Angelnook Gallery Was Featured In The Cranston Herald!

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http://cranstononline.com/stories/Angelnook-Gallery-breaks-the-mold-at-Saturday-opening,70674

Angelnook Gallery breaks the mold at Saturday opening

Typically, gallery openings are a quiet affair. Art enthusiasts mull over each piece silently, glass of wine in hand.

On Saturday, Angelnook Gallery in Cranston is breaking that mold.

“Here, we throw a heck of a party. It’s a really great time,” said manager and curator Colette Burmester.

From 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, there will be an opening reception with food and refreshments for Chakra Forces, a group show featuring the work of notable local artists, including Hope Costa, Nathan Sipperley, Adreienne Croy and William Giese. Guests will enjoy the art with a musical backdrop courtesy of Paul Holder and Global Crash, which blurs the lines of techno and electronic music.

Angelnook often has acoustic performers during exhibitions, but Burmester is excited to see how a more upbeat performance will impact peoples’ experience in viewing the artwork.

“You get an entire embodiment of work. The whole air is filled up and it bright a light; it makes people smile,” she said. “It sparks emotions in the artwork as well.”

All of the pieces in this installment explore the artists’ interpretation of the chakra, or centers of energy in the body. The theme, Burmester said, has attracted a younger group of artists, most of who are between the ages of 22 and 35. She thinks that could be in part because of Alex Grey, an artist who often addresses chakra in his work and “is one of the major influences on young people in the art world.”

The gallery, however, has something for all ages and has consistently drawn in mixed crowds both for events and for workshops. Angelnook offers a life drawing workshop every other Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. and is starting up a monthly meditation group. In the future, they hope to offer yoga as well. On May 12 and 13, there will be a Mother’s Day tent sale from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday.

Burmester said no one should be intimidated by coming into the gallery. They are planning an “I’m not an artist art show” in September, and amateurs are welcome to experience workshops or show their art to Burmester.

“Yes, we like to show established artists, but we accept everyone into Angelnook. For 2012 we’re just really reaching out to anyone who wants to be a part of what we’re doing,” she said.

Angelnook has issued a call for artists for 2012, with various shows planned throughout the year. They are looking for sculptural artwork, for example, that can be fixed outside of the gallery. Entries to the Spirit in Nature show are due by May 31 and the Mandala Meditation show entries are due by June 30. These shows offer cash awards as well.

Next up on the calendar is Ethereal Light, an installation at the Cranston Country Club. There will be an opening reception for Ethereal Light on May 17 from 5 to 8 p.m., and the installation will be up through July 16.

“We’re like a mobile art gallery,” Burmester said.

When asked what visitors can expect from the Chakra Forces installation, which will be up through June 3, Burmester said it is tough to say, as it was not hung as of Tuesday. She believes it will elicit a positive response from the crowd Saturday, though.

“I think that they are going to feel elated through color. They’re going to be awed by size,” she said, calling some of the pieces “really out there, really unique.”

Exposing people to new types of art, she said, is the ultimate goal.

“We’re accepting art that is very different than most in Rhode Island. We’re accepting artists who are ready to push that limit,” she said. “We’re really excited to be bringing art to Cranston.”

Angelnook Gallery is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.angelnookgallery.com or call 401-228-6680.