Visiting Artists Bring Art to Life

Performances On And Off Campus

In addition to the many annual in-house department concerts, plays, musical, coffee houses and other informal performances, the Flickinger auditorium main stage plays host to a full slate of professional performers entertaining audiences of the KUA and local communities. These range from dance to Indie Rock, classical, and everything in between. Artists in residence often join the Kimball Union arts community for extended stays that enrich the lives of students and faculty alike.

The vibrant artistic community of the Upper Valley and nearby Dartmouth College supplement all programs at Kimball Union and offer the opportunity to enjoy performances off-campus. Weekly trips to world-class performances at the Hopkins Center For The Arts are open to all students.

The Taylor Gallery

This well-lit and versatile space is in the Flickinger Arts Center, just off the main lobby. The Gallery is home for student art shows and also serves as the exhibit space for artists from outside the school community. All shows are open to the public free of charge and are preceded by an official Opening. Shows present a variety of media, from pottery, photography, and painting, to printmaking and collage. Openings highlight local and not-so-local artists, sometimes featuring alumni, faculty, and former faculty, and are often scheduled to coincide with student or guest performances in the theater.

In The Taylor Gallery

A Sense of Place
Recent work from KUA Arts Faculty

Ceramics and Jewelry: Ursula Fries-Herfort
Painting: Julie Haskell, Phil Montenegro
Woodworking: Darrell Beaupre
Photography: Kay McCabe, Dustin Meltzer

Please see the Virtual Faculty Art Exhibit below.

Julie Haskell - Sunrise Through the Spruce, Criehaven

Taylor Gallery Hours

9 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday
9 am -12 pm Saturday
Closed Sunday

7 Campus Center Drive,  Meriden, NH

Information: taylorgallery@kua.org
(603) 469-2136

Next Exhibit:

Sam Ftorek - Portraits
October 30, 2020

Arts Events

List of 3 events.

  • Taylor Gallery Art Opening

    Sam Ftorek-Portraits
    Taylor Gallery

  • Flick Gig: Michelle Thompson Ulerich Dance Company

    Michelle Thompson Ulerich Dance Company will give two performance in Flickinger Auditorium: one at 6:30 and one 7:15.
    Flickinger Auditorium
    Read More

  • Taylor Gallery Art Opening

    Anne Peterson: Fabric Art
    Taylor Gallery
Faculty Virtual Gallery Exhibit

Ursula Fries-Herfort

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  • About the Works

    Bavaria King Ludwig II – Palace
    King Ludwig II, the last Bavarian King, a loner who had a deep love for Wagner’s operas and a drive to build the perfect castle (Neuschwanstein), plays a big role in Bavaria’s sense of identity. He has been idealized over the years as an illustrious and mysterious personality, an eternal mystery to himself and others, as he was once quoted of saying. This piece represents the exuberance and opulence of the Bavarian court and its castles. It is inspired by baroque forms and onion towers so common in the Bavarian landscape, as well as rich fabrics and wallpapers. And, of course, it is blue and white, the colors of Bavaria!
     
    Bavaria – King Ludwig II – Lohengrin
    Like the other two pieces that represent Bavaria, this one features baroque forms, an onion tower top, blue and white patterns, but also has some added gold leaf, inspired by the splendor of the Bavarian royal court and lavish baroque church interiors. The swan symbolizes King Ludwig II’s love for Wagner’s operas, in this case, Lohengrin, the story of a knight who arrives in a boat pulled by a swan. The swan appears often in King Ludwig’s castles and is the namesake of his most famous architectural legacy, Schloss Neuschwanstein. The piece is wheel-thrown porcelain with hand-carved slip decoration.
     
    Bavaria
    Bavaria, Germany, the place where I was born, grew up, and lived in for several decades, holds a special meaning for me. Bavaria spells blue and white, like white clouds on a deep blue sky, like the blue and white diamond pattern in our flag, or blue and white stripes around the maypoles in the villages. Bavaria is also Baroque forms and onion towers. All of these elements found entry into this wheel-thrown porcelain piece that is slipped and hand-carved.
     
    London – Kensington Gardens
    During a visit to London in November, a walk through Kensington Park made me aware of the last yellow leaves on some of the trees, fluttering in the wind. With the sunlight reflecting off them, they looked like a sparkly, golden curtain. I picked up one of them and tucked it into my notebook that I always carry around to hold ideas as they present themselves. Almost one year later, I used that exact leave, now dried up, to outline the leaves on this wheel-thrown porcelain platter.
     
    Copenhagen
    This wheel-thrown and altered porcelain vase is inspired by the tall, linear architecture of Scandinavia but more specifically by the richly decorated interior of the city hall in Copenhagen. During a visit there a few years ago I was struck by the playful and ornate wall decorations, particularly a stairway, decorated entirely with a white on white relief.
     
    Hvar, Croatia
    The Island of Hvar in Croatia is famous for its crystal-clear waters, fields of lavender, and its natural beauty. A lesser-known, but no less outstanding feature of the island is the exquisite lace crafted from agave threads by Benedictine nuns in a convent in Hvar Town. Their artistic contributions have been recognized by the UNESCO. This vase is inspired by that lacework and the incredible color of the water I was blessed to enjoy in the summer of 2019.
     
    New Hampshire – Reflections on Snow
    One of my favorite moments in winter is when the sun comes out after a snowstorm and the leafless trees cast their black shadows on the pristine, glistening new snow. Sometimes this happens at night as well, when there is a full moon or when you step outside the Flickinger lobby and the streetlight casts a shadow of the big crap apple tree. This wheel-thrown plate is reminiscent of that. 
     
    Keeper of Secrets
    A Bronze locket that opens due to two hand-crafted hinges, ready to hold a small secret or two. . .
     
    New Hampshire – Stonewalls
    This wheel-thrown porcelain vase with hand-built additions is a nod to the ubiquitous stonewalls that you encounter on any walk in the neighborhood in NH. The addition of gold leaf represents the warm, golden light in fall that makes the leaves glow. The vase actually cracked in the firing, as porcelain is prone to doing. I decided to fix the crack with the Japanese tradition of Kentsugi in mind, a philosophy that emphasizes the beauty of imperfection and regards breakage as part of the history of a piece. In a way, it also represents my somewhat difficult relationship with NH, as I love being here on the one hand, but always long for my home, Bavaria, as well.
     
    Omi’s Dining Room
    My Grandmother Mizzi, lovingly called Omi by us, was an amazing woman. She was forward-thinking, unique, knew what she wanted in life, generous, and deeply loved by us all. Her apartment in Nuremberg, Germany was filled with antique furniture, my grandfather’s hand-made violins, and blue and white china, decorated with a traditional “onion pattern” (Zwiebelmuster). The feel of a time gone by, of history, and said onion pattern were the inspirations for this sugar and creamer set that would have fit right into her dining room. It is wheel-thrown and altered porcelain, decorated with slip-carving and slip trailing.
     
    Celtic Pendant
    This series of work is crafted from 960 Sterling silver and is informed by traditional Celtic patterns. The incisions are hand-cut and create a lace-like effect that could also place the pieces in the filigree tradition of Croatian metalsmiths.
     
    Greece 1 and 2
    My sister lives on the island of Naxos in Greece and I was fortunate to be able to visit her there. Upon my return, this series of work came into being, and in my mind, it is indelibly linked to my memories of my stay there. It is reminiscent of ancient Greek ceramics that were organized in bands of decorations. Minoan motifs have found entry as well. And, of course, there are some fish and the colors representing the shades of blue and green of the crystal-clear water. All work is wheel-thrown porcelain and carved freehand.

    Two Peas in a Pod

    This private commission is hand-crafted from 960 Sterling silver and molded from a real pea pod. It represents the love of a mother for her daughter, the sense of belonging, a sense of home.

Julie Haskell

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  • Artist's Statement

    My “place” of great inspiration is the Maine coast. Each time I travel from inland to the coast, the first element that registers in my awareness is the pungent and wonderful smell of brine mixed with sea life. Then I notice the weight of the air, heavy with moisture on my skin. Finally, I see the light – diffused through that moisture creating a fuzzy warmth that makes everything glow and obscures the distance. The landscape here is subject to the whims of the atmosphere making it complex and ever-changing.  Painting the Maine landscape, for me, is not only an act of observation, but an act of ongoing communication and spiritual connection with the forms of nature and of man. Shifting light, momentary illuminations of brilliant color, distant space and simple forms that rarely look the same from one moment to the next sometimes stop us and demand our attention, but usually they are just there waiting for us to look and see. 
     I seek to create paintings that might glimpse that magic of nature but also create a familiar sense of time and place that connects with our surroundings and ultimately each other.

    Read Julie's Resume

Kay McCabe

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  • About the Works

    Diptychs offer a conversation between two images and invite the viewer to search for a relationship, giving a broader view of any one place. I shot some of the photographs in the same location or from the same time of year, while others were taken continents away. I did not originally intend to make diptychs, but in thinking about place, I liked how putting two shots together created this dialogue. It is like talking with a friend about someplace you remember; it sears the whole experience more into your consciousness. 
     
    Autumn
    Autumn’s two images were taken a few weeks apart. I shot the leaves in the peak of the season but the berries I found after most trees had lost their zest. (75$)
     
    Old Mill
    Old Mill was taken at the abandoned complex in Enfield. I am drawn to the beauty of its decay and the textures and patterns of its architecture. (75$)

    Paris, Meriden
    Paris, Meriden. The sculpture creates a roof over the Parisian tourists as the mushroom hovers over a house on Colby Hill Road in Meriden. I thought it was interesting how these images could be so different and so similar at the same time. (75$)
     
    Road Lines
    Road Lines is the bridge on 12-A as it crosses Mink Brook. One photo is looking down and one is looking out. (75$)
     
    Summer Curves
    I shot the images of Summer Curves a month apart, in two separate gardens. You can’t beat the delight of the summer flower. (75$)
     
    Utah
    In Utah, it is the light, color, and texture of the rocks that drew my eye. Both images were taken floating down the Colorado River. While one rock is wet and slick and the other dry and flaky, the steely blue and soft pink tones jump out from each to connect the two. (75$)

Dustin Meltzer

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  • About the Works

    These images were created in 2008 to document the deterioration of the American dream during the 2008 housing crisis and economic crash. When I look back at these photos through the lens of all that has occurred thus far in 2020 – the COVID-19 pandemic and the losses it has caused, one atrocity after another illustrating the deep institutional racism in America, and the apex of political divisiveness - I am given fresh perspective on America’s struggle to recognize its own identity.
     
    The Outcast, 16x20 Print on Metal from scanned 4x5 negative, shot with Tachihara Field Camera, Salem, New Hampshire, 2008. $148

    Drained, 12x36 Print on Metal from scanned 4x5 negative, shot with Tachihara Field Camera, Lawrence, Massachusetts, 2008. $168

    Modern Monuments, 16x20 Print on Metal from scanned 4x5 negative, shot with Tachihara Field Camera, Heath, Ohio, 2008. $148

    Migraine Vision, 16x24 Print on Metal from scanned 35mm Negative, shot with a disposable camera, New Delhi, India, 2007. $148

    As someone who suffers from migraines, in addition to severe headaches, inability to concentrate, numb tingling sensations that travel from the tips of my fingers to my face, and loss of taste, I experience loss of vision, visual artifacts, and tunnel vision. The happy accidents of lens flare, grain, scratched film, and artifacts in this image are the closest I have come to sharing the sensation of attempting to ground myself during the disorientation of a migraine.

Phillip Montenegro

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  • About the Works

    One Night at Castros: I want to say it started with a good thing, but it started with a funeral. A friend of ours had died and we'd come back from paying our respects in the brisk, wintered hills of upper-state New York, a place our friend had called home. 12 at night in the downtown Manchester nocturne, restless and yet enervated from the emotion that strikes you after someone close to you has died, we walked into Castro's Cigar Shop. Every now and again we'd had that unscheduled tradition of going to Castro's for a game of darts and a cheap cigar. It helped to either alleviate stress or act as a reward for finished classwork. In this case it was done to lighten the thought of a friend's death. Castro's had that unkempt, dingy allure where the framed paintings of women selling beer were yellowed over by smoke. Nothing drew you into Castro's more than its character.
    There were five of us, so unlike one another it makes for an uncannily good story. Five of us, with smiles on our faces and bewildered as to what made a cigar better, its shape or its flamboyant colored band. We bought our cigars, moved to the more secluded back of the shop and lit them in the dimness. We choked, we coughed, we tried to act cool, we failed. And then after the choking and coughing, someone told a joke. And then someone told a story. And then someone reminisced. And then for a while it was silent and still. These things went on for hours, repetitively and as wonderful as the first time we'd heard them. It was that simple celebration of life that disguises itself in the shape of a seemingly meaningless cigar and group of friends. That's what surrounded us. That's what we surrendered to. It wasn't as though we'd forgotten we were alive, but it was nice to be reminded.
     
    Sonny: I used to spend hours poring over my dad’s book of jazz photographs, stunned by the strong contrasts of light and shadow and the dynamic postures of the musicians. It wasn’t until I lived in New York and started spending nights at Fat Cat Jazz Club on Christopher St. that I saw those photographs come to life. This painting is of the late great jazz saxophonist, Sonny Stitt, who, unfortunately died years before I could see him perform, but left an influence on numerous sax players that still resonates.

    Leta: Sometimes a face and a personality become emblematic of a place. This portrait is of a friend, Leta, from Washington State. When I think of the Northwest, its mountains, forests, its staggering greens and relentless rain, I think of Leta’s passion for the place she calls home.

Darrell Beaupre

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  • About the Works

    Time For School

    Years ago, when I was first starting out as a boarding school teacher, I was light on furniture and the school gave me an old school desk that had been earmarked for the dump. The desk had been used by generations of boys and they had left their personal marks all over it. In an attempt to hide the myriad dings and graffiti, someone had painted it a deep purple. The desk supported my school work that year and then later traveled with me to other campuses and continued to be at the center of my academic life.
    Eventually, the desk ended up in the guest room of the house I was building in Meriden. And just as Mike Mulligan found he had dug a foundation around his beloved steam shovel, I discovered I had inadvertently trimmed the old desk into the room. At this point, the desk was even more worn than when I’d first been given it. It had had a good run. I dismantled it and brought the pieces out to my shop.
    At the time I was working at Dana Robe’s Wood Craftsmen in Enfield, New Hampshire which was located on the site of the old Shaker Community. Our work was inspired by the fine, elegant, and simple design of the Shaker craftsmen who once worked there.  I knew I wanted to reuse the old desk, so I planed off the purple paint to see what the wood looked like underneath. What I found was a beautiful, light-colored oak. 
    Since time is so much a part of our lives on campus, and often it is an almost frantic time, I wanted the old school desk to continue to be a part of that accounting of time, but I wanted it to have a more simple and elegant form. The design for the clock was inspired by ones created by the Shaker cabinetmakers.  As a reminder to me from where the wood came, I did not cut out the old screw holes that used to hold the old desk together. If examined closely, they can still be found.

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Kimball Union Academy

Meriden, New Hampshire 03770
603-469-2000  · 603-469-2040 (fax)  · info@kua.org
Founded in 1813, Kimball Union Academy is one of the country's oldest private boarding high schools. KUA blends the best of the New England boarding tradition with an innovative, modern educational program for a diverse and global group of day and boarding students. Located in Meriden, New Hampshire, in the heart of the Upper Valley, Kimball Union is minutes from Dartmouth College and has direct access to Boston and New York.