Upcoming Exhibitions

PAST Exhibitions

Celebrating the Small - A Group Show

Nov 24 - Dec 24, 2021​

​​

We are closing out the 2021 exhibition season at Axel's Gallery by celebrating the Small in Small Businesses. Small Business Saturday, November 27th, is the grand opening of this group show and it will run until the holiday closure for Christmas. 

​

All pieces are 10" x 10" or smaller and priced at or under $100.

​

2021 Photography Shoot-Out

Nov 10 - Nov 20, 2021​

​

It's time to cast your vote!

Stop into Axel's by 5pm on Friday, November 19th to cast your vote for the best entry.

​

The theme, set by last year’s Shoot-Out winner, Orah Moore, is SHADOWS.

​

What's at stake? Bragging rights to start, including:

​

First Prize: A solo Exhibition at Axel's in 2022

Second Prize: $100 Gift Certificate to Axel's

People's Choice: $50 in fine art printing services by Ward Rice

​

Join us for the winner announcement at 6pm on Friday, Nov 19th, 2021.

Compositions in Wood by Philip Herbison

Sept  29 - Nov 06, 2021​

​

"The reason I make art is to explore the mysterious realm of new aesthetic possibilities with materials at hand. I’ve rarely made art as a means of self expression, but rather more like an inventor of shapes and substance - associations that, when put together in a certain way, becomes an object that is new, yet somehow familiar to the psyche of the viewer. Working with piles of re-cycled wood scraps as a medium brings with it a lot intuitive play. Recognizing happy accidents when they happen leads to discovery of new aesthetic statements."

-Philip Herbison

​

Shadows by Orah Moore

TX by Philip Herbison

After Irene - The Floodgates Art Project, Revisited

August 18 -  September 25 2021

After Irene – The Floodgates Art Project went on exhibit in 2012, a year after Tropical Storm Irene devastated the Waterbury community. The exhibit was a display of Waterbury’s resilience as a community when faced with tragedy and a testament to the healing power of art.

Spearheaded by Waterbury’s own Sarah-Lee Terrat, Mame McKee and MK Monley, The Floodgates Art Project featured art from community members of all ages and artistic abilities. Over 250 participants contributed artwork to the exhibit making it a one-of-a-kind display showing the ability to overcome adversity through art. 

Please join us in welcoming back After Irene – The Floodgates Art Project, Revisited as Waterbury marks the 10 year anniversary of our recovery as a community from Tropical Storm Irene.

Join us in commemorating a life-changing event on Friday, August 20 from 6-8 pm at Axel’s Gallery, 5 Stowe Street Waterbury. This event is free and open to the public - however MASKS WILL BE REQUIRED.

​

The Way Light Answers

Cold Wax and Oil work by Jan Sandman

July 07 -  August 14 2021

The paintings in this show, cold wax and oil, have primarily been created during the time of the pandemic. Many of them have been created with the discipline of a limited palette. As we have been held in certain ways during this past year, Jan utilized that restraint by limiting her choice of colors to both deepen her relationship with them, and with what is possible within a boundary. In relationship to deep questions, Jan consults and meditates with the vibration of Light itself. The theme of the whole body of work is “The Way Light Answers”.

Jan paints in relationship to an inner question most frequently about the state of something she is perceiving in the collective and universal realms. She paints connected with something she is in a meditative prayer with.

As light is vibration, Jan Sandman's paintings extend into a world where she is capturing the answer of the light offering itself in response to her  inner meditation or prayer. It is a conversation.

As such, sometimes the paintings are landscapes, sometimes more abstract depending on the dimension of where the answer lies.

​

An artist reception is planned for Friday, July 9th from 6-8pm. This event is free and open to the public - please join us!

Breathing Light by Jan Sandman

Work and Play, Round and Round

An exhibition of paintings by Kathy Black

May 26 -  July 03 2021

Axel’s Gallery & Frame Shop continues its 2021 spring exhibition schedule presenting paintings by Kathy Black. In a year of so much change, this exhibition of paintings looks at changing lives and our changing place in the world. In a circle of generations, mothers and daughters working, and playing, what experiences span across generations and what has really changed. “It can be hard to know. These questions are my source of contemplation,” says Kathy Black. “How can we depict female power? Can we think about it without crashing into expectations of motherhood and femininity? In an ever expanding universe, what are the things that matter?”

“Consuming the Goddess” paintings were inspired by a horoscope encouraging self-empowerment, ”seek the goddess, embrace the goddess, consume the goddess.” These reimagined women from art history are ready to consume an object of love. A woman devouring her beloved is horrifying if it is a child and perplexing if it is a pet or plant. Cartoon anatomy merges the actor and the object of devotion in a loving way but is the act of consuming your child or your pet terrible and without room to be a metaphor for seeking or desire? Do our expectations of women always conflict with a sense of appetite, or can desire also be empowerment?

In other paintings, play is a pleasurable exploration. Maps help us see the scope of the universe. Toys on a star map change the scale and shrink the universe. The toys grow, too, so the circle of the heavens becomes a pond or the image of the earth, an island. Finger puppets on a galaxy make room for wondering about our size and significance relative to the breadth of what is out there.

“This exhibit is a selection of work from my exploration of women at different points in life, in work and in play, imagining what’s possible, trying to name what has changed. It also looks at how I, we, use play to look at the world and think about our place in it,” says Black. It’s an investigation that may bring to life the monumental generational shifts and the odd, the ordinary and the surprising connections over time.

Consuming the Goddess by Kathy Black

Small Works at Small Prices

by Axel Stohlberg

April 07 -  May 15 2021​

​

Our namesake of the gallery, Axel Stohlberg, is looking to move his inventory of work and is offering major discounts on original works of art.

​

This show is a mix of collage, paintings and drawings of abstract landscapes. Some are framed but many are merely mounted and matted - ready to be framed. 

Blue by Kate Fetherston

​

Rarest color in flora and fauna, once in a blue moon is an occasion of omen or of celebration. Blue skies, blue waters foster feelings of hope, freedom, possibility. Happiness is symbolized as a bluebird. Then again, a blue mood might be sad, lonely, wistful or pensive. Blue’s the color of shadows, of twilight, of changing light. This show is an homage to blue’s power to evoke a range of expression perhaps unequaled in the rainbow. 

​

The Artist Statement can be found here.

"Elysium" by Kate Fetherston

"Barely Touching"

​

“Barely Touching” is a collaborative project between Kelly Holt and Susan Calza with one basic premise: the work reflects their personal reactions to the societal challenges that erupted during the year 2020. While video is a main component of the exhibition, the show also features scultpture and mixed media pieces. The work addresses a deep sense of longing and the tension between connection and disconnection in relationship, ie. human, environmental and societal.

​

Kelly Holt’s work references distance and the ethereal and Susan Calza’s video tends to be close up and visceral while her sculptures are multilayered and specifically address issues of race. 

Their work seems to leave us asking: “Where are we headed?” 

“Barely Touching” is also an ongoing collaborative community project. The artists are asking community members to tell their 2020 stories which will be filmed and included in a video narrative. The completed video documentary will be exhibited at Axel’s Gallery in the fall of 2021.

"Barely Touching 13" by Kelly Holt

A Call to Artists

Gain exposure, sell your work and showcase your talent.

We represent art that intersect the worlds of design, art, and craft. The work demonstrates a high level of craftsmanship and special attential to detail, finish, and presentation.

In between the 3 month long group shows there are month long solo shows-keeping things interesting. Want to show your work? Let's talk!