From the Instructors Exhibition, left, Jill Nichols, Italy Reds; and right, Kate Casner, Double Hyberbolic Vase. Center, from her solo exhibition, Under Wraps, Narelle Sissons, Inside with Eaters.
NEW CANAAN, CT, March 20, 2025—The spring season at Silvermine Galleries brings the annual Instructors Exhibition, which features special selections and new work from the Silvermine School of Art’s distinguished artist educators, as well as Under Wraps, a solo exhibition of paintings by Narelle Sissons. These two exhibits bring dazzling colors and compositions to the Gallery spaces. The public is invited to the opening reception on Sat., March 21, from 2–4 p.m., and both exhibitions run through April 23.
The Instructors Exhibition
Silvermine’s annual Instructors Exhibition celebrates the exceptional artists who shape its renowned School of Art. These instructors—many of whom have gained regional and national recognition—bring their expertise, creativity, and passion into the classroom, inspiring students of all levels. The annual exhibition offers a unique opportunity to experience their recent works. For those who might be considering a course in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, or jewelry-making, the exhibit showcases the many styles, materials, and methods that can be explored at Silvermine.
This year’s exhibition is a feast of color and composition that includes Karen Siegel’s play of brilliant color and pattern; Jill Nichols’ landscapes, which serve as lush containers of light; Kate Casner’s ceramics, which explore form and shadow; and Sabrina Skinner’s intricate ceramic sculptures that the artist calls reliquaries. From jewelry makers Maureen Henriques and Gail Bradshaw come subtle workings of organic and geometric forms and stunning settings and hues. Viewers will not want to miss new work and new directions from long-time instructors or the skilled work of Silvermine’s newest teachers. The Instructors Exhibition highlights the depth of talent and artistic vision that make Silvermine a leading center for visual arts.
Narelle Sissons, Under Wraps
Under Wraps, also opening on March 21, features the large-scale paintings of Narelle Sissons. In her work, she explores personal experience, memory, and formal structure. Her paintings bring luminous movement to shape, color, spatial relationships, and the expressive qualities of surface. To view them is to experience a generous quality of light and a physical presence that is both gentle and extravagant. Her work has been shown widely in New York City galleries, and she was the Grand Prize winner in Silvermine’s 2024 A•ONE Exhibition.
Sissons received an MFA in painting from the New York Studio School [NYSS] in 2024. She recently completed the selective NYSS artist-in-residence one-year program in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Her residency solo exhibition, Not Just AnyBody was on view at the NYSS Project Space in 2025. Sissons is also a renowned stage designer, whose award-winning designs for theater and opera have taken her around the U.S. and abroad. For fifteen years, she was a professor of design at Carnegie Mellon University in the School of Drama. Her credits include being a three-time exhibitor at the Prague Quadrennial for theatre and performance. She is a Fulbright Specialist, as well as Drama Desk and two-time Helen Hayes award nominee.
