Five Points Gallery Press Release

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----- Forwarded Message -----

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

What: Five Points Gallery presents two new exhibitions: 

“Creatura”, by Bridget Grady

& “Unleashed", featuring: Patricia Carrigan, Helen Cantrell, Heidi L. Johnson, Ryan Kalentkowski, Randall Nelson, Mike Sweeney, Copper Tritscheller.

 

When: February 6 - March 21, 2026

Opening Reception: Friday, February 6, 2026

Artist Talk: Friday, March 6, 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 two new exhibitions. In the TDP Gallery, Bridget Grady paints and draws animals she observes from the world around her. In the West and TSB galleries, seven artists capture the essence of the animal kingdom through painting, printmaking, and sculpture. 

 

Creatura - TDP GALLERY

Bridget Grady’s paintings are poetically influenced by her explorations of the natural world, literature, and a childhood shaped by life on a neighboring farm. With intense observation and imagination, her works capture both realness and fantasy.  Grady speaks of a fondness for one animal in particular: “Horses were the beings that led me to the path of exploring art and the natural world. They have a way of mirroring your thoughts and emotions if you learn to see what they say.” She goes on to state, “Animals are never just objects I stare at, but sentient beings that stare back. Drawing them, for me, is a way of knowing and honoring them.”

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Unleashed - WEST & TSB GALLERIES

Patricia Carrigan’s ambiguous drawings blend elements of memory, folklore, and morality. Carrigan’s Hare Start drawings are inspired by the Irish saying, “to start a hare running”, which means that an action you take triggers an ongoing problem, often unforeseen and beyond your control. Carrigan explains, “The concept of an animal standing in for humans causing trouble interested me, and I worked across these four panels with layering and erasure, building chaos and confusion.” 

 

Helen Cantrell speaks to a lifelong love and preference for animals, which inspired this suite of feline prints. Her smaller prints focus on the endearing and quirky personalities of her pets. In contrast, Cantrell’s larger woodcut prints utilize energetic line work and repetitive forms that are created in a similar fashion or homage to the Lascaux cave paintings. The primal energy, in these larger works, speaks to the act of hunting, and fight or flight.  

 

Heidi Johnson’s paintings are inspired and informed by the conceptual template of Dutch Still Life, where different species of flora and fauna exist on the same plane. Johnson states, “For the past decade, I have focused on collections, both high and low in our culture. Taxidermized animals coexist with real living creatures, kitsch exists next to high culture, and all exists in the human spaces that burst open into the infinite natural world.”

 

Ryan Kalentkowski’s prints center around his obsession with birds, which stems from an early childhood fixation with learning about the many species around him and imitating their calls and traits. These woodcut prints are created with expressive mark-making and vibrant colors. Kalentkowski’s unique titles often share his own “names” for specific birds, nodding to their traits and symbolism. This work advocates respect and admiration for nature and the environment.

 

Randall Nelson’s large wood-carved animal sculptures are based on his experiences and observations of nature and the modern world. Nelson states, “I use the interactions of animals and humans and the consequences, both intentional and unintentional, to illustrate my viewpoint. No matter what the subject, I always try to maintain a sense of humor with my art.

 

Mike Sweeney’s use of materials is an intricate part of his process, inspired by the subject and character of noise. His handmade woven paper is sourced from a variety of publications, including newspapers, magazines, old books, maps, etc.  The weaving creates complex, fragmented sheets of paper that intermingle diverse presentations of the world around him. His printed drawings represent recognizable subjects, often including animals, which become misaligned or blurred through his multiple passes through the press. 

 

Copper Tritscheller’s bronze sculptures capture human emotions in animal forms, while celebrating human similarities to the animal world. Copper states, “At the core, all creatures are connected.  In bats and burros, my primary subject matters to this day, I’m choosing subjects I relate to and that inspire me. They each come with their own set of stigmas. Stigmas so ingrained in most of us we don’t even question them. I want to question the way I look at the world around me. Let us celebrate our similarities and differences.”

 

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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Karl Goulet
Gallery Director, Five Points Arts
860-618-7222 | kgo...@fivepointsarts.org
fivepointsarts.org