Friday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. — RUTLAND — Castleton University will celebrate the grand opening of the Castleton Downtown Gallery II located adjacent to Castleton Downtown in the Opera House on Merchants Row in Rutland.
The grand opening will feature the permanent installation of “The Rutland: ‘Ideal City’ Drawing” by Art Professor Bill Ramage on Friday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. The opening will be followed by an artist reception from 5-8 p.m. at Castleton Downtown in honor of Castleton’s gift to Rutland.
Standing 11.5-feet-tall and 43 fee long, the streetscape drawing is composed of 18 panels with a gray pencil sketch of downtown Rutland stretching across the display, creating a seemingly life-sized image featuring recognizable landmarks such as Merchants Row.
The artistic display was created from a composite of 30 photographs taken in July of 2012, and required more than 400 gray pencils to complete. A two-year project, the meticulous drawing includes a high level of detail, from window reflections to light ripples.
Within the exhibit the drawing will be placed upright and rolled into a 28-foot-wide half cylinder, allowing visitors to observe the creation from the center. This project is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment of the Arts and was the recipient of the organization’s creation grant, supporting the development of new work by Vermont artists.
Celebrating a night of art in downtown Rutland, the unveiling will run in conjunction with the artist reception of local Vermont artist Donald Saaf, whose “Town and Country” exhibit will be featured at the Castleton Downtown Gallery through Nov. 28.
The Castleton Downtown Gallery is located on Center Street Alley and is open Wednesday through Saturday with hours of operation from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Castleton Downtown Gallery II will be open during regular hours of operation for the Opera House, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more info, email castletoncollegegalleries@gmail.com.
