Millbrook Vineyards & Winery Millbrook, New York With 130 acres that feel like the French countryside and a big vaulted barn venue, it's really no surprise that visitors love this Millbrook winery. The wine holds its own against the magical setting — sit at the tasting bar to sample Millbrook's chardonnay, cabernet franc, and heady pinot noir, or pick up bottles and go at your own pace, preferably in an easy chair on the front lawn. Nearby: Millbrook's shop sells crackers, sea salt caramels, and other local goodies, but if you're looking to have a picnic or throw dinner on the grill, head four miles north to Big Rock Community Farms Market. The charming two-room shop in Stanfordville carries local H.V. produce, meat, cheese, and more on the ground floor of an 1845 house. Call in advance to visit Conrad Levenson's open-air sculpture garden, a little further north, with whimsical works made from materials like scrap metal, salvaged wood, and wagon wheels. |
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RECLAIMED MATERIALS: Stanfordville artist Conrad Levenson turns found objects into art. His sculptures are on display at North Elm Home in Millerton, NY
Conrad Levenson’s ‘Forms and Shadows’ Crafting Unique Stories With Shadows And Found Objects passion. I couldn’t be happier.” The North Elm Home show features 24 fascinating pieces with whimsical names. “Eye of the Beholder” is comprised of a large set of rusty blacksmith tongs with a chrome sphere floating at the top. “You can see the whole universe,” Levenson said, moving his hands over the shiny sphere as if it were a crystal ball. “Skeletal Remains” is a massive, dangling skeleton made up of all sorts of different bits and pieces you might find in a scrap heap or behind a barn. “Knighthood” takes the shape of a knight’s helmet. “The Fruits of War” — one of Levenson’s particularly clever titles — is a pile of cannonballs made to look like fruit on a plate. Since Levenson’s pieces are “essentially indestructible,” he Each sculpture by Conrad Levenson tells a story. The Stanfordville artist takes found objects — rusty pieces of metal, chains, discarded tools — and gives them a new life. “I have all these objects and I respond to what they’re telling me,” he said while setting up his solo exhibition at North Elm Home, a furnishing and antiques store in Millerton. “Usually I take objects with no prior relationship to each other and then bring them together in one piece. That’s part of the fun.” When Levenson says he’s having fun, he means it. He went to Columbia University and has a fine arts and an architectural background. He practiced architecture for 45 years, but he was always trying to find time to make sculptures and collect objects. Once he retired, he shifted his focus to art. “My sculptures are informed by my architectural background,” he said. “This is my “Usually I take objects with no prior relationship to each other and then bring them together in one piece. That’s part of the fun.” likes people to “mess around with them.” One of the larger pieces in the exhibit, “Abacus 40,” features a series of hanging chains with removable links. Attendees can move these links from one chain to another — just like an abacus. |
The long, white wall that makes up the exhibition space at North Elm Home inspired Levenson to play around with shadows, which adds a new dimension to his work. “The premise of this particular show, ‘Forms and Shadows,’ is that everything we have here is hanging off the wall and lit in a particular way to get the echo of the form on the wall, almost like a projection,” he explained, holding up a small sculpture and watching the shadows dance across the space. “You get the original piece, then the added excitement that comes from the shapes being replicated two or three times.” Between the use of shadows and the stories that are being told through Levenson’s work, this unique show is not to be missed. Conrad Levenson’s “Forms and Shadows” solo exhibit is on display at North Elm Home, located at 5938 North Elm Ave. in Millerton, through July 2. For details on the store, go to www.northelmhome.com. For information on Levenson’s work, go to www.conradlevenson.com.
By Channing Gray December 15, 2016
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Looking for a holiday gift with a personal touch that's not going to break the bank? Two local galleries have put together shows offering small pieces with modest price tags that run the gamut from paintings and photographs to jewelry, ceramics and glass.
The "Small Works" show at Warren's Imago Gallery has its share of quirky offerings such as Candis Dixon's collection of crude pots and plates that look like archaeological remnants from a race of little people.
Then there are squares of blue canvas covered with cryptic writing from Pascale Lord, and Linda Megathlin's atmospheric photos that range from somewhat abstract organic images to more representational photos of feathery pine branches.
Conrad Levenson has cobbled together rusted tools — an old saw and a bowl, a pair of pliers, to create a simple but arresting collection of sculptures,
while some of the strongest painting comes from Eileen Mayhew. Those range from nudes to a somewhat fussy painting of a father and daughter, who seems to being doing her homework while lying on the floor.
But the best of Mayhew's work are the less busy oils of dulcimer makers, one of whom is sitting under a tree with a sliver of a river in the background accented with a splash of sunlight.
The best of the photos comes from Howard Rotblat-Walker, who has captured dramatic black and white shots of the California coast with ancient twisted trees clinging to rocky outcroppings. Just as strong is Carl Keitner's mixed-media image of a ballerina seen from behind with a leg held high, with a red and yellow pennant streaming from her shoe...
"Small Works" is up through Dec. 30 at the Imago Gallery, 36 Market St., Warren. imagofoundation4art.org,
245-3348. Gallery hours are Thursday 4-8 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon-8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m...
The "Small Works" show at Warren's Imago Gallery has its share of quirky offerings such as Candis Dixon's collection of crude pots and plates that look like archaeological remnants from a race of little people.
Then there are squares of blue canvas covered with cryptic writing from Pascale Lord, and Linda Megathlin's atmospheric photos that range from somewhat abstract organic images to more representational photos of feathery pine branches.
Conrad Levenson has cobbled together rusted tools — an old saw and a bowl, a pair of pliers, to create a simple but arresting collection of sculptures,
while some of the strongest painting comes from Eileen Mayhew. Those range from nudes to a somewhat fussy painting of a father and daughter, who seems to being doing her homework while lying on the floor.
But the best of Mayhew's work are the less busy oils of dulcimer makers, one of whom is sitting under a tree with a sliver of a river in the background accented with a splash of sunlight.
The best of the photos comes from Howard Rotblat-Walker, who has captured dramatic black and white shots of the California coast with ancient twisted trees clinging to rocky outcroppings. Just as strong is Carl Keitner's mixed-media image of a ballerina seen from behind with a leg held high, with a red and yellow pennant streaming from her shoe...
"Small Works" is up through Dec. 30 at the Imago Gallery, 36 Market St., Warren. imagofoundation4art.org,
245-3348. Gallery hours are Thursday 4-8 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon-8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m...
Conrad Levenson Profile in "Eye on Stanford" December 2016
by Claire Copley
[email protected] Conrad Levenson is, in his words, “an architect, sculptor and avid collector and recycler of unusual artifacts, found objects and scrap materials.” He has spent his entire career pursuing his passion for reclamation and recycling and converting the materials he finds into assemblage sculpture. I was familiar with his work after seeing his art in several sites including the Red Devon restaurant in Bangall, NY. I wanted to talk to him about the concept of a sculptor’s garden, and how he builds the visual relationship between his work, and the natural environment around his home and studio. Landscape integration It is the thought and vision that have gone into this garden that strikes the visitor first. Conrad’s sculptures have been integrated into the landscape so well that it seems as if they have grown out of the rock foundation that underlies the site. Conrad uses found objects and materials to make his art, mostly old tools and metal pieces from a simpler industrial age: Ice saws, wheels, drill bits, chains, giant blacksmithing tools, and all manner of blades and gears. He combines these objects to create anthropomorphic forms that are both humorous and beautiful. The sculptures have center stage in his garden. Conrad bought his house and property of two and one half acres in Stanfordville in 1989. The house is situated on a massive rock outcropping in the woods near Hunns Lake. It was a perfect cottage for weekends with his kids, and to get away from the busy, frantic, nature of New York City. |
The property is also a deer route through the woods to the lake on the other side of the road. When he bought the house he used part of it as a workshop, but as his children grew up and he met his longtime partner, Amy Singer, he realized the house had to be renovated and a separate studio built. The construction required clearing portions of the land to accommodate the equipment that was needed to do the building work. The new driveway found itself after the construction vehicles left, but it would have to be filled, and finished. The ensuing alterations involved removing enough trees to get light, but not so many as to alter the nature of his site. Conrad recalled: “After that, periodically, over time, trees just fall down … because of the very limited soil cover here. It’s mainly rock, and the trees' roots spread horizontally.”
Wisely, Conrad and Amy have not attempted to change the forested nature of their site. They have used large rock outcroppings for rock gardens, and sculpture installations and the shady forest floor has been planted with ferns dug and transported from deeper in the woods. There are occasional peonies, various shade grasses, and beautiful mosses. Some shade plants have been added but the entire garden has a natural deep shade feel. They made use of deer-resistant andromeda and climbing hydrangea to green-out the new front entryway. Planting daffodils for color, rather than more edible varieties, has brightened up the garden in spring. The challenges A woodland garden can be a difficult proposition. The tall trees |
limit sunlight penetration and also impose a vertical structure that needs to be balanced. Deer resistant shade plants provide a limited plant palette. The woodland garden is commonly lacking in the color we usually associate with gardens, yet it excels in texture, structure and in its potential for playing with light.
Conrad’s garden vision is that of an artist: “You can work in harmony with nature and what you have, or you can fight it, and you learn the hard way when you try to fight it, things just won’t grow.” He views pachysandra as a staple. He finds it grows naturally in the woods and he digs it up like sod and lays it down as a groundcover. This groundcover lends needed texture to the woods and Conrad and Amy enjoy its greenery in the winter months. The journey and property’s story It must be Conrad's architectural background that motivated him to use his entire property, yet to create separate spaces. There is a relaxing spot under trees with a meditative circle filled with Japanese fishing floats, glass balls that shimmer with color. He has made an outdoor fire pit out of large stones. There are benches and small nooks which are perfect for his sculptures. There are whimsical birdhouses, outcroppings, private reading and relaxing spaces, communal gathering spots, and short but gorgeous vistas. There are paths that suggest themselves, and paths that lead you from one destination to another. Curved gravel paths for meandering show off artifacts like terra cotta chimneys or old manhole covers. An extraordinary journey by the time you are through, one that feels both physically relaxing and aesthetically exhilarating, with the overall effect natural, organic and soothing. |
The holistic garden plan
I asked Conrad about the process of integration of his sculptures into the landscape. He was quick to point out that he didn’t build the garden around the sculptures but his plan was a holistic one: "The concept is that there are arrival points and destinations and then there are connectors, I have a bridge, I have stone paths I have gravel paths, I have the deck in the back which connects the two buildings … so that you follow a path and you arrive at a destination. It’s an architectural concept but it is how it works in nature too. It’s not the destination that’s the important thing but the trip. It’s getting from one place to another and what reveals itself as you go … so for instance with the bridge, you come up from the driveway under this little arch, there’s a little bit of a tree cover now because the redbuds are getting bigger, and you come from the sunlight onto the pergola where the wisteria is and you feel compressed and it also gets cool, it gets cooler and darker, and it begins to frame the open space where the house is. So there are a lot of things happening and those are deliberate. But you also get intersections between the fence and the bridge, other little nodes where things can happen, where sculptures or artifacts may go. And then you end up with these views back and forth, …the placement of the sculpture is responding to the landscape. And as you walk around the relationships between them change.” Conrad cherishes the history of the artifacts he uses in his work as well as their physical presence as sculpture. His first attraction to the objects such as the mining drill bits from the early twentieth century is visual, but he cannot help but delve into each object's historical significance. MAIN STREET MAGAZINE
November 2015 conradlevenson.com |
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Meredith Sculpture Walk 2015 begins
By BOB MARTIN | May 29, 2015
Photo by: BOB MARTIN MACROSCOPE is one of two initial installations for the 2015 Meredith Sculpture Walk that were put in the ground on Wednesday afternoon. Pictured left to right is Andy Lane of the Installation Committee, Sculpture Walk Chair Bev Lapham, Sculptor Conrad Levenson and Greater Meredith Program board member Jack Carty. |
MEREDITH — The Meredith Sculpture Walk was lauded by many in its inaugural year last year, and on Wednesday new sculptures were installed for the upcoming season, which will include eight additional pieces.
Two pieces by sculptor Conrad Levenson of Stanfordville, New York, were installed, with “Macroscope” adjacent to the waterfall at the Mill Falls Marketplace, and “Insight Out” next to the Meredith Historical Society.
Levenson has been creating art for more than 40 years and said his experience began when he was a full-time architect. He uses old tools and scrap materials to recompose and repurpose them into sculptures. “Macroscope” is a wheel of about 36 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep, with steel brackets on the outside to create a perspective effect. “When you look through it, it frames your view like a lens is there,” said Levenson. “And all my stuff is rusty and not painted.”
“Insight Out” is made of old ice saws from the Hudson River. He felt this was fitting for the Lakes Region as there is a strong history of ice harvesting in the area, with some like Rockywold-Deephaven Camps still harvesting ice to this day through a century-old tradition. “It is nice to tie that piece together with any historical information about ice harvesting here,” said Levenson. “I like to build these nice bridges between the past and the present. They have all the dings and nicks and all the history that goes with these tools that were used overtime. You can feel the energy of the previous user in the materials.”
Levenson said he saw the call for artists and felt it was a “fabulous site.” Wednesday was his first time in Meredith and he said he was very impressed. He likes that it is a new endeavor that “has their act together.” “I’m really happy to be here,” said Levenson. “It’s a beautiful setting.”
Levenson’s practice as an architect pertained to rehabilitation of “seriously deteriorated and abandoned buildings.” He said it is basically the same idea that he now applies through his artwork. He couldn’t do both jobs full-time, so he would sculpt on the side, but once he left the architectural process about six years ago he made this his main gig. Levenson not only has art in shows around the northeast, but he also has two-and-a-half acres of property at his studio where he has the pieces on display.
“I have all these partially finished pieces and big junk piles around my studio of things waiting to be done,” he said.
Levenson has done hundreds of pieces over time. He said he started making pieces with weathered wood and small pieces of rusty metal, but once he went full-time, he graduated to bigger pieces. He said the problem with wood is that it needs to be indoors or on a covered porch. All the steel pieces, he said, he wants to continue to rust and develop. “Almost all the new work is exclusively iron and steel,” said Levenson.
The Greater Meredith Program is the official host of the Meredith Sculpture Walk and the idea is to not only beautify the downtown Meredith area, but also get people out and walking around to check out the shops and restaurants the town has to offer. There will be docent tours offered throughout the summer months, as well.
Meredith Sculpture Walk Chair Bev Lapham is very excited for the upcoming season. On Wednesday he worked with Levenson as well as Greater Meredith Program board member Jack Carty and Installation Committee member Andy Lane to put the pieces in the ground. This is just the beginning, he said, with the plan being to have two or three pieces installed each week leading up to July 15 with the art left up for the public to view throughout the year.
In the meantime, members of his committee will be creating brand new brochures showing photographs of the pieces and a map of where they all are. “The community just loves the thing,” Lapham said about the first year of the Sculpture Walk. “We were basically cleaned out of the 12,000 brochures we made last year and now we will be printing the new ones just in time.”
Last year there were 24 pieces compared to this year’s total of 32. There was a call to artists put out which attracted artists from all over New England and beyond, and they jury had to choose from 52 pieces. This year they will have some art in different locations based on responses from last year, and while there are many new pieces, there will be five others returning. This includes American Dog, Red Wing, Spirit’s Daughter, Meditation Bell and Black Sailboat. Those returning artists still had to go through the jury process as part of their agreement. “We are right on schedule and moving along,” said Lapham. “There is some great stuff being offered and I think the community will really enjoy what we are putting together in this second year.”
Levenson’s work can be found online at conradlevenson.com.
Tours will take place beginning May 30 on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., as well as Sundays at 1 p.m. In July, there will be tours on Wednesdays at 11 a.m., and they all begin at Mill Falls Marketplace in front of Innisfree Bookstore. Groups can contact the Greater Meredith Program if they would like to schedule a tour at [email protected].
For additional information about the Meredith Sculpture Walk 2015, see www.greatermeredithprogram.com.
Two pieces by sculptor Conrad Levenson of Stanfordville, New York, were installed, with “Macroscope” adjacent to the waterfall at the Mill Falls Marketplace, and “Insight Out” next to the Meredith Historical Society.
Levenson has been creating art for more than 40 years and said his experience began when he was a full-time architect. He uses old tools and scrap materials to recompose and repurpose them into sculptures. “Macroscope” is a wheel of about 36 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep, with steel brackets on the outside to create a perspective effect. “When you look through it, it frames your view like a lens is there,” said Levenson. “And all my stuff is rusty and not painted.”
“Insight Out” is made of old ice saws from the Hudson River. He felt this was fitting for the Lakes Region as there is a strong history of ice harvesting in the area, with some like Rockywold-Deephaven Camps still harvesting ice to this day through a century-old tradition. “It is nice to tie that piece together with any historical information about ice harvesting here,” said Levenson. “I like to build these nice bridges between the past and the present. They have all the dings and nicks and all the history that goes with these tools that were used overtime. You can feel the energy of the previous user in the materials.”
Levenson said he saw the call for artists and felt it was a “fabulous site.” Wednesday was his first time in Meredith and he said he was very impressed. He likes that it is a new endeavor that “has their act together.” “I’m really happy to be here,” said Levenson. “It’s a beautiful setting.”
Levenson’s practice as an architect pertained to rehabilitation of “seriously deteriorated and abandoned buildings.” He said it is basically the same idea that he now applies through his artwork. He couldn’t do both jobs full-time, so he would sculpt on the side, but once he left the architectural process about six years ago he made this his main gig. Levenson not only has art in shows around the northeast, but he also has two-and-a-half acres of property at his studio where he has the pieces on display.
“I have all these partially finished pieces and big junk piles around my studio of things waiting to be done,” he said.
Levenson has done hundreds of pieces over time. He said he started making pieces with weathered wood and small pieces of rusty metal, but once he went full-time, he graduated to bigger pieces. He said the problem with wood is that it needs to be indoors or on a covered porch. All the steel pieces, he said, he wants to continue to rust and develop. “Almost all the new work is exclusively iron and steel,” said Levenson.
The Greater Meredith Program is the official host of the Meredith Sculpture Walk and the idea is to not only beautify the downtown Meredith area, but also get people out and walking around to check out the shops and restaurants the town has to offer. There will be docent tours offered throughout the summer months, as well.
Meredith Sculpture Walk Chair Bev Lapham is very excited for the upcoming season. On Wednesday he worked with Levenson as well as Greater Meredith Program board member Jack Carty and Installation Committee member Andy Lane to put the pieces in the ground. This is just the beginning, he said, with the plan being to have two or three pieces installed each week leading up to July 15 with the art left up for the public to view throughout the year.
In the meantime, members of his committee will be creating brand new brochures showing photographs of the pieces and a map of where they all are. “The community just loves the thing,” Lapham said about the first year of the Sculpture Walk. “We were basically cleaned out of the 12,000 brochures we made last year and now we will be printing the new ones just in time.”
Last year there were 24 pieces compared to this year’s total of 32. There was a call to artists put out which attracted artists from all over New England and beyond, and they jury had to choose from 52 pieces. This year they will have some art in different locations based on responses from last year, and while there are many new pieces, there will be five others returning. This includes American Dog, Red Wing, Spirit’s Daughter, Meditation Bell and Black Sailboat. Those returning artists still had to go through the jury process as part of their agreement. “We are right on schedule and moving along,” said Lapham. “There is some great stuff being offered and I think the community will really enjoy what we are putting together in this second year.”
Levenson’s work can be found online at conradlevenson.com.
Tours will take place beginning May 30 on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., as well as Sundays at 1 p.m. In July, there will be tours on Wednesdays at 11 a.m., and they all begin at Mill Falls Marketplace in front of Innisfree Bookstore. Groups can contact the Greater Meredith Program if they would like to schedule a tour at [email protected].
For additional information about the Meredith Sculpture Walk 2015, see www.greatermeredithprogram.com.