The Gallery
Chandler Gallery is a year-round, nonprofit art gallery operated primarily by volunteers. It is overseen by Chandler Center for the Arts and our active Gallery Committee. The Gallery is located in the same building as historic Chandler Music Hall.
The Gallery holds approximately eight exhibits per year, covering a wide range of artists, artisans and craftspeople in a broad range of media. From a single renowned artist to an acclaimed traveling show like the "The Hale Street Gang: Portraits in Writing,” the Chandler Gallery's varied and impressive exhibits are influenced by the enthusiasm, style and innovation of the creators. The exhibits are scheduled to simultaneously complement the performances at the Music Hall.Receptions, special talks, demonstrations and workshops are also scheduled.
HISTORY
The Gallery is housed in the same structure as the Music Hall. This space functioned as the Parish House for Bethany Church until 1979 when it was acquired by the Albert B. Chandler Cultural Foundation from the church. It was transformed into a cultural center and deeded directly to the Town of Randolph.
"It's great that Randolph is the geographical center of Vermont, because Chandler, with its wonderful Gallery and magnificent Music Hall, is the 'heart of the arts' in Vermont.”
—Jim Sardonis, sculptor
“Chandler Gallery is an important facet in Randolph's cultural crown jewel known as Chandler Center for the Arts. The gallery plays an important and vital role in our community, by providing a venue for the exhibition of 2-D and 3-D artwork by artists of all kinds: kids, students, aspiring amateurs and established professionals. At Chandler Gallery exhibits, it's always great to see the vast array of art and craft being made right here in Randolph and the surrounding towns.”
—David Hurwitz, woodworker
Gallery Hours
When an exhibit is running
Saturday
Noon to 5 p.m.
Tuesday - Friday
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(Look for the "open" flag
or call (802) 728-9878)
*and during all Chandler events*
Current Exhibit
RE:VISIONS
May 13 – July 1, 2023
The theme of Chandler's latest local area art show, “RE:VISIONS”, is open to artistic interpretation.
As revisions reflect an act of changing, reevaluating, improving many aspects of our lives, and changing phases, we are exhibiting a diverse collection of colorful 2-D and 3-D art in all media: drawing, painting, printing, illustration, photography, digital art, sculpture, video, mixed media, and decorative art (textiles, glass, wood, metal, ceramics, mosaic, paper, or other techniques).
RE:VISIONS can be interpreted representationally or symbolically: How do you see events and objects as time goes on? Do you ever revisit your earlier creations and give them a different twist? What makes you pause and revisit familiar things and events that bring new emotions and ideas, or look at your experiences closer?
We will be hosting an opening reception for RE:VISIONS May 13,
5 :30 – 7 pm
Past Exhibits
Vermont Voices
March 18th - April 29th
Vermont Voices is a collection of student art from area schools. This annual exhibit will feature work from students in preschool through high school in a colorful and inspiring collection of art in diverse mediums and styles. Schools represented will be Bethel Elementary, Braintree Elementary, Brookfield Elementary, Randolph Elementary, Randolph Union High School, and the White River Valley Middle School.
This exhibit that celebrates Youth Art Month will have an opening reception for Artists, Families, and the community on Sunday, March 19 from 2-4 pm. On top of seeing the student art, there will be refreshments and a scavenger hunt with prizes sponsored by the Randolph Elementary PTO.
One way the Vermont Voices theme has been interpreted by schools and students is to focus on Vermont wildlife and there will be striking pastels of Vermont animals, flowers, and vegetables by RUHS students. There will also be a series of nocturnal animals created by RES first and second graders in a series called ‘Moon Light In Vermont”. There will be mushrooms and other fungi as well.
There will also be creative maps of Vermont, one of which highlights local attractions and another Which focuses on Vermont state symbols.
Chandler Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am - 6 pm. Look for additional Earth Day workshops later in April.
Vermont Vistas
September 17th - November 5th
The recent exhibit at Chandler Gallery in Randolph, Vermont entitled Vermont Vistas: Seasonal Views From Regional Printmakers celebrates the natural beauty of our environment. The exhibiting area artists Jeanne Amato, Matt Brown, Janet Cathey, Carol MacDonald, Maureen O’Connor Burgess, and Jeannie Podolak use a range of relief and monoprinting techniques to present their personal connections to the land. The public is invited to the opening reception on Saturday, September 24 from 5-6:30 to meet the artists and learn more about their perspectives.
Many of the artists use the relief printing technique of woodblocks but exhibit a variety of approaches. Sharon artist Jeanne Amato continues in the technical and expressive style of her mentor Sabra Field. She says her work tries to capture “a vignette of a place, a moment in time. More importantly, it’s a personal reflection of the connection I have with that place, in that season, at that moment” Matt Brown who also creates woodblock prints inspired by Japanese Hanga prints and the ways pictorial simplicity is encouraged, the way an image is separated into parts and put back together, the way the translucent colors blend and juxtapose, the way the wood interacts with the paper. Randolph Artist Janet Cathey, also expressively uses this technique to capture the ephemeral effects of water and the changing seasons.
Carol MacDonald uses monoprinting and lithography to “...tug at the threads of our shared humanity, addressing issues of community, life, transition, process and communication” using birds as a focal point in her expressive prints. Jeannie Podolak also uses monoprinting focusing on the image of the moon. She poetically reflects that “The heartache of Covid lockdown brought missing physical touch of family. It was in those lonely nights, watching the moon rise in my field, did I realize I was not alone. My view was also being shared globally” Maureen O'Connor Burgress creates more free-form abstract monoprints referring to memories of place. She states “When I leave a place, I take with me the color of that place...the mist after rainfall in the valley; the perfect blue September sky; dark, majestic stands of trees with sky peeking through and snow melt at their feet.”
Viewers will experience some of the calming and reflective effects of interacting with the Vermont Landscape as they see these prints arranged by season. The exhibit continues in the lower Gallery and runs through Saturday, November 5th.
Vermont Vistas is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11-6 pm, during Chandler performances, and is free of charge. Printmaking is an affordable art form because most techniques produce multiples so consider them as a thoughtful and memorable gift. The Gallery is located at 71 N. Main Street in Randolph Vermont.
Whose New World?
June 19th - September 4th
In “Whose New World?,” the summer exhibit at Chandler Gallery in Randolph, Vermont, nine regional artists use a variety of mediums to explore social justice issues that are of concern to artists, and everyone, in our post-colonial and environmentally fragile world. The works address displaced people, environmental and societal injustice, and limiting social constructs about gender identity. Through their paintings, multimedia sculptures, large-scale ceramic pieces, prints, collages, and digital images, the artists reflect on the world today and communicate their visions for a new, more equitable world. Designed to intersect with the Vermont Social Justice Festival, the exhibit runs from June 19-September 24, 2022.
The exhibiting multigenerational artists bring different perspectives and priorities to their messages about envisioning an equitable New World. Jordan Turk uses mixed media to explore how clothing limits our gender expression and Harlan Mack uses sculptural forms and construction to address racial identities. Marina Leybishkis’s mixed-media sculptural work raises our awareness of refugees and migrants as she explores those experiencing displacement. Ann Young’s realistic paintings evoke empathy for our shared humanity. Lauren Buschek’s large-scale sculptural ceramic pieces focus on empowerment and trauma to the female body. Jim Robinson uses digital imaging techniques to address environmental and societal injustices and Tara Goreau’s paintings are cautionary tales about societal inequities.
John Vincent and Rachi Farrow use text but with different visual perspectives in their letterpress prints and paintings to convey messages of environmental concerns
There will be an opening reception for Artists and the community on Saturday, June 25th from 4-5:30. Come and continue imagining a just and equitable New World for all the beings on the planet.
Be the Change
March 26 - April 30
The Gallery at Chandler opens its annual student art exhibit, titled “Be the Change,” at noon Saturday, March 26. The free exhibit, which runs through April 30, is part of the nationwide Youth Art Month celebration and is coordinated with the Vermont Art Educators Association.
“‘Be the Change’ lets area students’ amazing art take center stage as they visually communicate their visions for the future,” said Gallery Committee Co-Chair Rebbie Carleton. “The exhibit is concerned with student voices and their visions about how we can creatively imagine a better world. Some of the work is concerned with the environment and other pieces speak to relationships closer to home. All of it is heartfelt and thought-provoking.”
Among the exhibit are pieces about spreading kindness and taking care of others, and cleaning up the ocean. Featured artists attend pre-kindergarten through high school at Bethel Elementary, Brookfield School, Braintree School, Randolph Elementary, Randolph Union High School, and White River Valley Middle School.
Additionally, plans are underway at the Gallery for a “Be the Change” Artist pARTy at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2, as well as activities for Earth Day.
Chandler Gallery is located at 71 N. Main St. in Randolph, and during exhibits is open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Additionally, the Gallery is open during all Chandler performances and other events. For more information, visit chandler-arts.org/chandler-gallery, email outreach@chandler-arts.org, or call 802-728-9878.
*Pictured here is one of the "Save Life on Earth" Alphabet Tiles by Randolph Elementary School for the "Be the Change" exhibit.
Voices of Home
Feb. 8 - March 19
Brought to Chandler by the Vermont Folklife Center, Voices of Home explores the experiences of Vermonters living in affordable housing through audio recordings and painted portraits.
Voices of Home is an audio-visual storytelling project launched in 2015 by Corrine Yonce when she served as an Americorps VISTA volunteer with the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition. The exhibit brings together work from two of Yonce’s collaborative efforts, Voices of South Burlington Community Housing and Voices of Decker Towers.
Yonce envisioned Voices of Home as a way to “erase the stigma surrounding affordable housing communities and educate our friends and neighbors about the importance of a stable, reasonably priced home in helping people lead fulfilling lives.” Through the project she interviewed residents in a number of Vermont affordable housing communities, engaged with them through their stories, and learned how having affordable homes impacted their lives. She recorded those conversations and subsequently paired the recordings with painted portraits of each interviewee.
Yonce’s work compellingly combines visual art—painting and mixed media—with audio, manifesting a creative and engaging approach to documentary that highlights (in form as well as content) the human, and humane, aspects of sharing the experiences of others.
Changing Seasons: Innovations After 70
Oct. 3 - Nov. 6
A new exhibit in Chandler Gallery counters the bias that new ideas are mostly generated by the young by showcasing artists who have been working for seven decades or longer. Titled “Changing Seasons: Innovations After 70,” the exhibit runs Oct. 3-Nov. 6 and is free and open to the public.
The show opens Chandler’s 2021-2022 gallery season, which is devoted to looking at the unconscious biases we hold and reframe them through the arts in thought-provoking ways. Plans are underway to finish the season with a Social Justice Festival next summer.
Chandler Gallery is located at 71 N. Main St. in Randolph, and during exhibits is open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.
Pictured here: "reparations (artists)" 2021: collage oil painting on wood panel; Alexandra Bottinelli of Hardwick, VT
Hidden Messages:
Old and New ,
A Fiber Arts Exhibition
Summer Invitational
July 10 - Sept 6
The Chandler Center for the Arts will be featuring work by Fiber Artist who break the boundaries of traditional fabric work. This exhibition will feature contemporary fiber arts in an exploration of meaning behind each work.
Examples of the work from the SDA Artists can be seen in their online gallery.
There will be an opening reception on July 17th 4-7pm
This is a collaboration with the our neighbor, the White River Craft Center, who will be exhibiting artist's work of traditional quilting techniques in their main gallery. Learn more about this portion of the show at www.whiterivercraftcenter.org
Coinciding with these exhibitions will be the East Valley Community Groups town-wide Porch Quilt Scavenger Hunt.
KALEIDOSCOPE
Area Artist Exhibit
May 8 - June 26
** Closing Reception Saturday 4-6 **
“KALEIDOSCOPE” is open to your artistic interpretation. As kaleidoscope reflects an endless variety of colors, patterns and changing phases, we are exhibiting a diverse collection of colorful 2-D and 3-D art in all media: drawing, painting, printing, illustration, photography, digital art, sculpture, video, mixed media, and decorative art (textiles and material, glass, wood, metal, ceramics, mosaic, paper or other techniques). The theme KALEIDOSCOPE can be interpreted representationally or symbolically: How do you see colors, shapes and patterns of changing life? What makes you pause and look at one of these patterns loser?
EARTH DAY 2021
Community Pop-up Art Installation
April 22 - April 24
Community Collaborative Art installation
Celebrate the 51st Anniversary of Earth Day
Chandler is celebrating Earth Day 2021 with our second vibrant community art installation. This Earth Day art celebration will showcase the I Am Here Student Art Exhibition in the Chandler Gallery and invites all community members to join. Here’s a few ways to participate:
Make a tree charm with recycled materials! Pick up supplies at the Chandler Gallery on April 17th from 12-4pm or April 22nd 5-7pm - or use what you have at home! Bring your creation to Chandler on Earth Day, Thursday April 22nd through Saturday April 24th and hang with the other Earth Day artwork.
Artists are invited to display your artwork in front of the Chandler during the installation. We are asking people to consider materials that can be displayed outside and are reflective of a reduce and recycle ethos. Please email Jess@whiterivercraftcenter.org if you plan to display or have questions.
Chalk drawing on the sidewalk! Stop by between 10am-4pm on Saturday, April 24th and have fun!
The installation will be located in front of the Chandler Center for the Arts (71 N Main Street Randolph VT), this outdoor drive-by or walk–by installation will be on view Thursday, April 22nd (Earth Day) through Saturday, April 24th. To follow COVID health precautions we ask that people keep distance (6-10 feet) from one another and wear masks. Please contact Jess, (jess@whiterivercraftcenter.org), community partner White River Craft Center, with any additional questions. We look forward to celebrating our planet Earth!
I AM HERE
Chandler's 2021 Student Art Exhibit
March 27 - April 25
In 2020 Chandler Gallery’s student art exhibit opened 2 days before we began stay-at-home orders due to the Covid19 pandemic resulting in schools shutting down and the exhibit closed. On March 27 2021 the Gallery will reopen for the Spring season with student voices asserting I AM HERE through their artistic creations. Area schools including Randolph Elementary School, Remote OSSD elementary art classes, Randolph Union High School, Brookfield Elementary, Braintree Elementary, Bethel Elementary, and the White River Valley Middle School will exhibit work from students preschool through high school.
Femmezine
February 3rd - March 4th
Starting in the 1970’s, a new movement formed out of the disillusionment of failed promises of free love. Punk music and it’s stripped down, raw, and fast sound would evolve in to a culture of people that created their own world, their own community and family, and their own space with their own hands.
The Do It Yourself (DIY) movement started with music, but would branch out into the rest of the arts. Fanzines (fan•zeenz) were a way for kids to distribute their message to others, helping to grow the culture, the community, and their chosen family.
Our newest show celebrates the Femme (An identity or presentation that leans towards femininity) DIY spirit as well as the necessity to shout out the message of “We are here, we exist, acknowledge us!”
Zine makers from all over (with a focus on local artists) will have their work and message on display and available for reading and purchase in the Chandler Main Gallery from February 3rd to March 4th