Five Points Gallery PRESS RELEASE: MARCH 27 - MAY 2, 2026

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From: Karl Goulet <kgo...@fivepointsarts.org>

Subject: Five Points Gallery PRESS RELEASE: MARCH 27 - MAY 2, 2026

To whom it may concern, attached and listed below is a PR for three upcoming exhibitions at Five Points Gallery, located in Torrington, CT. Also attached is the show card. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

What: Five Points Gallery presents three new exhibitions: 

“Entangled and Ingested”, by Kat Owens, “Arctic Reverie", by Leslie Sobel, & “Nature Reinvented”, featuring: June Ahrens, Kathleen Anderson, Loren Eiferman, Susan Hoffman Fishman, and Eliška Greenspoon.

When: March 27 - May 2, 2026

Opening Reception: Friday, March 27, 2026

Artist Talk: Friday, April 17, 6:30 p.m.

Location: Five Points Gallery 07 Water Street, Torrington, CT 06790

Contact: Judith McElhone, (860) 618-2167 | jmce...@fivepointsarts.org

 

TORRINGTON, CONN. — Five Points Gallery presents three new exhibitions. In the Torrington Savings Bank (TSB) Gallery, Kat Owens emphasizes the importance of recycling and conservation through portraits of marine biology. Leslie Sobel’s encaustic paintings in the Torrington Downtown Partners (TDP) Gallery beckon attention to the Arctic and its ever-changing environment. The West Gallery features five women artists dealing with themes of social justice tied to the land and other contemporary issues. 

 

Entangled and Ingested - TSB Gallery

Existing at the intersection of art and science, Kat Owens utilizes unrecyclable plastics and packaging to create life-sized portraits of animals harmed by pollution. These works emphasize the devastating impact of plastic waste on marine species, ranging from puffins to whales. These labor-intensive sewn collages offer a visual narrative to a shared vulnerability in the face of environmental collapse. Owens states, “By repurposing these materials, I aim to confront the permanence and ubiquity of plastic waste, while drawing attention to its devastating impact on ecosystems and species. By transforming discarded materials into portraits of beauty and loss, I hope to inspire a deeper understanding of the choices we make and their lasting impact on the natural world.” 

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Arctic Reverie - TDP Gallery

Leslie Sobel’s encaustic paintings are based on her travels to the Arctic. Apart from the grandeur of the natural landscapes, Sobel’s work features various animals, including polar bears that are facing dramatic habitat loss due to climate change. These paintings recall her experiences through a mix of abstraction and representation, documenting the fastest-declining environment on the planet due to climate change. Sobel states, “The works are meant to echo religious icons because to me there is something ineffable and sacred about the high latitudes and the power and fragility of the environs and its inhabitants.  I am captivated by the beauty of the place and full of grief for its change.”

 

Nature Reinvented - West Gallery

June Ahrens’ Forever Flowers reflect on grief in response to gun violence. The work is both a memorial and a protest, urging recognition, immediacy, and remembrance for the victims long after public attention fades. Formed organically with wire, found objects, and mixed media, these sculptures are based on natural flora; plants that are pulled from their roots, as well as neatly arranged bouquets. These flowers also use color to convey another layer of symbolism. Black flowers commonly represent farewells, mourning, rebirth, strength, and transformation. 

 

Kathleen Anderson’s sculptural works foster ideas of sustainability and ecological awareness.  Her “plastiglomerates” or plastic rocks are created from melted and sculpted plastic waste, which she experiences in her daily life. Anderson states, “Inspired by the idea of Zero Waste, I strive to live a life with minimal waste through a process of regeneration and transformation of everything I throw away.”

 

Loren Eiferman crafts intricate sculptures made from sticks that are pieced together like a jigsaw. Her work is inspired by the Voynich Manuscripts, a 15th-century manuscript filled with illustrations of plants that don’t actually exist in nature. Eiferman states, “The sculpture that is being constructed appears like my line drawing, but in space. I am interested in having my work appear as if it grew in nature, when in fact each sculpture is usually composed of hundreds of small pieces of wood that are seamlessly jointed together.”

 

Based on satellite imagery, Susan Hoffman Fishman’s Desertification series reflects on global concerns around water issues as they relate to climate change and geological time. These mixed media paintings incorporate elements of collage, cyanotype, drawing, and fragments of recycled work to stress the heavily textured landscapes.  Susan states, “I create landscapes that are unstable and disfigured. Constructed as highly fractured surfaces, the paintings characterize the landscapes of our time—receding coastlines, pockmarked expanses, the proliferation of sinkholes, and desert where there was once water.”

 

Drawn to the strength and transitional aspects of trees and the environment around her, Eliška Greenspoon’s photo-based works are built up with various layers of prints, mixed media, and alternative process photography.  She mimics nature’s growth and textures through the physical process of tearing, painting, burning, and adding to the surfaces. Greenspoon states, “Some of these images can be described as having endured a level of ‘creative violence’ resulting in a rich surface patina.”

 

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 1 - 5 p.m., and by appointment (860-618-7222).  

 

Five Points exhibitions and educational events are free and open to the public. There is no admission charge to the Gallery. All artwork is for sale.

 

Five Points Arts is supported in part by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, Department of Economic and Community Development, and the National Endowment for the Arts.                   

 

About Five Points Gallery: Located in the historic district of downtown Torrington, CT, Five Points Gallery is the flagship location of Five Points Arts, a 501c3 nonprofit contemporary arts organization whose mission is to champion and nurture artists at all stages of their careers and to empower a diverse community through the presentation of inspiring exhibitions and educational initiatives. For more information about Five Points Arts, please visit www.fivepointsarts.org

                                                                     

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Thank you, 

Karl Goulet
Gallery Director, Five Points Arts
fivepointsarts.org