Mitchell and Giddings want to fill a downtown void and offer a retail venue and showcase for the arts community
Doug Trump, “Seesaw,” 2004, oil/pencil/collage and ink on canvas. Photos courtesy of Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts.
New to the Brattleboro arts scene is a commercial art gallery conceived by two artists with a passion for building ties between artists and the public, Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts located at 183 Main Street next to A Candle in the Night.
Jim Giddings and Petria Mitchell, have lived and painted in Vermont for over 35 years. Both Jim and Petria are well known in Brattleboro as artists and also for their long history of involvement with area arts organizations including the Windham Art Gallery, Brattleboro Museum & Arts Center, Brattleboro West Arts, and the River Gallery School.
The two met in the late 1980s as part of an artists’ critique group and later both helped to establish the Windham Art Gallery, a co-op gallery that was a vital presence on Main Street for 20 years. They both felt that with the closing of this gallery in 2009 a void was left in the local arts community. “We want to work with artists to create a supportive community that also links them with buyers” says Petria. Jim says his motivating factor in starting this gallery is “creating a distinctive space; a beautiful, welcoming, and dynamic place to buy fine art and craft.”
Christine Triebert, “Paintagram 2,” 2010, archival inkjet print from camera-less paper negative.
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts will celebrate its debut on Thursday, September 18, featuring paintings by Giddings and Mitchell, Doug Trump, and Lauren Olitski, blown glass by Josh Bernbaum, photography by Chris Triebert, and monumental ceramic vases by Stephen Procter. With plans to also introduce invited artists from near and far, they hope the gallery will become known for offering distinctive high quality works of art in a variety of media that cannot be seen anywhere else.
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts showcases work of local, regional, and nationally recognized artists and craftspeople with the goal of promoting sales and creating a nourishing and supportive community of professional artists. Contact: Margaret Shipman, Gallery Manager, Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301, (802) 251-8290, info@MitchellGiddingsFineArts.com
