Potter 3 Generations

Jul 2- Jul 31

On July 2, 2005, From 7-10pm in New London CT, the Hygienic Art Galleries present an opening reception for the “Potter 3 Generations” exhibit. We are honored and excitied to feature the works of this prominant and local family of artists, Fuller Potter, his son Dan Potter, and Dan’s daughters, Giselle and Chloe.

Fuller Potter made the transition from traditional figurative mode, studying with Thomas Benton Hart, towards the abstract mode after connecting with Jackson Pollock and other members of the abstract expressionism movement. The American post-World War II art movement was the first original American school of painting to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the art world. With his energetic graphic skills, emotional intensity and mastery of color, Fuller followed his path to create his original abstract art form which he refined through his devotion to painting until he passed in 1990. Born in New York and living in Ledyard, CT most of his life, Fuller inspired an amazing legacy.

Selling his first sculpture incognito at the Whitney Biennale Exhibition in 1956, when he was only ten years old, the sculpture, actor, and founder of the Mystic Paper Beasts Theatre Co., Dan Potter, has exhibited extensively ever since. From assemblage drawings and sculpture in his teen years, to pottery, anatomical drawings, lost wax bronzes and plasma cut sculpture. After apprenticing to Paul Matisse as a designer and studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Strasbourg, Dan graduated from the Putney School, Harvard College, and the Graduate School of Design. He also attended Lyme Academy, studying with Dean Keller. Dan is the architect of “Dragon’s Egg” which is next to his studio in Ledyard, CT. It is a rehearsal space that is free to artists in dance and theatre that was a dream of his wife Marya Ursin.

The year she didn’t go to school, performed with her parents puppet theatre company, travelled and lived in an old wooden carnival caravan, journaled and drew one adventure after another, in the center of her creative family surely nurtured Giselle Potter as the whimsical and witty artist that she is today. “I drew a lot as a kid because that is what everyone around me did.” Giselle has been a childrens book illustrator since the 1990’s. Praised by the New York Times, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal, she is also a frequent contributing artist to the New Yorker Magazine and numerous other publications.

With the intense mood, saturated color, and detail of her photographs, Chloe Potter brings us on a journey through magic, mysteries and truth. Currently living in Austria, Chloe is a dedicated artist and commercial photographer. Born in New London, CT , she earned her B.F.A. with Honors Award from Rhode Island School of Design. She studied in Rome with the RISD European Honors Program and at Bard College. She has exhibited internationally. Fostered by her extrordinary family like her sister Giselle, her fairy tale themes resonate with the story in us all.