enjoy in the Northwest Corner

Cornwall Bridge Gallery is not a traditional art gallery. Instead of having one curator/director representing individual artists, the gallery provides curatorial opportunities to artists, curators, collectors and other arts professionals. The intent is to keep the content of their shows to a contemporary idiom and to high standards, while the work shown will vary depending on the choices of the guest curator.

David Meharg, the owner of the gallery, loves abstract art and has great respect and curiosity for the many local artists doing excellent work. He feels strongly that fostering an accessibility to area artists and even musicians, is critical to the future vitality of the space. He says, “We want it to be a place that artists want to be — to show here, to engage with the work on exhibit, to come for live music, artist’s talks and other events.” It is his conviction that collectors and people serious about contemporary artwork will flow from this, despite (or maybe because of) the remote setting in Cornwall.

Meharg continually bounces ideas off of his wide network of friends and acquaintances, and makes it a priority to support local businesses. He generally operates with a team-player spirit, and gives the impression that this gallery will always function in a “collective” spirit. For example, the work that was selected for the gallery’s first show, CARAVAN, was put together by the artists. They decided which pieces would be on exhibit. Jessica Jane Perkel and fellow artist-curator Ted Gahl invited the artiststo participate in the show. Some of the artists divide their work and life between the city and the country. They show in New York galleries like Feature Inc, DODGE, and Morgan Lehman in New York, Geoffry Young Gallery in Great Barrington or Giampietro gallery in New Haven. Others are not represented by commercial galleries, showing their work in Pop-up galleries in NY or CT, libraries, or other regional locations. The name CARAVAN, which Ted Gahl conceived, reflects the way in which these artists, loosely linked by regional and personal affiliations with one another, casually banded together for the show. This format will not necessarily by continued in subsequent shows, though a CARAVAN 2013 show, with a similarly loose curatorial structure, may become an annual event.

The Director of Exhibits, Jessica Jane Perkel, is an artist, herself. She attended Brown University and Sydney University in Australia, acquiring two degrees, a BA in English, followed by a BA in Fine Art (Sculpture and Installation). She also has a Masters in Architecture from Yale University. Her experience with  founding, editing and writing for various publications, at art school and architecture school, as well as art-handling experience at the New Orleans Museum of art, provided her with a range of skills useful to mounting a show like CARAVAN. It has been so well received that she plans on staying with CBG to hang and coordinate future shows. She’s hoping to find a way to strike a balance in her life between the gallery, time at her studio, and time with her family.

We asked Jessica Jane Perkel if there was an artist whose work she was particularly excited about, an artist who stands out, or whose work is heading in an interesting direction and she replied, “I hate to pigeonhole people with overused terms like “emerging” or “up-and-coming”, especially since Ted Gahl is arguably past this point. But he is still in his 20s, very serious about what he is doing, and one to follow closely. His work unabashedly takes as its heritage the early Modern Masters, recalling the compositional techniques of Henri Matisse and Claude Monet, with with painterly brushwork that recalls abstract expressionists such as Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell. The work is surprisingly mature, yet the volume, versatility and range of what he produces remains fresh and curious, resulting in paintings that balance angst and humor in colorful, intriguing compositions.”

The gallery has begun to invite artists and local arts professionals to consider making proposals for future shows. Soon the gallery website will be updated with guidelines for proposal submissions. Cary Smith is slated to curate a group show sometime in the fall. Other plans in the works are a juried show of student work from local private schools in the early spring, and a show of local sculptural work, utilizing the 2.5 acres of outdoor space at the gallery. David Meharg has a degree in landscape architecture and is planning on installing a sculpture garden on the property. There is another building on the property that David has renovated and he plans to provide art services such as photography or framing from there.

On a recent Sunday, the gallery held a Waffle Breakfast for Artists. The beautifully renovated space was filled with laughter and conversation amid the works of art, a sure sign that the gallery’s goal to create a place for artists to gather and show their work has already been met.

The Cornwall Bridge Gallery
131 Kent Road South
Cornwall Bridge
Open Thursday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 pm
or by appointment.
860 -672-0096
[email protected]
cornwallbridgegallery.com